Timeline

The timeline of the Unreal universe shows the time and order in which major events took place. Unfortunately, a lot of dates are not actually known, and some are conflicting.

2215

New Earth Government formed to battle Skaarj Empire.

2216

During the '7 Day Siege' the Skaarj surround Earth. In a bold move, NEG commandos destroy the Skaarj mother ship, causing the Skaarj to retreat in disarray.

2219

Following the Human/Skaarj war, many of Earth's cities lay in ruins. When the New Earth Government attempted to assert its authority over these areas, they were confronted by many rebel groups, often covertly financed by the great corporations, which had established bases in the destroyed cities.

2241

"Strider Wars" are won by sacrificing a planetary colony. The colony is disguised to look like a major control center and as it is attacked, is detonated, destroying the planet and the invading Strider forces. The architect of this victory, a young female officer with power beyond her years leaves the military, unable to reconcile her feelings over the incident. Records indicate she joined the Terran Colonial Authority as intelligence officer aboard a Marshal's patrol vessel.

2251

Leaked classified data files indicate that an incident occurred on the outer rim of human space. Ancient artifacts are found, initiating inter-corporation warfare and the reemergence of the Skaarj, eager to claim whatever power the artifacts held. Although most details are still highly classified, it seems that a TCA Marshal was involved in destroying the artifacts and preventing the awakening of an ancient power that could have spelled disaster.

2260

In one of the most daring acts of the mostly covert Corporation Wars, Izanagi Corporation's research facility on Lamdon 3 was raided and destroyed by a strike force from the Axon Research Corporation, despite the protection offered by the elite NEG ThunderCrash force. Axon was able to not only destroy the facility, but also retrieve the advanced plasma ion tank under development there.

2267

In the Green's World Rebellion, three thousand miners revolt against harsh working conditions.

2276

Stolen "Nexus" prototype missiles are recovered by the NEG military in a daring raid on a Hellion convoy on the surface of Taron. This missile type was later used in multiple incidents of colonial suppression.

2283

The infamous AI uprising on LBX-7683 (metallic asteroid in the Erican cluster) resulted in a massive loss of human life. Rebelling against their oppressive and abusive human creators, robotic workers and battle droids took control in a bloody mutiny and claimed their home as their own sovereign world. The previous owners of LBX-7683 decided to regain their profitable mine, and so the Liandri Corporation sent in a small tactical squad set to strike at the very heart of the new robot world. The squad succeeded in penetrating the core of the robots' prime facility, where they destroyed the central AI generators, thus preventing the machines from replicating themselves. Having proved their combat skill to the human victors, a group of the sentient machines were inserted into a stasis matrix and were later reprogrammed for corporate purposes. The leader of the robot force, Xan Kriegor resists multiple memory wipes but eventually succumbs to reprogramming.

2291

'Consensual murder' is legalized, opening the way for a previously underground event - the "Tournament" to go mainstream. Mining companies had long been running small leagues and matches to channel aggression. Liandri Mining Corporation begins to tri-cast the fights. Xan Kriegor is the first champion of the Liandri Tournament, which quickly becomes viewed as the defacto human space championship. Xan was already legendary because of his success in the long-running (but not legally sanctioned) tournaments on the mining worlds. He leads the Liandri Corporation sponsored team - "The Corrupt".

2293

Malcolm - a human - unseats Xan, and becomes one of the "Great" champions of the Tournament. A huge media figure, Malcolm is hailed as the biggest star in human history and is worshipped as a god. His success nets great rewards for his sponsoring corporation, attracting the attention of jealous rivals both in the arenas of the Tournament and in the corridors of power a galaxy away. Xan is returned to the Liandri Corporation for upgrades.

2302

The gene-boosted monster - Gorge - defeats Malcolm in a brutal contest and is named champion of the Tournament. The aging Sniper Rifle (a relic of centuries past) is removed from the Tournament as is "Assault" - a team-based event that forms a part of the competition. Many fans of the Tournament complain at these changes, with some combatants refusing to participate in the new format.

2303

The most anticipated tournament ever takes place, with three former champions (Xan, Malcolm, and Gorge) each captaining a team. Vehicles are introduced to Tournament combat. The Hellions, eager to prove themselves as mercenaries for hire, enter the Tournament in hopes of securing new contracts. Xan has received upgrades and is deadlier than ever. He is also backed by a team of combat droids from LBX-7683. An updated Sniper Rifle is added to the weapon roster, along with several other weapons designed for the larger outdoor combat environments of the new Onslaught and returning Assault events.

References

Unreal Tournament 2004 website on the Web Archive