The Titanfall Universe is the fictional universe in which the Titanfall series takes place. In the distant future, humanity has discovered the means of faster-than-light travel and has proceeded to colonize deep space. The first waves of colonists colonized several star systems close to Sol, these colonies becoming known as Core Systems. However, exploration did not stop there, and soon, a dense region of habitable world was discovered; ripe with resources and valuable trade routes, this new Frontier would soon become home to many generations of humanity. However, the arrival of the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation would tip the balance of power on the Frontier, leading to the formation of the Frontier Militia and the beginning of the Frontier War - the conflict in which the Titanfall series takes place.
Currently, the series consists of Titanfall, its sequel Titanfall 2, and the battle royale spinoff Apex Legends. Supplemental content includes the cancelled free-to-play port Titanfall Online and a closed mobile strategy game Titanfall Assault, as well as a cancelled mobile card game Titanfall: Frontline. The series also has three live action/ cinematic trailers and a work-in-progress television show.
Primary Factions[]
There are a handful of major players in the Titanfall universe.
Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation[]
Full article: Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation
The Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation, or IMC, is a massive megacorporation and the de facto government for humanity in the Core Systems. The IMC have numerous subsidiaries and stakes in almost any industry imaginable, and enforce law and order with their own Armed Services, including a vast Navy and Marine Corps. More recently, the IMC have become bogged down in the war against the Frontier Militia, having become cut off from their Core Systems reinforcements for half a decade.
Remnant Fleet[]
Full article: Remnant Fleet
The Remnant Fleet is the name given to the IMC fleet led by Vice Admiral Spyglass, and abandoned on the Frontier in the wake of the Battle of Demeter. With the refinery planet's destruction, the Remnant Fleet is completely cut off from their reinforcements and have seen mass defections of human personnel to the Militia cause. As a consequence, the Remnant Fleet is largely comprised of Spectres, Stalkers and Reapers. The Remnant Fleet has been involved in the continued fight against the Militia on the Frontier, and has been known to conduct raids for technology and resources on colonies regardless of affiliation; consequently, the Remnant Fleet is known to fight against other IMC factions alongside its more traditional enemies.
Archaeological Research Division[]
Full article: ARES Division
The Archaeological Research Division (ARES Division) is the division of the IMC's Frontier forces led by General Marder and dedicated to the progress of the IMC - and humanity - as a whole. To this end, ARES Division is involved in the examination and restoration of alien structures such as the Fold Weapon. ARES Division currently employs many mercenaries alongside its own IMC troops, and has been involved in fighting against the Remnant Fleet.
Vinson Dynamics[]
Full article: Vinson Dynamics
Vinson Dynamics is an arms manufacturer and subsidiary of the IMC, contracted for the creation of weapons, Titans and Simulacrums. Nevertheless, their mercenary contractors are known to conduct raids on the Remnant Fleet's databanks.
Apex Predators[]
Full article: Apex Predators
The Apex Predators are a mercenary company founded by South African mercenary Kuben Blisk, contracted to the highest bidder - usually the IMC. The Predators don't care who they fight for as long as they get paid.
Frontier Militia[]
Full article: Frontier Militia
The Frontier Militia (Sometimes referred to as the Colonial Militia or The Militia) is a citizen militia operating on the Frontier, made up of disenfranchised farmers, homesteaders, mercenaries, pirates and terrorists. Together, this unruly band of freedom fighters uses guerilla warfare and raids to fight the numerically superior IMC, though their numbers have swelled in recent years thanks to their devastating attack on Demeter.
Marauder Corps[]
Full article: Marauder Corps
The Marauder Corps (or M-COR) are a subset of the Freeport Brigade, and a key cell responsible for many Militia attacks on the IMC. They are led by Commander Sarah Briggs.
Angel City Elite[]
Full article: Angel City Elite
The Angel City Elite (Or ACES) are a Pilot company led by Robert "Barker" Taube, based out of Angel City.
The 6-4[]
Full article: The 6-4
This group of freelance Pilots, led by Commander Gates, are mercenaries contracted by the Militia. Unlike their Apex Predator counterparts, the 6-4 claim to fight with honour, and will not necessarily take the highest-bidding contracts.
The Advocates[]
Full article: Advocate
The Advocates are a person (or group of people) of unknown allegiance or identity, working to influence the progress of the war to currently unknown means.
