The complete Halo timeline – Polygon

If you’ve only played the Halo games, you may think the story is pretty simple. If you focus only on Master Chief, Cortana and the rest, then it’s a simple story. But there’s a vast history to the Halo universe that only barely makes it into the gamesYou can find it here.

Today, we’re going to walk you through what you actually need to know about the Halo universe in the lead up to Halo Infinite. We’re not going to drag you through every chapter of every book (you can watch our video about all the Halo books for that), but we’re going to give you the big picture. The next time Cortana talks about “The Didact” or “The Ark,” you’ll be able to nod along instead of pretending to understand what’s happening. We recommend this great timeline for the Halo universe that provides a lot more information than what we have here.

Let’s start at the very beginning.

The Precursors

Image by Halopedia

While the Halo games are credited to the Forerunners, the Precursors were there before them, just as their names suggest. Precursors were instrumental in shaping and evolving humans and the Forerunners. They also helped to create many other races that use the Mantle of Responsibility.

The Forerunners were humanity’s biggest rivals and serve as the primary antagonists in 343 Industries’ Halo games. They were positioned to be the Precursor’s original successors, and, at one time, the most powerful species in the universe. They’re not all evil, but they are primarily responsible for nearly every problem in the Halo universe: the Flood, the Halo rings, and — to some extent, out of their control — the Covenant itself.

The Forerunner-Precursor conflict saw their creators killed by the Forerunners. The Precursors had apparently decided to pass the Mantle onto the humans — letting them dictate the flow of life in the universe — rather than the Forerunners. The Forerunners, believing they were superior creations, destroyed the Precursors. They then took the Mantle of Responsibility. There’s some debate about whether the Precursors planned to destroy the Forerunners or if the Forerunners attacked unprovoked.

The Precursors became a dusty corpse and eventually turned into the Flood. This parasite is responsible for most Halo games’ back halves.

The Forerunner/Human/Flood war

Image: 343 Industries via Halopedia

The Precursors were gone and millions of years have passed.

The Flood caused a brief civil war when humans discovered it. In order to eradicate them, the Forerunners went to war alongside the human race because they believed that humanity was pushing its luck too far. The Flood was defeated by humans, but they lost to the Forerunners led by the Didact and their Promethean soldiers. They brought mankind back to stone age and stripped them of interstellar travel. A Forerunner named the Librarian looked upon humanity.

The Flood returned to the Forerunners, but without humans. Losing the war, the Forerunners constructed and activated the titular Halo rings, which were designed to destroyed all life that the Flood could potentially prey upon — starving the Flood, ensuring its demise. The Forerunners “re-seeded” (essentially a form of repopulation after activating a Halo) various species, exiled their few remaining members, and passed the Mantle to the humans.

The Covenant

Image: Bungie/343 Industries via Halopedia

The Covenant are the main baddies in Halo — the Forerunners take a backseat until Halo 4 — and their bizarre religious order started years before their run-in with humans and the United Nations Space Command (UNSC).

They’re a group of aliens, led primarily by the Prophets (San’Shyuum) and Elites (Sangheili). They revere the Forerunners. “The Great Journey’’ is The Covenant’s primary goal, which they believe can only be achieved by activating the Halo rings. The Covenant don’t initially understand that the Halo rings are destructive, and instead believe that activation one will make the true believers gods, just like the Forerunners.

It’s like a suicide cult that doesn’t — initially, at least — know it’s a suicide cult.

Insurrection and Spartans

Image: 343 Industries/Xbox Game Studios

The Forerunners have punished the humans for many years. Humans are now back traveling around the galaxy and setting up colonies on other planets. But not all colonies like the political system on Earth. The UNSC is threatened by a minor rebellion on several other planets. Naturally, UNSC began abducting children.

The Spartan-II project wasn’t the Earth military’s first shot at creating super soldiers, but it was the first successful one. Dr. Catherine Halsey was the leader of the program. She abducted gifted 6-year-olds and allowed them to join the program. The government replaced these kids with clones that quickly died of “natural causes.”

The Spartan-II cadets received training and, eventually, physical augmentations — which came with a rather low survival rate. John was the Spartan II cadet who graduated from the program, and Halsey first met him as a 6-year-old. He is also known more by his number 117 or his rank of Master Chief.

Remember this: Spartans were created originally to end civil wars among humans, and not the Covenant.

Covenant/Human War and Fall of Reach

Image: Bungie via Halopedia

We’re finally getting into the events of the games here.

