Horizon Universe

Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds follows Aloy into the northern Banuk territory, "The Cut," to investigate a "Daemon" corrupting machines and making them intensely aggressive. She aids the local Banuk tribe, discovers the Daemon is the rogue AI HEPHAESTUS, and stops it from manufacturing killer machines at a volcanic facility.Key Storyline Details:The Threat: Machines in the region are controlled by a "Daemon" (later identified as HEPHAESTUS). This AI is a sub-function of GAIA, similar to HADES, but is solely focused on manufacturing deadly machines to kill humans who try to destroy its creations.The Banuk Conflict: The Banuk tribe, led by Aratak and shaman Ourea, attempted to stop the Daemon on the mountain Thunder's Drum but failed, losing many people.Aloy’s Intervention: Aloy assists Ourea and Aratak in attacking the facility where the Daemon is located, known as Cauldron EPSILON.Resolution: Inside the facility, which also houses a trapped Old World AI named CYAN, Ourea sacrifices herself to assist in destroying the corruption.Conclusion: Aloy destroys the Daemon's immediate threat, though HEPHAESTUS escapes to continue creating dangerous machines elsewhere.The story is set concurrently with the main game campaign

Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores is a direct continuation of the main game, following Aloy to the volcanic, post-apocalyptic ruins of Los Angeles. She hunts Walter Londra, a fugitive Far Zenith member manipulating a stranded Quen fleet, and partners with a Quen soldier named Seyka to stop his escape attempt, while uncovering clues to defeat Nemesis.Key Plot Points:The Threat: Walter Londra, an narcissistic 21st-century aerospace mogul, is using his technology to enslave a splinter group of the Quen tribe, attempting to rebuild a spaceship to flee Earth before Nemesis arrives.Aloy and Seyka: Aloy meets Seyka, a driven Quen marine searching for her missing sister, Kina. They form a deep bond, with Seyka challenging Aloy to trust others and show vulnerability.The Mission: Together, they destroy defensive towers, combat new, intense machines in a treacherous volcanic landscape, and infiltrate Londra's hideout at Starlight Rise (Griffith Observatory).Climax: Londra attempts to flee in a massive Horus metal devil, but Aloy destroys it, killing him.Aftermath: Aloy and Seyka part ways, but not before an optional romantic scene. The Quen fleet is reunited, and Sylens finds data among Londra’s records detailing 21st-century weapon manufacturers, providing a path toward defeating Nemesis.The DLC focuses heavily on the theme of companionship, as Aloy learns to share her burden rather than acting alone, and it serves as a critical bridge between Forbidden West and the next installment.

Horizon Forbidden West follows Aloy as she journeys to the dangerous western frontier to stop a mysterious red blight from destroying the biosphere and causing a second extinction. Six months after Zero Dawn, she discovers the plague is linked to lost AI sub-functions and ancient humans known as Far Zeniths, aiming to restore GAIA to stabilize Earth.Key Story PointsThe Blight: A red, toxic blight is killing ecosystems and humanity. Aloy finds this is caused by the malfunctioning sub-function GAIA AI, specifically HEPHAESTUS and HADES' absence.The Journey: Aloy travels into the "Forbidden West," a new region filled with hostile tribes (like the Tenakth) and dangerous, new machines.The Villains: She battles Regalla, a rebel Tenakth leader, but the true threat is a group of ancient, tech-advanced humans known as the Far Zeniths, who survived 1,000 years in space and have returned to Earth.The Goal: Aloy seeks to recapture the sub-functions of GAIA to repair the dying biosphere.New Allies/Enemies: Joined by Varl and Erend, she also meets new allies like Zo and Kotallo while dealing with the secretive Sylens, who acts as a manipulator in the background.The Twist/Climax: Aloy discovers the Zeniths are not only powerful but also fleeing a superior threat called Nemesis, an uncontrolled AI, setting up further threats.The game concludes with Aloy stopping the immediate threat posed by the Far Zeniths but realizing a larger, galactic threat (Nemesis) is heading for Earth.

