With Mass Effect: Andromeda nearly upon us, there are questions surrounding where the new game fits into the existing Mass Effect trilogy – if at all. Well, Commander Shepard might be gone, but that doesn’t mean Andromeda is a totally separate timeline to the original games.
Developer BioWare has said that Andromeda is a separate story, but is connected to and will reference the existing trilogy. Back in 2014, the developer said the new game would “give a bunch of nods to fans who enjoyed the trilogy in the past”. It won’t, however, incorporate any of the decisions you made in the original trilogy, including the ending of Mass Effect 3.
That’s because the game is actually set 600 years in the future, thanks to the Andromeda Initiative sending members of different Sol species on a one-way trip to the Andromeda Galaxy in 2185.
‘Mass Effect Andromeda’ takes place after ‘Mass Effect 2’
The Andromeda Initiative is set up in 2176 with the task of finding humanity a brand new home in the Andromeda Galaxy, which is a mere 600-year journey away from Earth. The Initiative is a privately funded, multi-species endeavour to colonise the Andromeda Galaxy, with seven planets known as Habitat 1 – 7 identified as potential locations.
“The Initiative’s ultimate goal is to establish a permanent presence on the seemingly resource-rich frontier of Andromeda, and eventually create a reliable route between it and the Milky Way Galaxy,” explains the official Andromeda website.
The four Ark ships carrying various Sol species including salarians, asari, turians and krogans, along with the Pathfinder ship, the Hyperion, leave for the 600-year one-way trip in 2185. That timing puts the start of the Andromeda Initiative after the events of Mass Effect 2.
All the events in Mass Effect 2, from Shepard’s work with Cerberus to the fight against the Collectors, happen in the year 2185, which is exactly the point when the Andromeda Initiative departs.
Until the game is released at the end of March, it’s unclear whether the members of the Andromeda Initiative are aware of the events of Mass Effect 3.
The ‘Mass Effect’ Timeline
To give you a sense of how the Mass Effect Andromeda timeline slots into the main events in the first three Mass Effect games, here’s a limited Mass Effect timeline. You can check out the seriously impressive full Mass Effect timeline on the Mass Effect Wikia page.
2069
- First human settlement on the moon
2103
- First human settlement on Mars
2129
- Alec Ryder is born
2134
- Steven Hackett born
2137
- David Anderson born
2148
- Prothean Ruins discovered on Mars
- Prothean tech leads to major technological advancements for human race, including mass effect fields
2149
- System Alliance charter signed
- Mass Relay discovered near Pluto
- Jon Grissom, Alec Ryder and their team pass through the Mass Relay
2152
- Humanity establishes Eden Prime and Terra Nova colonies
2154
- Shepard born
2157
- First Contact War with Turians at Shanxi
- Citadel Council brokers a peace treaty
2158
- Humans learn the potential of biotics
2160
- System Alliance Parliament formed
2163
- Sara and Scott Ryder are born
2165
- The Council grants humanity an embassy on the Citadel
2170
- Batarians attack Human colony on Mindoir
2172
- Shepard enlists in the Systems Alliance Navy
2176
- Andromeda Initiative founded by Jien Garsen
- Batarians attack Elysium
- Shepard graduated from the N7 program
2183 – Mass Effect 1 events
- Shepard assigned to SSV Normandy SR-1
- Battle of the Citadel
- Humanity was given a seat on the Citadel Council
2184
- The last Geth Defeated on Eden Prime
- Andromeda Initiative starts recruiting for candidates
- Human colonists start being abducted
2185 – Mass Effect 2 & Mass Effect Andromeda events
- Project Lazarus is successful
- Shepard investigates colony abductions
- Collector Base suicide mission
- Four Arks and the Nexus depart for the Andromeda Galaxy
- Alec Ryder assigned as Pathfinder aboard the Hyperion ship as part of the Andromeda Initiative
2186 – ‘Mass Effect 3’ events
- Reapers attack Earth
- The Reaper War begins
- Shepard ends the Reaper Wars (one potential ‘Mass Effect 3’ ending)
2386 – Alternate ‘Mass Effect 3’ ending
- Shepard failed to stop Reapers (one potential ‘Mass Effect 3’ ending)
- All Milky Way civilisations are destroyed (one potential ‘Mass Effect 3’ ending)
2785 – ‘Mass Effect Andromeda’ events
- The Arks arrive at the Andromeda Galaxy
- Scott and Sara Ryder named as new Pathfinders
‘Mass Effect Andromeda’ is launching on March 21, 2017 on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.