The Covenant made an appearance in the middle the rebellion of human colonies and attacked Harvest, a man-made planet. The Covenant declared that humans must die because their gods willed it (truthfully, the leaders of the Covenant knew humans were “living heirs” to the Forerunners, and wanted to remove a potential threat for the religion’s leadership).

Halo WarsThis is the very first game of the Canon. It follows the UNSC ship that attempts to rescue Harvest. The Covenant were created when a high ranking commander discovers a Forerunner fleet relic from Harvest. UNSC follows the Covenant across the galaxy to find the site of the dormant Forerunner fleet. The Covenant is stopped by the humans from purchasing it.

Halo ReachIt takes place approximately 20 years later Halo Wars, with the Covenant invading Reach, home of the Spartan-II program and one of humanity’s biggest colonies. The Covenant are looking to “glass” Reach (essentially burning all life from it). The UNSC’s goal is to evacuate Cortana, an AI based on Dr. Halsey, so she can lead a ship called The Pillar of Autumn to a new Forerunner artifact.

Noble Team helps beat the Covenant down as much as possible over the course of the game and create an opening for The Pillar of Autumn — which also contains Master Chief frozen in cryo-sleep. The Noble Team succeeds but all members of the team die and nearly everyone in Reach is glassed.

Halo

Image: Bungie/343 Industries via Halopedia

Halo: The original Halo game Halo, Combat EvolvedThe fall of Reach saw Reach’s destruction. Captain Keyes and Cortana from the Pillar of Autumn come upon Installation 04 which is now known as Alpha Halo. After being attacked by The Covenant, Chief, Cortana, and Captain Keyes evacuated the ship. They landed on Alpha Halo. Chief and Cortana rescue some crew members, then attempt to get into the control room.

Flood, who was locked on the Halo by both the Covenant and UNSC military accidentally got away from the Covenant. The Forerunner AI, 343 Guilty Spark left to watch Alpha Halo and works together with Chief to activate this ring. Cortana intervenes, having learned the ring’s purpose, and stops Master Chief from accidentally destroying the galaxy to contain the Flood, as 343 Guilty Spark intended. Cortana and Chief infiltrate a Covenant ship — now overrun with Flood. They discover an infected Captain Keyes. After killing him, they blow up the Pillar Of Autumn that crashed to destruction of Installation 04.

There are two Halo, Combat Evolved And Halo 2Chief, Cortana and Cortana travel back to Reach in order to meet Dr. Halsey as well as a few Spartans that survived the glassing. They return to Earth, having foiled another Covenant plot.

Halo 2

Image: Bungie/343 Industries via Halopedia

Halo 2The Covenant’s war begins on Earth. Chief fights them in space and earth. When the Covenant escapes Earth’s atmosphere, a UNSC ship captained by Keyes’ daughter Amanda, follows an alien flagship. Halo 3: ODST takes place just after that same Covenant ship escapes Earth’s atmosphere, and sees a group of soldiers attempt to take back the city.

After the Battle of Earth Halo 2This gives players a fresh perspective. A disgraced Elite commander is appointed by the Prophets of the Covenant to the position of Arbiter. This respected post can only be used for religious suicide missions. He is a playable character who helps to destroy the Covenant’s heretic leader, and captures 343 Guilty Spike.

Amanda Keyes’ ship, In Amber Clad, emerges near a new Halo, Delta Halo. Both Master Chief and The Arbitrator end up in the ring. Chief kills the Prophet of Regret, and the Arbiter attempts to activate the Halo, but is ultimately betrayed by the Brutes — the Prophet’s new favorite race in the Covenant. The Prophets replace their Elite honor guards with Brute honor guards, creating a Covenant civil war called the “Great Schism.”

Both Chief, the Arbiter and the Gravemind are captured by the Gravemind. This is the leader of the Flood. Gravemind assigns each of the playable heroes a mission, then takes them off. The Arbiter blocks Halo’s activation and kills Tartarus (the Chieftain among the Brutes). Master Chief abandons Cortana on High Charity to be with the Prophet of Truth, infested now by Flood.

Halo 3

Image: Bungie via Halopedia

Halo 3 Master Chief jumps out of the spaceship. Halo 2His Mjolnir armor was all that he had, and he plummeted to Earth. He is revived by a group of marines and the Arbiter appears to aid him. In an attempt to stop the Prophet of Truth from activating the Ark, the two make an uncomfortable alliance. They find an artifact that allows the Flood and Ark to reach Earth through a hijacked vessel. An elite fleet appears to form an alliance with the humans.