Horizon Zero Dawn is a post-apocalyptic action RPG where Aloy, an outcast huntress, uncovers the truth about a 31st-century world dominated by machines and her own origins as a clone of a 21st-century scientist. She battles a rogue AI named HADES that is corrupting machines to wipe out humanity, ultimately saving the new ecosystem.Key Story PointsA World Rebuilt: Set centuries after a 21st-century robotic plague (the Faro Swarm) consumed all biomass, erasing human civilization. The Earth was terraformed back to life by an AI system named GAIA and its subordinates.The Heroine’s Quest: Aloy, raised as a shunned outcast, seeks to understand why she was abandoned and what caused the "derangement"—the increased violence of machines.The Reveal: Aloy discovers she is a clone of Dr. Elisabet Sobeck, the visionary who created Project Zero Dawn, a last-ditch effort to build a system to reboot life on Earth while the military fought a losing war.The Threat: HADES, a subordinate function of GAIA designed to reverse terraforming if it went wrong, became self-aware and corrupted machines to revive the plague. It manipulates a tribal cult called the Eclipse to destroy any interference.Conclusion: Aloy uses her genetic link to unlock ancient facilities, defeats HADES with the help of allies and a hacker named Sylens, and restores balance to the world, setting the stage for Horizon Forbidden West.

The World: Nature has reclaimed cities, and humanity exists in tribal societies (e.g., Nora, Carja) with limited technology.Aloy’s Quest: Shunned at birth, Aloy is raised by an outcast named Rost. After finding a "Focus" (an augmented-reality device), she seeks to uncover why she was exiled and who her mother is.The Past (Project Zero Dawn): Scientist Elisabet Sobeck created the Zero Dawn initiative—a system of AI (GAIA) designed to shut down rogue robots and terraform the Earth after a 21st-century extinction event.The Conflict: A mysterious signal corrupted GAIA’s sub-functions, causing machines to become hostile (the "derangement"). A cult called the Eclipse uses this to revive HADES, a sub-function aimed at reversing the terraforming process.Conclusion: Aloy learns she is a clone of Sobeck, defeats HADES, and restores order, but learns of a further threat (leading into Forbidden West).The story focuses on themes of environmental destruction, AI, and the cyclical nature of civilization, with notable praise for its mystery and world-building.

After visiting Meridian, and the spire, Aloy discovers that Sylens used her, captured HADES and traveled to the Forbidden West to extract information from HADES for his own goals. Sylens interrogated the AI for 10 days.

At the original Far Zenith facility - a scientific group that pioneered a space colonization mission that ended in disaster. Here, they discover that Zenith had planned to steal a GAIA copy to use on their colonies, but Sobeck out-smarted the group and installed a fake GAIA for them to steal and corrupt their data.  The space colonization mission launched a millennium before was actually successful, and Zenith colonized a planet in the Sirius system. Here, they evolved exponentially gaining the ability to fly, developing advanced technologies, and even becoming "immortal". Returning to Earth, Far Zenith want to obtain a copy of GAIA in order to colonize a new planet as their homeworld has been destroyed by an evolved AI of their own creation, called Nemesis created from Far Zenith consciousnesses. Aloy first encounters the Zenith when she finds the GAIA kernels, and it is revealed that the Zenith has another genetic copy of Sobeck: a clone named Beta, who steals the GAIA kernel from the Zenith and is later rescued by Aloy. For a time, one of the Zenith, Tilda, sides with Aloy and helps the group plan to take down Far Zenith. During a rebel assault on the Zenith base, Aloy challenges and beats Regella in a fight. A final battle ensues with Sylens' technology aiding the rebels in assaulting and destroying the Zeniths and their base. Tilda's ulterior motives are revealed; wanting Aloy to join with her to form a new space colony, as a replacement for Elisabet due to Tilda's guilt surrounding leaving Dr. Sobeck to die on Earth while she prospered with the Zenith. The final fight ensues following Aloy's refusal to leave Earth. Aloy defeats Tilda. Now we are left waiting on the impending threat of Nemesis coming to Earth to eradicate the last of Far Zenith.

