The Colony War in Starfield, Explained

Unlike Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds, Bethesda’s Starfield‘s world isn’t ruled by corporations. However, it’s not without its problems, one of of which is the Colony War. If you’re wondering what this conflict was all about, here’s the Colony War in Starfield, explained.

What You Need to Know About the Colony War in Starfield

Before I dive into the Colony War, I’m going to need to explain a little about Starfield‘s backstory and its other conflicts. Yes, since leaving Earth, which became uninhabitable following the collapse of the magnetosphere, there have been two major multi solar-system wars. Following humanity leaving Earth, people were united under the, er, United Colonies, and they went on to settle multiple solar systems. However, it became clear that some people wanted independence, and so instead of going to war, the UC allowed systems and collectives to become independent. This led to the Freestar Collective, one of Starfield‘s major factions.

All was fine until another world, Narion, asked to join the Freestar Collective in protest at the UC deploying a medical starstation above their planet. The tension, which had probably been brewing for a while, led to the Narion War. The UC ultimately won the war but it was a hollow victory as they were very much painted as the bad guys. They agreed to let Narion join the Collective and there was a treaty signed stating that no faction could colonise more than three systems. That was in 2216.

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Peace reigned until 2240 when House Va’ruun, who believed God to be a giant serpent, declared war on anyone not allied with them. The United Colonies and the Freestar Collective fought back and ultimately defeated them. Barring a few zealots, House Va’ruun surrended and became a more peaceable faction.

But between these two conflicts, you can bet that both the the UC and the Collective were bolstering their military and, in 2308, the Colony War began. It started because the Freestar Collective colonised a third system, in contravention of the Narion Treaty.

War raged, with mechs and bio-weapons employed during the conflict. The Freestar Collective eventually won, after using the civilian ships as human shields. The UC surrended and the two sides came to an agreement. The new treaty required that three UC officers were put on trial for their role in the war and, found guilty, they were executed. Both sides scaled down their forces and mechs and bioweapons were banned.

Starfield takes place in 2330, so the Colony War is still fresh in peoples’ minds. Will you get to capitalise on that? You’ll have to play the game to find out. If you’re signing up with the United Colonies Vanguards, check out their museum which relates the tale.

If you’re looking for more deep dives into Starfield’s lore, we’ve got a lot of articles to help you understand what’s happening. Among other things, those include an explainer on Bethesda’s touching tribute to a Starfield fan who passed away, and a reference to Skyrim’s most-quoted meme.