Summary
All the way back in 2001, the firstHalohit store shelves, and became an overnight sensation. A Sci-Fi first-person shooter like nothing gamers had seen on consoles before,Halogarnered an immediate fan-base thanks to its smooth controls, open-ended gameplay, and its surprisingly deep cinematic narrative. While it was clear Bungie had a good idea ofHalo’s universe going into that first game, there’s no way the developer could have known where the series would end up two decades later.
The currentHalotimeline consists of seven major eras, and even that excludes some of the smaller events in the timeline. From the monumental Forerunner-Flood galactic war that essentially acts as the catalyst forthe entireHalofranchise, to much smaller-scale conflicts like the insurrection against the UNSC, theHalotimeline has no shortage of big events, many of which have never actually appeared on-screen in aHalovideo game.
Halo’s timeline uses the phrases “BCE” and “CE” to refer to its eras, meaning “Before Common Era” and “Common Era” respectively. Essentially, CE refers to the period of humanity thatHalomostly revolves around.
The Major Early Eras of The Halo Timeline Explained
The Precursor Era - Unknown to 200,000 BCE
The first major era ontheHalotimeline, and one that’s essentially missing from the vast majority ofHalovideo games is the Precursor era. Taking place roughly 200,000 years before the firstHalogame, the Precursor era focuses on the titular ancient alien species as they spread their extremely advanced technology and military might across the galaxy. Viewed as gods by most of the galaxy, the Precursors use their absurdly powerful armies to defeat The Flood when it first appears, but during this war, The Forerunners gradually build their own advanced empire, and with the Precursors' forces weakened, the Forerunners manage to wipe the Precursors from existence within 200 years.
The Precursors technically come from a whole other universe and may have created every important species in theHalofranchise, but this backstory could be rewritten at any time due to its far-fetched nature.
The Forerunner Era - 200,000 BCE to 50,000 BCE
With the whole galaxy at its feet,the Forerunnersbecome the reigning species, with its empire stretching across the entire Milky Way. A proud yet self-reflective species, the Forerunners believed that they were caretakers of the galaxy, though one day this “Mantle of Responsibility” would be handed down to another species, just as they believed the Precursors handed it down to them.
Around 100,000 years into its reign, the Forerunners were forced into a war with humanity, which had been slowly expanding across the galaxy since the Precursor era. Believing them to be expanding just for the sake of it, the Forerunners decided to take swift action against humanity, essentially wiping them out and punishing them by exiling them to their home planet, and stripping them of all technology. However, humanity only started expanding across the galaxy in an attempt to escapeThe Flood, which had somehow returned and now threatened the entire galaxy.
What followed was a 300-year war betweenthe Forerunners and Flood, with the former using all of its advanced weaponry to attempt to exterminate the parasitical species. With nothing being able to stop The Flood, The Forerunners decide to take drastic measures. The Forerunners create the Halo Array, a series of ring-worlds designed to cleanse the entire galaxy of life, and thus kill The Flood by eliminating its food source. The Forerunners fire the Halo Array, but not before saving and preserving many of the galaxy’s species on the Ark.
The Rise of the Covenant - 50,000 BCE to 1500 CE
Many years after the firing ofthe Halo Array, the galaxy’s saved species were freed from preservation and sent back out into the galaxy, essentially restarting every species' timeline from scratch. Eventually, an alien species known as the San’Shyuum discovered ancient Forerunner technology and formed a religion based around it, which began to dominate the species' entire way of life.
During the species' quest to seek out all Forerunner artifacts in the galaxy, the San’Shyuum stumble uponthe Sangheili species, who themselves had formed a religion around these artifacts. However, while the San’Shyuum believed in using these artifacts to advance their technology, the Sangheili strongly believed that they should not be disturbed, which resulted in a near-century-long war. Both on the brink of extinction, the Sangheili and San’Shyuum decided to stop fighting, and instead join forces, marking the start of The Covenant. Over thousands of years, The Covenant continued to add more species to its alliance, all the while humanity was undergoing its own changes.