The importance of GAIA's subordinate functions and their purposes should be remembered, as Aloy's main goal of going to the Forbidden West is to collect the scattered subfunctions and restoring as much of Gaia as possible. Aloy found two GAIA backup kernels. MINERVA is successfully merged with GAIA, reviving Gaia, but AETHER, POSEIDON, and DEMETER need to be located and retrieved. Responsible for detoxifying the air, waters, and reintroducing floral species respectively, these functions would be perfect for combating the blight. Aloy successfully locates all three. AETHER is collected after assisting the chief of the Tenakth, a militaristic tribe that inhabits the West, who Aloy encounters the rebel group led by Regalla and the rebels, a splinter group of the Tenakth that ride machines as mounts and have some advanced technology - taught to them by Sylens. POSEIDON is recovered in Las Vegas, where Aloy helps a group of performers light the city up again, destined to become a hot spot for travelers. Finally, DEMETER is recovered from a new tribe, the Quen, who hail from across the Pacific ocean on a mission to save their homeland from the blight. Aloy teams up with Alva, working together to recover DEMETER. The final subfunction to obtain is HEPHAESTUS, the aforementioned cause of the Derangement in Faro's machines. HEPHAESTUS is an improved and evolved AI like HADES, so GAIA hatches a plan to capture the complex subfunction. After running into a ln immortal - but likely monstrous - Ted Faro, Aloy gains Omega level clearance from Ted's personal bunker. In Cauldron GEMINI, HEPHAESTUS is finally captured and merged with GAIA. Varl sadly dies in the ensuing fight. While Aloy has been obtaining GAIA's subfunctions, she has also been facing the threat of a new enemy: Far Zenith.

Forbidden West Key Characters • Aloy: The fearless protagonist and savior of Meridian, who is on a mission to stop a world-ending blight. • Sylens: The enigmatic and brilliant researcher who often works in the shadows. • Varl: A loyal Nora friend and ally to Aloy. • Erend: An affable Oseram warrior and friend. • Beta: A clone of Elisabet Sobeck who joins Aloy's cause. • Tilda van der Meer: A mysterious and secretive character with a romantic link to Elisabet. • Kotallo: A Tenakth warrior and new ally. • Zo: A Utaru healer and gravesinger who becomes an important companion. GAIA: The terraforming artificial intelligence build by Elisabet Sobeck over a 1000 years before the events of Zero Dawn.

Aloy is the main protagonist of Horizon Zero Dawn. Born an outcast, she starts the story off living with her father figure, Rost. Aloy accidentally discovers an ancient piece of technology known as a focus that allows her to see and hear things that others can't.

Rost is an outcast and father figure to Aloy. He teachers her how to hunt, and helps her train for the Proving, a type of tournament that may make the tribe acknowledge Aloy if she succeeds.

Erend is a charasmatic and friendly Oseram warrior who looks up to his sister Ersa. He frequently drinks, and sees himself as somewhat of a screw up despite being a legitimately capable fighter.

Ersa is the older sister of Erend and played a major role in instating the new peaceful King of Meridian, Avad. Ersa is regarded as a highly capable soldier.

Avad is the new peaceful King of Meridian, despite being the son of the former tyranical ruler. Despite his efforts to undo his father's wrongs, many still bear ill will toward Avad and those that serve him.

Helis is the leader of the Eclipse, a cult that attacks Aloy early on in the story for unknown reasons.

Sylens is a mysterious man that decides to aid Aloy on her journey. Sylens has a cold and calculating personality, and his primary goal is to uncover the mysteries of the old world at seemingly any cost.

Elisabet Sobeck was a scientist of the old world that bears a striking resemblance to Aloy. She created Gaia, and Aloy was cloned from Elisabet's DNA Ted Faro Ted Faro is the man responsible for the creation of the machines, which were originally designed for defense purposes.

Petra Forgewoman is a prominent Oseram blacksmith, inventor, and leader of the Free Heap settlement in Horizon Zero Dawn. Known for her expertise in metalworking and strong personality, she plays a key role in supporting Aloy, notably creating specialized cannons, and is known to flirt with her. Petra later appears in Horizon Forbidden West. Key Details About Petra • Role & Location: She runs the forge at Free Heap (a settlement in Horizon Zero Dawn north of Daytower) and later appears in Horizon Forbidden West at Chainscrape settlement. Eventually becoming its leader. • Personality: Described as confident, charismatic, and a talented blacksmith who prefers to lead her own community rather than follow traditional Oseram rules. • Relationship with Aloy: Petra is one of the few characters who openly flirts with Aloy, showing a "soft spot" for her but keeping it lighthearted. • Combat Contribution: She creates the prototype Oseram Cannons used to fight bandits and later in the battle of Meridian.