The Syndicate[]
Full article: The Syndicate
The Syndicate are a mysterious organisation founded from its predecessor the Mercenary Syndicate sometime after 2708. They operate and manage the Apex Games and are also known to control a large portion of The Outlands, an untamed region of Frontier space. They are suspected to be a mostly criminal organisation, with bitter rivalries against other such groups constantly vying for control of The Outlands. Kuben Blisk is also believed to be a member of The Syndicate, supposedly even a founding member.
Technology and Combatants[]
Titans[]
Full article: Titan
Titans are massive exoskeleton platforms, created for civilian and military roles. They are primarily manufactured by the IMC subsidiary Hammond Robotics. More recently, the Militia have created their own Titan model - the Vanguard-Class - which has in turn been reverse-engineered and upgraded by the IMC's Vinson Dynamics into the Monarch.
Pilots[]
Full article: Pilot
Well-trained, highly-sought and fully-equipped, the Pilot is the apex of modern infantry warfare. Utilising expensive Jump Kits, they are able to wallrun, double-jump and achieve mastery of the futuristic 3D battlefield in which Titanfall takes place. Many Pilots are honed and funded by the IMC, though many more have defected or been recruited by the Militia as special forces or mercenaries.
Robotic Infantry[]
Full articles: MRVN, Spectre, Stalker, Reaper, Tick, Simulacrum
Both factions in the fight employ vast quantities of robotic infantry to bolster their human forces. Many of these are, in some way, evolved from the MRVN Automated Assistants - passive worker droids used for a variety of maintenance tasks. The "Marvin" paved the way for the BRD-01 Spectre, combat drones equipped to replace traditional humans; the Stalker, a "Super Spectre" designed to fight against Pilots; and the Reaper - robots equipped to fight against Titans in large numbers. Other robots include the Tick, walking fragmentation bombs that seek out enemy targets to self-detonate and Simulacrums, human minds imprinted into robotic bodies who are fully aware of their status.
Jump Kit[]
Full article: Jump Kits
The Jump Kit is the portable jump pack employed by Pilots, allowing them to double-jump, wall-run, accelerate up and down Ziplines and perform all manner of other complex parkour skills. The Jump Kit was originally designed for use in salvage and construction, allowing workers to navigate complex 3D work spaces with ease. However, they have since been adapted for military use by special forces.
Data Knife[]
Full article: Data Knife
The Data Knife is a specialised piece of equipment; part deadly carbon-fibre blade and part compact storage device, the Data Knife can be used to Execute opponents or hack vulnerable ports on Spectres and Heavy Turrets and hack consoles to open doors and activate things like extending the bridge in Effect and Cause.
Weaponry[]
Weaponry in Titanfall takes the form of traditional ballistic weapons and more exotic energy weapon systems. One of the most common weapon platforms employed by combatants on the Frontier is the R-101C Carbine and its variants; the R-201 Assault Rifle, D-101 Longbow-DMR Sniper and R-97 Compact SMG. However, there are many kinds of energy weapon such as "Arc" weaponry like the Arc Cannon and Arc Grenade, Particle Accelerators such as the Splitter Rifle, lasers such as the Charge Rifle and even incendiary weapons making heavy use of thermite.
Titan weapons additionally include railguns, which are also used in Orbital Defense. However, the most exotic weapons technology is "Smart" technology, utilised in arms as small as a handgun to cannons as large as a building. This allows bullets to self-guide after leaving the barrel, ensuring perfect accuracy once a lock has been acquired.
Titan Weapons | |
---|---|
Primary Weapons | 40mm Cannon (Tracker) • Arc Cannon • Broadsword • Leadwall • Maul • Plasma Railgun • Predator Cannon • Quad Rocket • Splitter Rifle • T-203 Thermite Launcher • Triple Threat • XOTBR-16 Chaingun • XO16A2 Chaingun |
Ordnance Weapons | Arc Wave • Charge Cannon • Cluster Missile • Firewall • Laser Shot • Multi-Target Missile System • Power Shot • Rocket Salvo • Slaved Warheads • Tracking Rockets |
Core Weapons | Laser Core • Flame Core • Flight Core • Salvo Core • Sword Core • Smart Core |
Timeline[]
Prehistory[]
An unknown Alien civilisation rises on The Frontier, creating the Fold Weapon, the Ark and even technology allowing Time Travel and Phase Shifting. Several primitive civilisations also rise and fall, leaving behind stone structures and temples in swamps and lagoons.