Humanity and the Halo Games on the Franchise Timeline
The Colonial Era - 2362 CE to 2494 CE
After following a history nearly identical the real world,Halo’s humanity begins to colonize the planets surrounding Earth. After a brief Interplanetary War between the systems, humanity established theUnited Nations Space Command, and the discovery of the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine allowed humanity to spread itself across more of the galaxy, including on planets such as Harvest and Reach.
The Insurrection - 2494 CE to 2525 CE
Now established throughout the Milky Way, humanity started to experience a bit of a political schism. Many of the outer colonies believed that the UNSC is controlling them, and began an insurrection to gain their freedom from the government. In an attempt to stop this building conflict, the UNSC approvedDr. Halsey’s controversial Spartan program, which saw the kidnapping of thousands of children across the galaxy in an attempt to make an army of genetically modified super soldiers.
The Great Human-Covenant War - 2525 CE - 2553 CE
Above the planet of Harvest, a small Covenant ship came into orbit. Believing the planet to be home to thousands of Forerunner artifacts, the Covenant landed, only to realize that the planet was already occupied by humanity. Afteran Unggoyaccidentally fires on a UNSC marine, the Covenant begins a skirmish on the planet, eventually destroying it via an orbital plasma bombardment known as Glassing. The San’Shyuum soon discovered that humanity had been chosen by the Forerunners to be its successor, and in an attempt to stop that from happening, they declare war on humanity.
After about 30 years of non-stop conflict, the Covenant stumbled upon humanity’s central planet of operations, Reach, and began an immediate full-scale invasion. This battle saw the vast majority of humanity’s forces get completely wiped from existence, including most ofthe UNSC’s Spartans, and Reach is left utterly destroyed. The Pillar of Autumn, one of the UNSC’s light frigates, managed to escape Reach right at the last second, and after making an uncalculated Slipspace jump, it appeared right in front of a Halo ring-world.
Thus begins the events of the originalHalotrilogy. After destroying this Halo ring, the Master Chief and hisAI companion Cortanaheaded back to Earth, only for it to be attacked by Covenant forces. The San’Shyuum betrayed their Sangheili allies soon after, a move that eventually causes the Sangheili to side with humanity. With the Sangheili on its side, and The Flood wreaking havoc on The Covenant’s forces, humanity manages to win the war.
The Reclaimer Era - 2557 CE to 2560 CE
After a brief hiatus in cryosleep,the Master Chiefawakened in the year 2557 CE, and stumbled upon a Forerunner Shield World known as Requiem. Here, the Master Chief encountered and killed the ancient Forerunner Promethean named the Ur-Didact. Around the same time, a Sangheili named Jul ‘Mdama attempted to resurrect The Covenant, but his plans were foiled. This current era ofHalogoes all the way up toHalo Infinite, which sees the Master Chief land on Zeta Halo and attempt to fend off The Banished, a collection of species that rebelled against The Covenant, but who are now searching the Halo ring-worlds for artifacts of power.
Halo Infinite
WHERE TO PLAY
When all hope is lost and humanity’s fate hangs in the balance, the Master Chief is ready to confront the most ruthless foe he’s ever faced. Step inside the armor of humanity’s greatest hero to experience an epic open-world adventure and explore the massive scale of the Halo ring.With Network Campaign Co-Op and Mission Replay, you can relive your favorite moments, rediscover collectibles and explore the wonders of Zeta Halo on your own or with up to three other fireteam members.Experience Halo’s celebrated multiplayer reimagined and free-to-play! With over 70 maps in matchmaking, billions of customization configurations, and countless community Forge creations to experience, Halo Infinite is the franchise’s most expansive multiplayer offering to date.Enjoy an unprecedented variety of gameplay experiences, ranging from fast-paced intense ranked modes to whimsical mayhem in Custom Games, or even co-operative coordination in the wave-based survival mode Firefight: King of the Hill. Assemble your Fireteam and conquer every mode – Halo offers endless opportunities for teamwork, strategy, and unforgettable victories.
