Star Citizen lore: the great timeline, from 2038 to 2956

Behind the ships and careers, Star Citizen tells nine centuries of human history: the conquest of space, meeting other species, wars, a dictatorship, a rebirth… and a war raging today. Here is the universe’s great timeline, sorted by era, so you can understand it all in one read.

Handy reference: in the game, the current year is 2956. The universe moves at the same pace as ours, 930 years ahead.

2038 – 2157: the dawn of the space age

• 2038: Roberts Space Industries (RSI) is founded, the company that will open space to humanity.
• 2075: the first self-sustaining quantum drive, able to reach one hundredth of the speed of light.
• 2113: RSI patents its terraforming technology. In 2120, the first attempt to terraform Mars begins; in 2125, the “Great Mars Tragedy” kills 4,876 workers.
• 2140: the RSI Zeus, the first commercial starship in history, is released, after Sal Saleno’s first successful test flight in 2137.
• 2157: Mars is declared terraformed. Abeni Okon is born there: the first human born off Earth.

2271 – 2384: the leap to the stars

• 2271: Nick Croshaw discovers the first jump point, a natural shortcut to another system. The system now bears his name. Everything changes: humanity can finally leave the Solar System.
• In the following decades, discoveries keep coming: Rhetor, Nul, Fora, Caliban, Centauri…
• 2380: Croshaw is terraformed and nations unite as the United Nations of Earth (UNE). Unification sparks three wars, lasting until 2384.

2438 – 2530: first contacts

• 2438: first contact with an intelligent species, the Banu. It starts badly (a human explorer fires on their ship… and misses), but it leads to the first interstellar peace and trade treaty. → The Banu
• 2493: Pyrotechnic Amalgamated claims the Pyro system for its mines. The company goes bankrupt in 2563, leaving Pyro to outlaws.
• 2523: the UNE becomes the United Planets of Earth (UPE), and the Advocacy, the federal police, is created.
• 2530: the Xi’an empire is discovered. A long cold war begins, made of tension and covert operations. → The Xi’an

2541 – 2610: the Tevarin wars

• 2541: contact with the Tevarin, a warrior people. In 2542, they seize Idris IV: the First Tevarin War, won by humanity after the Battle of Idris IV.
• 2603: their leader Corath’Thal returns with a rebuilt fleet: the Second Tevarin War.
• June 24, 2610: Squadron 42 crushes his fleet at the Battle of Centauri. Corath’Thal and his last pilots lower their thermal shields and dive into the atmosphere of Elysium IV, their former world. → The Tevarin

2546 – 2792: the Messer era

• 2546: riding the war and the atrocity at Jata, Ivar Messer becomes Prime Citizen, then Imperator. The United Planets become the United Empire of Earth (UEE). Two and a half centuries of hereditary dictatorship begin.
• 2681: first contact with the Vanduul, who ravage the Dell colony on Armitage (Orion): 638 dead. In 2712, the Battle of Orion; then the siege of Tiber, razed and renamed “Tomb,” and the fall of Virgil in 2737. → The Vanduul
• 2789: the Akari-Kray treaty with the Xi’an paves the way to the end of the cold war.
• April 27, 2792: the Massacre of Garron II, where the regime wiped out a developing species to terraform its planet, comes to light. The scandal brings down the dynasty: on May 3, 2792, the Messer era ends.

2792 – 2850: the rebirth

• 2792 – 2800: Erin Toi leads a provisional democratic government. In 2800, Marshall Leon is elected Imperator: the UEE becomes an elective constitutional monarchy.
• 2793: the Perry Line Pact ends the cold war with the Xi’an. Armistice Day is born.
• 2794: the Ark project is launched, a library of knowledge from every species, built on Tayac.
• 2795: the Fair Chance Act protects planets home to a developing species. Never again Garron.
• 2799: Crusader Industries is founded; in 2805, MISC is born from a merger; in 2818, the first mobiGlas comes out.

2851 – 2928: Stanton, the megacorporations and Synthworld

• 2851: Toshi Aaron discovers the Stanton system. The Navy sets up shipyards there, then, in 2865, the Senate sells its four planets: Hurston to Hurston Dynamics, Crusader to Crusader Industries, ArcCorp to ArcCorp and microTech to microTech. → Stanton and its megacorporations
• 2871: the fall of Caliban, the last time a Vanduul Kingship entered UEE space.
• 2872: the Synthworld project begins, an artificial planet built in the Chronos system. The giant project will end up draining the Empire’s coffers.
• 2910: MISC signs an agreement with the Xi’an, giving rise to hybrid-tech ships (such as the Reliant series).
• 2928: Imperator Kelos Costigan is elected. In 2931, the Rough & Ready gang forms in Pyro.

2945: the war against the Vanduul

• Late 2945: the Vanduul attack on Vega II plunges the Empire into war. The Senate formally declares the Vanduul War, which is still going on.
• 2946: Operation Mandrake strikes the Vanduul in the Oberon system, and the film “Lost Squad,” about the fall of Caliban, hits theaters.
• 2947: the XenoThreat group seizes Ruin Station, in Pyro.

2950 – 2956: today

• January 1, 2951: Laylani Addison becomes Imperator.
• February 2951: XenoThreat launches an incursion into Stanton and attacks the Navy fleet; pushed back, the group retreats to Pyro.
• July 28, 2952: the Siege of Orison begins, led by the Nine Tails, who attack civilians in Inspiration Park. → Outlaws and independents
• 2954: the “Save Stanton” operation against the pirates; in 2955, the fight for Pyro and the regeneration crisis after an explosion in New Austin.
• January 2956: an outbreak of Molina mold hits Levski, in the Nyx system.

And the rest is yours to write: every patch adds new events to this story.

Go further: Humans and the UEE · The Xi’an · The Banu · The Vanduul · The Tevarin · Kr’Thak, Hadesians and other species · Outlaws and independents · Stanton and its megacorporations

Which part of the lore fascinates you the most? A detail we left out? Tell us in a reply!

Sources: the official Star Citizen lore (Galactapedia, Comm-Links) and the community Star Citizen Wiki. Images: official Star Citizen visuals © Cloud Imperium Games, monochrome treatment by Beacon Mag. Star Citizen is a game by Cloud Imperium Games.

📚 To go further: planets, species and side stories are gathered in the Lore & Universe contents.