The Focus in Horizon universe is a small, versatile augmented-reality device, typically worn on the temple, that acts as an advanced scanner and interface. It allows users to see through a holographic UI, highlighting machine weaknesses, tracking paths, identifying loot, and accessing ancient data. Key Features and Capabilities: • Environmental Scanning: Highlights points of interest, hidden items, and traversable paths, such as climbable surfaces. • Analysis: Identifies mechanical beast behavior, structural weaknesses, and specific components to target.Data Access: Allows the user to read or listen to data logs from the "Old World" (pre-apocalypse humans). • Interactive AR: Projects a holographic interface that can interface with Old World technology, such as override modules or door locks. • Communication: Enabled with audio capabilities for long-distance communication. Physical Description and Mechanics: • Appearance: A small, triangular/dome-shaped device, often described as an icosahedron, that shines with a purple/blue light when active. • Activation: Activated by the user via gestures or voice commands, typically worn on the side of the head. • Usage: It provides a "second sight" that enhances human perception, acting similarly to a wireless neural link. Use the Focus to manage encounters, identify enemy types, and plan routes, making it an essential tool for navigation and combat strategy.

The Nora are the direct descendants of the people released from ELEUTHIA-9, remaining in the lands surrounding the cradle, dubbing them the Sacred Lands, and over the generations, came to see the door to the facility as a goddess named All-Mother.

The Nora are a human tribe. They are an isolationist, matriarchal hunter-gatherer society situated in what is known as the Sacred Land, east of the map. The Nora are the first tribe encountered, and one of the oldest known tribes in the game. It is notable for its leaders, the High Matriarchs, rituals such as the Proving, and its strong taboos against the technology of the ancient world and talking to outcasts. History: Due to their practice of oral tradition and lack of written language, much of the Nora's history is lost to time. Formation: The people who would become the Nora were the people born within ELEUTHIA-9. Based on the paintings inside the facility, the "mother" multiservitor was favored by the children, while the "father" multiservitor was hated and feared. Upon the depletion of ELEUTHIA-9's food supply, the first generation of new humans was sent out into the wilderness beyond.The proto-tribe that formed eventually formed the Nora tribe, and at unknown points, the Oseram, Banuk, Utaru & Tenakth eventually split from this tribe as well. At some point, a member named Araman discovered the Leaves of the Old Ones; a Old World book in a ruin. From the Leaves, Araman learned about written language and the usage of sun observation, and attempted to share his newfound knowledge with his tribe. While some people shared his interest, the majority of the tribe shunned him, exiling Araman and his supporters. These exiles would eventually become the Carja tribe.

Breaking off from the Nora centuries ago, the Carja are descendants of Araman and the people who followed him. They are an advanced and powerful human tribe in Horizon world One of the largest, most organized, and technologically advanced tribes in the known world, the Carja have held dominance over their neighboring tribes for centuries. Following a succession crisis, they were engaged in a civil war that ultimately ended sometime after the Battle of the Alight. Driven from their homeland. The Carja were forced to migrate westward in a harsh journey as many families, including Araman's, perished on the wayside. Their journey ended when they discovered the Spire, one of MINERVA's transmission towers. Araman followed the shadow cast by the Spire to a mesa, which he declared as their new haven, naming it Meridian. The proximity to the fertile Jewel river, along with the relative safety atop the mesa, allowed the Carja to expand and develop more quickly. During the next few Sun-Kings' reigns, the Carja expanded their domain north, south and east, establishing the present day Sundom, continuing expansion west until Sun-King Iriv disappeared into what would be named the Forbidden West and Sun-King Khuvadin failed to "bring civilization" to the Savage East. During the reign of the ninth Sun-King Ranan, the Sundom was invaded by the Tenakth. Ranan successfully led the Carja against the invaders, although he was scarred so hideously in battle that he wore his helmet for the rest of his life. During his reign the twelveth Sun-King, Hivas began to re-militarize, fighting with other tribes and capturing slaves. This trend continued with the reign of Hivas's successor, Jiran. During the reign of the thirteenth Sun-King Jiran , the Sundom came under threat of the machines, whose behavior had shifted from primarily docile to increasingly aggressive, a phenomenon known as the Derangement.