The Rise of the IMC[]
Before the advent of the Jump Drive, human space exploration was largely limited to the immediate planets in the near-reach of Earth and the Solar System. In this time, Hammond Engineering, led by Doctor Hammond, rose on Earth. Over the next fifteen years, the company grew exponentially, cornering the market with its Titan designs, planetary survey technology and materials science. In this time, the Jump Drive would be invented and a wave of colonists sent to the immediate star systems surrounding Earth. However, habitable worlds are rare and this fledgling region would soon become known as the Core Systems.
Over the next century, Hammond Engineering would go through a number of mergers and re-brandings, remaking itself in the image of the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation. In this time, the IMC would become the dominant force in the Core Systems, fighting in a series of conflicts and an arms race against foe(s) unknown, due to their production of the first Spectre and their rapid expansion. The IMC would win these conflicts, ruling over the Core Systems with an iron fist.
Discovery of The Frontier[]
Full article: The Frontier
“ | Deep space explorers have discovered a dense zone of habitable planets, and everyone is calling it a new Frontier...
— Titanfall opening cinematic
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” |
With the increasing availability of space exploration, a new region of densely-packed habitable planets was discovered; The Frontier. The initial settlement of the Frontier was driven by public interest and veterans of the Core Systems Conflicts being funded under the IMC Serviceman's Readjustment Act - aka the "G.I. Bill". The initial settlers were given money and funding to start colonies on these new worlds, though support was soon retracted as public interest in the novelties of the Frontier waned.
Nevertheless and against all expectations, colony life on the Frontier didn't just survive, but thrived. Frontier settlers created towns, villages, cities and outposts on hundreds of worlds. However, the peace wouldn't last and the IMC would eventually return. Citing their initial investment into the Frontier's settlement as reason enough to proclaim eminent domain, the IMC invaded and brought down martial law - or worse - for anyone who tried to resist. In this time, the IMC would set up installations such as Base Golden, Airbase Sierra, the Demeter refinery and Training Ground Whitehead.
The Titan Wars[]
Full article: Titan Wars
In response to the rise of the organisation calling itself the "Frontier Militia", the IMC would begin a brutal campaign of "peacekeeping"; led by Marcus Graves and his Executive Officer James MacAllan aboard the IMS Odyssey. The war would eventually end in a presumed IMC victory, though a mutiny would occur aboard Odyssey, leading to MacAllan being stranded on planet Troy and Graves as Commander in Chief, Frontier Command (CINCFRONT). In this time, Robert "Barker" Taube would serve at the Boneyard, and eventually dishonourably discharged for being a drunkard.
The Frontier War[]
Full article: Frontier War, Titanfall
In the fifteen years before the events of Titanfall, the IMC would largely be involved in counterinsurgency operations on the Frontier, hiring the Apex Predators led by mercenary Kuben Blisk. Eventually, the IMC would be forced into a final confrontation at the IMC refuelling port Demeter. The battle would end with the stranding of IMC forces - soon to be known as the Remnant Fleet - on the Frontier and the defection of officers - including the Vice Admiral himself - and infantry alike to the Militia cause.
Post-Demeter Conflicts[]
Full articles: Expedition, Frontier's Edge, IMC Rising
Over the next five years, massive change would occur on the Frontier. As the two-year expected deadline for IMC reinforcements passed with no sign of relief in sight, the Remnant Fleet forces led by AI Spyglass would begin conducting numerous resource raids on Militia planets and allied planets alike. This would lead to a rupture in the IMC forces on the Frontier, with many units such as ARES Division beginning to fight against the AI.
Meanwhile, the Militia would begin targeting IMC robotics factories such as Zone 18 and the Hammond Robotics Corporate HQ, seeking to cut off the IMC's supply of Spectres they had become so reliant on in the wake of mass human losses. The Militia would also begin construction of their own Titans and warships, eventually coming to take back a quarter of the Frontier from the IMC.
Operation: Broadsword[]
Full articles: Operation: Broadsword, Battle of Typhon, Titanfall 2
Eventually, the Militia would begin Operation: Broadsword, a series of pushes in an attempt to further drive IMC forces back. In this time, they would survey and destroy a number of test sites for IMC superweapons, eventually being led to the (believed) lightly defended world of Typhon. Instead, the 9th Militia Fleet would be destroyed, and the total destruction of Militia HQ Harmony at the hands of General Marder and the Fold Weapon narrowly averted by Jack Cooper and BT-7274.