Master Chief and the Arbiter along with UNSC and Elite forces and the Elite Fleet follow Truth through the portal to land on the Ark. Chief and the arbiter battle their way towards the Citadel’s central Citadel, where they kill the Prophet Of Truth. However, Truth also kills Miranda Keyes. After turning on Chief and Arbiter, the Gravemind sickens an army of Flood upon them.

The Ark has been hard at work creating a new Installation 04 in order to replace Chief’s broken one from the original Halo. Chief and the Arbiter try to stop the Flood by activating the Halo, which is only half completed. But first, Chief needs Cortana. Master Chief struggles through an overrun High Charity and crashes to recover his AI, one of the most terrible Halo levels.

The new Halo’s control room is where 343 Guilty Spark panics and kills series staple Sargent Johnson. Master Chief then avenges 343, who was a UNSC soldier. Chief and the Arbiter escape the new Installation 04 as it’s imploding, but the Forward Unto Dawn ship gets cleaved in half by a closing portal. While the Arbiter was at the bow of the ship’s main deck, he returns to Earth in a memorial service. The UNSC assumed Master Chief had died. Chief and Cortana, however, are still alive in the Forward Unto Dawn’s back half. Master Chief enters cryo-sleep for his next adventure.

Halo 4

Image: 343 Industries via Halopedia

Cortana raises Master Chief four years later Halo 3. A select group of Covenant found the Forward Unto Dawn. They then launched an attack. Cortana is also eight years old now, which is a full year past when AIs are supposed to be decommissioned in order to prevent rampancy — a kind of “brain” deterioration for programs.

Just as the fight between John and the Covenant starts to get good, the world underneath the ships — Requiem — opens up and pulls the Covenant fleet and Chief inside. Cortana, Chief and Dr. Halsey attempt to escape the planet so that Cortana can be returned to her. But instead, Chief and Cortana accidentally unleash the Didact — the commander of the Forerunners army. The Covenant joined forces with the Didact, his army of Promethean Soldiers, and believed the Forerunner was a god.

Master Chief and Cortana meet up with some Spartans and UNSC soldiers thanks to the UNSC Infinity, a ship that crashed onto Requiem shortly after the Didact’s release. A vision from the Librarian informs Chief that the Didact wants to acquire a device called the “Composer” and use it to finally control humans. Chief is ordered to quit Requiem in order to allow the heroes to take down the Didact.

Although the Didact ultimately finds the Composer and the Librarian saves Chief, it is not the end of the story. Chief follows the Didact through space and enters the Forerunner ship in Earth’s orbit, bringing a nuke along with him. Then things go awry. Cortana employs some unique tech to shock the Didact and give Chief an opportunity to respond. Chief manuelly detonates a nuke by placing the Didact in a pit. Cortana gives her life to save John and is eventually captured by the Infinity crew.

Halo 5

Image: 343 Industries via Halopedia

Cortana, despite having to sacrifice herself, survived with the Didact because of some extremely technical tech stuff.

Chief is attempting to track down Cortana with the help of a Spartan II soldier called Blue Team. Fireteam Osiris and James Locke are sent by the UNSC to pursue Chief. Chief is chased by Locke across the galaxy, and Chief wins. Chief escapes. Locke and the Arbiter team up to defeat Covenant and find John.

Blue Team, Master Chief and Cortana eventually locate Cortana within the Gateway. It is a gateway that leads to the Domain. The Domain can be thought of as a Forerunner giant library with many secrets. Cortana locks them in stasis but Fireteam Osiris prevents Cortana. Cortana takes control over multiple UNSC AI, and creates a new faction known as the Created. Cortana arrives in Earth’s orbit in her Forerunner Guardian mecha/spaceship and sets off an EMP to shut down the planet.

This particular thread seems like it’ll be key to Halo Infinite’s story.

The Banned

Image via Halopedia: 343 Industries/Creative Assembly

Let’s conclude. Halo Wars IIIntroduces The Banished: A group of Covenant who formed a splinter against the religious organisation during the war on the peoples.

In the film, The Banished is the principal villain. Halo Infinite. However, there is a little Cortana. Infinite trailer, and the new, naïve AI based on Cortana — codenamed “The Weapon” — says she’s designed to stop Chief’s original companion. Cortana’s story will likely play into Infinite’s alongside The Banished. It doesn’t look like the Forerunners will be involved.

For a world so simple as Halo, the complexity of Halo’s universe is amazing. But there’s a load of background information that’s key to understanding the series’ goings on. We’ve just touched on the tip of the iceberg here. There’s still the Covenant, Master Chief’s background, and tons of other stories to dive into.