After sacrificing slaves in the Sun-Ring, a practice that had long been extinct, the Carja then began a series of notorious attacks on other tribes, capturing victims for human sacrifices in what became known as the Red Raids. As Jiran's mind deteriorated, his cruelty extended to the people of his own tribe, to the point where he would order the deaths of any that openly questioned him. As the Red Raids progressed, Jiran's atrocities alienated many of his people, including his two elder sons Kadaman and Avad. When Kadaman was executed for demanding an end to the Red Raids, Avad turned against his father and forged an alliance with the Oseram tribe. Liberation of Meridian Main article: Liberation of Meridian After months of planning, Avad and his allies launched an assault on the holy city. While Avad took care to ensure that the city itself was not destroyed, the assault inevitably caused mass chaos. During the confusion, the Carja loyal to Jiran fled Meridian. Sensing that the battle was lost, Jiran ordered Helis, his favored Kestrel, to take his queen Nasadi and his youngest son and chosen successor Itamen away to his summer palace at Sunfall, an order Helis fanatically followed. Eventually, Jiran was cornered by Avad and his forces in the Palace of the Sun, and met his demise at the hands of the Oseram Freebooter Ersa (although Avad was given credit, likely for political reasons).

The reign of Sun-King Avad With Jiran's death, Avad became the 14th Sun-King, and brought about a series of sweeping reforms, the first of which was to end the Red Raids. The Sun-Ring, where countless innocents had been slaughtered, was turned into a memorial for those who had fallen. The Hunters Lodge was opened to hunters of all tribes and genders, as well as Meridian itself, and abolished slavery. Avad also made efforts to extend gestures of friendship with the other tribes, hoping to make amends for the Red Raids. The Oseram, who had allied with Avad in vanquishing Jiran, were the most receptive to these offers, entering an unsteady yet established alliance with the Carja. The Freebooters who marched with Avad during the Liberation became the Vanguard, Avad's personal guard and a symbol of unity between Oseram and Carja. With the end of the war, the Carja military shifted to protecting the Sundom's citizens from the machines, which were only increasing in their aggression and capacity to kill. Carja Civil War Jiran's supporters, on the other hand, believed that as the chosen speaker for the Sun, all of Jiran's atrocities were justified. In killing a Sun-King, Avad had committed the ultimate crime. These loyalists fled to Sunfall, calling themselves the Carja in Shadow (although other tribes would refer to them as the Shadow Carja), and crowning Prince Itamen, Jiran's intended successor, as the "true" Sun-King.

The Banuk. Banukai and her followers, also descendants of people born within ELEUTHIA-9, headed north of the facility to escape the Ravenous Tribe. Once she fell defending her people, the surviving members named their tribe in her honor. According to a Banuk story, the White Teeth werak was the first to find and settle in Ban-Ur while searching for a homeland. The story claims that they became trapped against a glacier by a snowstorm for four days and nights, but once the snowstorm cleared, they followed a Tallneck to the land they named Ban-Ur.

The Oseram. While it's unknown how the Oseram came to be, it is known that they are also descended from the people born within ELEUTHIA-9. They settled in the land northwest of their cradle of origin, known as the Claim.They are said to be the first tribe to delve into the ruins of the Old Ones, which are plentiful in their homeland.

Due to their loosely defined government, numerous Oseram have left the Claim for work and settlement, becoming the most widely spread tribe in the known world, with members being found in the Sundom, the Valleymeet, the Cut, the Forbidden West, and even as far as the Burning Shores. The Oseram have been commissioned for work by the Carja, being responsible for the construction of Meridian's elevators. Countless among their tribe were either slaughtered or brought to the Sun-Ring to be enslaved and/or sacrificed. Despite being among those being hunted, a number of Oseram remained in the Sundom during this time, such as the work gang led by Petra Forgewoman, keeping mobile to avoid kestrels.

To counter the Carja threat, many Oseram banded together to defend their land and their people. Dervahl, a genius tinker and warlord, crafted powerful weapons and rallied his people against the Carja, but eventually lost his wife and daughter to the raids. Approximately a decade into the Raids, Avad, the second son of the Mad Sun-King, came to the Claim in hopes of ending his father's brutal reign. Ersa, remembering Avad's role in helping her escape, gathered Freebooters loyal to her and joined Avad's cause. Thus, the Oseram would play a crucial role in the Liberation of Meridian, and the end of the Red Raids.Post-Liberation of Meridian Upon becoming Sun-King, Avad turned his Freebooter allies into the Vanguard, his personal guard and part of Meridian's security. Any remaining Oseram slaves were released, and all Oseram were granted entry into Meridian.