The End of the Frontier War and the Apex Games[]
Full article: Apex Legends
Within the next fifteen years after the Battle of Typhon, the Frontier War would come to an end; while the exact circumstances are unknown, the IMC was ultimately defeated, and both the IMC and Militia would depart from the war-ravaged Frontier and leave the region to govern itself. During the post-war cleanup and migrations, a fringe region of the Frontier known as the Outlands would see the rise of a popular competitive bloodsport known as the Apex Games. Founded by Kuben Blisk, the Apex Games would draw an eclectic cast of competitors and Legends from across the Frontier to compete for fame, money and glory (among their own reasons).
Timeframe[]
Speculation The following information on this article, Titanfall Universe, is speculation, and should not be taken as definitive fact. |
Although not confirmed, the timeframe of the rise of the IMC can be roughly estimated by one piece of Grunt dialogue estimating that Doctor Hammond, were he to still be alive, would be around 200 years old. Accepting Hammond as being between between 20 and 40 years old when starting Hammond Engineering, and at which point the Titan platform was in widespread use and descended from modern-day military exoskeleton projects, this likely places the origin of Hammond Engineering as taking place within the 21st century.
Furthermore, Dr. Hammond is known to have at least one son, who is mentioned to be alive and working on human augmentation projects alongside someone named "Mister Hammond" making a speech to IMC Pilots in the intro to "The Battle of Demeter".
Additional information in the Titanfall Companion also states that terraforming of a full planet can take, on average, 60–100 years - suggesting that humans have been exploring deep space for at least as long. An additional factor is the mention of veterans of IMC-backed military campaigns being some of the first Frontier settlers, who now put their skills to use against the IMC as a part of the Militia.
Given that the Titan Wars took place around 20 years ago, and that the IMC were operating on the Frontier at least 25 years ago at Base Golden, this places the IMC's return to the Frontier at least twenty-thirty years ago, but the initial settlement cannot be much before that due to the need for initial settlers to still be alive at the time that the series is set. Given the mention of "Several generations" of settlers on the Frontier and the assumption that several is used to mean more than two generations, this could place a reasonable settlement for the Frontier around sixty years ago. Given yet another assumption that medicinal technology in Titanfall can reasonably extend a person's lifespan for several decades, this could allow the initial settlers to still be active in teaching and leading soldiers in the Militia while their grandchildren or great-grandchildren are the primary fighting force today.
Another factor in estimating the timeframe of the Frontier's settlement is the mention that a planetary evacuation on the scale seen at Fracture has not been seen for over 50 years, and the signs of civilian life look relatively untouched by the time of the Fracture Operation. This could potentially add another few decades to the timeframe of the IMC's occupation of the Frontier - though the kind of evacuation mentioned could also include disasters occuring in the Core Systems.
Ultimately, this timeline places the initial settlement of the Frontier around sixty years before the events of Titanfall and Titanfall 2, the settlement of the Core Systems around another sixty before that and the initial founding of Hammond Engineering some time in this century. Or, to put it another way, an estimate for the setting of Titanfall could take place around the late 22nd or early 23rd centuries.
One last important detail is in the Deluxe Edition of Titanfall 2 and the mission BT-7274 - the dogtag/ HUD of rifleman Jack Cooper show his birthdate as the year XX87. Given this time frame and a reasonable assumption of Cooper's age being mid-twenties to mid-thirties at the time of Titanfall 2, this places the timeframe for Titanfall - notably the Battle of Demeter - as taking place around the 2210s.
With the timeframe from the start of Hammond Engineering to Titanfall being estimated at around 175 years, working back from the year 2200 leaves the start of Hammond Engineering and the invention of the Jump Drive as taking place within the next twenty years, and the events portrayed in Titanfall as taking place C. 2210.
As of Apex Legends release, the current year has been confirmed to be canonically 2735 ( seasons 1 to 8 belong to 2733 and seasons 9 to 14 belong to 2734), with the Frontier War ending in Titanfall in 2716. This was reinforced in the Apex Legends Season Four cinematic trailer, which reveals Marcos Andrade, the father of Loba, to have committed a high-profile theft in the year 2702. Considering Marcos was murdered when Loba was still a child, this all but confirms the current timeframe as the mid-28th Century. Revenant is also confirmed to be around 300 years old, with his human consciousness becoming digitised in the year 2420 and transferred into a Simulacrum chassis. Prior to it’s official joining of The Syndicate, Planet Salvo was said to have refused an offer of membership into the organisation in 2722.
Speculatory information on this article, Titanfall Universe, ends here. |