Bethesda recently updated Starfield’s website to include a complete timeline covering the game’s backstory. The timeline begins in 2050 and covers the following 280 years until the events of Starfield takes place in 2330. This official timeline gives fans a good overview of the history of Starfield’s galaxy.
Starfield’s Full Timeline
The timeline of Bethesda’s Starfield begins with the first crewed mission to Mars in 2050. Humans had settled permanently in space by 2100, and in 2156 explorers reached Alpha Centauri, the next closest star system to Earth. The United Colonies, one of Starfield’s two main factions, was established a few years later in 2159. Two years later, the UC would found the New Atlantic colony in Alpha Centauri and establish its capital there.
In 2067, explorer Solomon Cole found Akila City on the planet Cheyenne. In 2188, Cole approachded the independent colony of Volii and convinced them to join a new alliance called the Freestar Collective. Fearful of the UC’s influence, the independent colonies of the Narion system also joined the Collective in 2194. This led to a rapid escalation culminating in the outbreak of the Narion War in 2196. The war finally ended with the Treaty of Narion in 2216. This treaty is also the first official document referring to the Settled Systems, the region of Space where Starfield takes place.
The following decades saw the establishment of the Freestar Rangers and Constellation, with the latter discovering an alien artifact in 2310. The years 2307 to 2311 also saw the Settled Systems embroiled in the Colony War between the UC and FC. Most of the rest of the timeline covers Constellation recruiting new members and restarting its search for alien artifacts. Fans can read the complete timeline by visiting the Starfield homepage and scrolling down to “The Story So Far…”
The Starfield timeline does skip around a bit and seems to leave a few things out. Mentions of Earth are notably absent, continuing a trend with Starfield’s other promotional materials. Still, it’s a neat little preview of the game’s lore.