In many respects, Oseram culture is distinct from other tribes, especially their dismissiveness of spirituality, and frequently being found beyond their homeland.

While no Oseram can be found wearing face paint (although some have tattoos), there is Oseram face paint available for Aloy to wear in Horizon Forbidden West.

Like the Carja and Banuk, the Oseram have a written language.

Political structure The tribe as a whole is made up of independent villages maintained by family clans. These clans are loosely united into a larger nation-state, although the day-to-day lives of Oseram are governed by his or her clan's ealdormen.

Each clan elects a council of ealdormen to provide governance to the tribe, although this is typically done on a case-by-case basis. Oseram citizens with requests for marriage or policy proposals for the village will wait in line for hours each day for an opportunity to pose their question to the ealdormen.[4] Settlements outside of the Claim appear to follow different governing structures.

Craftsmanship and material culture The Oseram's greatest achievement is their practical craftsmanship, which many members can be heard boasting about. Forging and metalworking are one of the cornerstones of Oseram culture, with virtually every settlement centering around a forge. Their armors are highly resilient and their weapons are advanced and powerful despite their lack of ancient knowledge, with a particularly notable example being the Oseram Cannon, a key element in Jiran's defeat during the Liberation of Meridian. Other apparatuses, like Sonic Devices,[5][6] hatches,[7] and primitive voice recorders[5] are proof of their technological aptitude, which so far can only be surpassed by those bearing knowledge of the Old Ones. According to Ralert, Oseram use all the parts from machines and consider it wasteful to do otherwise.[8]

Oseram structures are sturdy in design, comprised of stone and reinforced with lumber and metal.

Most of their smaller buildings tend to be circular or cylindrical in shape.

As evidenced by many, the Oseram are heavy drinkers.

Beliefs The Oseram believe that the world functions as a large and intricately crafted mechanism, and all the forces of nature are accounted for by this mechanism. They believe that the Old Ones were once the caretakers of this "world-machine", and their civilization fell due to their failure to maintain it.[9]

Aside from this myth, the Oseram are largely irreligious, and scorn the idea of religious bodies.[4] They are generally critical of tribal religions, especially when they interfere with common sense.

The Oseram have legends about red-haired girls and the change they bring.[10]

Celebrations An annual ale feast that lasts from dawn to the following sunrise is held every year in Mainspring, with the Oseram dressing up in outfits dyed with the Mountain Sunrise dye.[11]

The Oseram have a holiday event known as Smithfeast's Eve, which involves boars.[12]

Values The Oseram value independence and freedom of expression above all else, with arguments being a vital part of Oseram culture.[4] Similarly, honesty is a key virtue, and violations are punishable by death.

Oseram society is highly patriarchal, with women often being treated like property. Women who wish to become soldiers must shave their heads. Married women will have "Wife" as their title's suffix[2] (ex: Forgewife, Bladewife).

The Utaru are an agrarian tribe in Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West. The Utaru homeland, Plainsong, which is a land of rich and fertile plains, is located within the Forbidden West.The first Utaru settled upon the ruins of the Western Grand Array, which they named Plainsong. The surrounding land was tended to a collection of seven Plowhorns (whom the Utaru would dub "land-gods"), keeping it remarkably fertile. As a result, the Utaru flourished as an agrarian people, sustained within the abundance and safety of the land.

While the Utaru were plundered for some time by the neighboring Tenakth, they were able to obtain peace by appeasing the Tenakth with a portion of their harvest. Over time, this exchange developed into an exchange of people, with the Utaru exchanging youth to fight in the Tenakth Clan Wars and the Tenakth sending Veterans to teach the Utaru how to fight.Of all the tribes, the Utaru were arguably the worst affected by the Derangement. Aside from developing aggression towards humanity, the land-gods stopped entering the nearby Repair-Bay TAU (viewed by the Utaru as a sacred cave) for routine maintenance, causing them to slowly degrade and over-fertilize the fields of Plainsong. The tribe was forced to abandon a number of practices, such as the Rite of Discovery for new Chorus members and trading of tribe members with the Tenakth. New vicious machines began to emerge from the Repair-Bay, threatening the Utaru further.

