The Anarchy Online backstory is rich and incredibly deep. Going back as far as twelve years, born from the minds of a few friends, it was first a concept built around the idea of a sci-fi game. A book was written and published, giving players a unique chance to delve into the story that touches on several ideas that mankind have pondered for hundreds of years. Who are we? Where did we come from?

Anarchy Online takes place on the planet Rubi-Ka, some 27 500 years into the future. The history of mankind has changed a lot since present day. In 2019, a terrifying nuclear holocaust wiped out most of Earth’s heavily populated cities and humans were in the blink of an eye returned to a primitive society of hunters and gatherers. But the story didn’t really start there.

Nor did it start in 1949, when a brilliant Russian scientist was chosen by a mysterious group to develop the technology that would grant eternal life to the privileged.

No, it started millions of years before that, on a planet called Rubi-Ka, an eternity away from Earth.

The back story involves hundreds of characters and places and spans several eras. Its details are far too many and the history of Rubi-Ka far too long to explain it all in one place. Suffice to say that it’s available to the players through quests and conversations with NPCs, and through the book that covers the first chapter in the living, breathing story; Prophet Without Honour (available for download here).  

As much as all those who have worked with Anarchy Online love the story behind the game, we are humbled and very proud to see how the players have embraced it and cared for it since the launch of AO in 2001. It is for you guys we continue to build on the story and add in new elements. Our goal is that you continue to be enthralled and that we can keep presenting you with twists and turns and changes in the story and the world. Some small and some, as future might show, huge.

In three parts, we will explore the back story of Anarchy Online and what has happened over a vast span of time to bring the story to where it is today.