Starfield lore timeline, explained

Starfield is Bethesda’s biggest game to date, and that’s not just implied from early impressions—Todd Howard and the team have said so themselves. After years of releasing acclaimed games in both the fantasy and post-apocalyptic genres, Bethesda is turning toward the stars and space with Starfield.

A staple of Bethesda games has been the extensive backstories leading into the main plots of the games themselves, with some of the developed histories covering virtual centuries’ worth of lore. Starfield is no exception, with roughly 280 years worth of official backstory on the record, covering humanity’s first foray into space colonization and the mistakes made and lessons learned along the way.

Here’s the story so far heading into the events of Starfield.

Space travel, space living, then space fighting

While it’s unclear when humans will reach Mars in real life, humanity manages to do so by 2050 in Starfield. Less than 50 years later, humans have managed to figure out how to successfully live among the stars and begin settling in the part of space known as the Settled Systems.

In 2159, the United Colonies are established, and the UC names their new capital city New Atlantis in 2161 in the Alpha Centauri system 4.37 light years away from Earth. In 2167, a new system called Cheyenne and its first settlement Akila City is established by Solomon Coe, and in 2188, Coe invites the Volii system to found a new alliance called the Freestar Collective.

The people who live in United Colonies space value law and discipline, and consider themselves “the true children of Earth.” The UC offers citizenship to those that enlist in the Vanguard, a navy reliant on civilian ships that pledged to protect the UC and its interests. The Freestar Collective features more independent systems, and as the name suggests emphasizes freedom over order. The Freestar Rangers serve all Freestar citizens.

Related: Houses, jails, and more—The biggest reveals from the latest Starfield Q&A

In 2194, the UC positioned a new station called the Clinic in orbit around Deepala in the Narion system. When the UC refuses to budge on demands that it be moved, Narion votes to join the Freestar Collective, prompting both the UC and Freestar to mobilize fleets, leading to the Narion War in 2196. This war lasts for 20 years, ending in the Treaty of Narion which officially establishes the “Settled Systems” terminology.

Almost a century on, tensions between the two groups boil again in 2307 when Freestar begins farming on the planet Vesta, which UC claims violates the Treaty of Narion as it establishes a fourth star system. Eventually, the UC decimates the planet Vesta, sparking The Colony War. The Colony War lasts for four years and ended when Freestar used civilian and military ships to cripple the UC fleet using hit-and-run tactics.

The History of Constellation

During the founding of and fighting between the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective, an organization of explorers known as Constellation is formed. The group was originally founded in 2275 by Sebastian Banks in New Atlantis, with The Lodge serving as the group’s main base of operations. The original members include:

• Sebastian Banks, Founder
• Chloe Bao, a physicist
• Aja Mamasa, Sebastian’s protégé
• Darius Andris, a botanist and specialist in xeno-flora
• Bernadette Laurent, a wealthy heiress and adventurer
• Everado Gil, a former smuggler
• Kadri Toma, a biologist and physician

Related: Starfield will let you recruit a staggering number of companions—way more than Fallout 4

35 years later, in 2310, Constellation finds an Artifact and hides it in their archives. In 2320, former head of the UC Navigator Corps Sarah Morgan joins Constellation, eventually rising to acting Chair by 2325. Prior to that, a new primary financial backer named Walter Stroud, co-owner of massive starship manufacturer Stroud-Ecklund, joins the group.

Numerous new members join starting from 2305 through 2328: scientist Barrett, former Crimson Fleet pirate Vladimir Sall, theologian Matteo Khatri, scientist Noel, Freestar Ranger Sam Coe, and others. In 2328, Barrett convinces Constellation to purchase a space station and outfit with a new deep space scanner named “The Eye.”

All this history leads to 2330, and the start of the plot of Starfield.