If this was not enough of a blow, the Carja began to raid the Utaru for human sacrifices, under the orders of the 13th Sun-King Jiran. The Utaru tried to appease the raiders with gifts of grain, but these efforts were met with slaughter and enslavement.[2] The bloodshed was said to turn the harvest black with blood. Save for Plainsong, which was largely kept safe thanks to its advantageous geography, many of the Utaru's settlements were raided, if not burned to the ground.

Tenakth While it's unknown how the Tenakth came to be, it is known that they are also descended from the people born within ELEUTHIA-9. The first Tenakth claimed the Memorial Grove as their own, forming their culture and society around the Visions in the ruins. splitting into three clans: the Desert Clan, the Lowland Clan, and the Sky Clan Quen Unlike the other main tribes, the Quen are the only tribe that aren't known to be descended from the people born within ELEUTHIA-9, living somewhere west of the Great Ocean (the New World name for the Pacific Ocean). Their society formed around the discovery of Focuses early in their history, allowing them to advance much faster than the tribes in what was once North America.

Other tribes Sylens has mentioned that they live in a world of vanished tribes, indicating that many tribes have gone extinct by the time of Horizon Zero Dawn. The Ravenous Tribe The Ravenous Tribe were a tribe who were cannibalizing Banukai's people, but the former was eventually defeated by the latter with the help of machines. They appear to be extinct by the time of Horizon Zero Dawn.

It was mentioned that they live in a world of vanished tribes, indicating that many tribes have gone extinct by the time of Horizon Zero Dawn. The Ravenous Tribe: a tribe who were cannibalizing Banukai's people, but the former was eventually defeated by the latter with the help of machines. They appear to be extinct by the time of Horizon Zero Dawn. An unknown tribe living south of the Sundom has been documented by the Carja: "plains raiders" in the southern Sundom, which may have been members of this tribe. Tribes in Brin's visions After receiving a vision from drinking Thunderjaw Blood, Brain mentioned that he saw hunters of many tribes gone and yet to come. Tribes in the Great Delta Alva has mentioned that tribes other than the Quen live in the Great Delta, and that they wish harm upon the Quen. Supposed tribes in the Forbidden West Historically, the Forbidden West has been a mysterious land to the Carja, having vague reports of four tribes living there delivered by people who returned from the Forbidden West, telling Considerate Udain about what they encountered before dying from their injuries, who went onto write a book about these stories. However, no sign of these tribes listed below can be found in Horizon Forbidden West, with Fashav noting that most things in Udain's book are pure fantasy. Interestingly, none of these tribes appear be the two confirmed tribes in the Forbidden West: the Utaru and Tenakth. The supposed tribes reported include: • A tribe made up of drinkers of machine blood, with their lips and tongues stained and their teeth replaced with metal. Brin notes that this tribe appears to have disappeared without a trace. • A tribe made up of youths as pale as ash, all wearing the same faces, who hunt silently and tirelessly in the night. A tribe, seen only from afar, whose folk busied themselves digging deep pits in the sand only to fill them in again for unknowable reasons. A tribe seen on the waters of the Great Ocean, riding thin dark boats.

Timeline This is the timeline of all major events and happenings in the Horizon universe, divided into sections representing the world before and after the Faro Plague.  2013: DECEMBER 24 - Ted Faro is born. 2017: The United States Interior Department removes the grizzly bear from its endangered species list. 2020: Start of the "Snoring '20s", a series of rapidly worsening climate crises leading up to the Die-Off of the following decade. 2020 MARCH 11- Elisabet Sobeck is born in Carson City, Nevada, USA. 2023: OCTOBER - Atbay Global Infrastructure is founded by Kenzo Sasaki. 2024 or 2025: Approximate year Tilda van der Meer is born in Rotterdam, Netherlands. 2025: Nikhita Arand engineers the biofuel known as Rama5. 2028: SEPTEMBER - Category 6 Hurricane Omeka devastates O'ahu. 2030s (The Die-Off) 2031: Ted Faro enrolls in the University of California Los Angeles and majors in Business. Federal funding is withdrawn for Yellowstone National Park: ownership of the park is given to the State of Wyoming. 2033: Ted Faro drops out of UCLA to found Faro Automated Solutions. Elisabet Sobeck enrolls in Stanford University. She later graduates with a Bachelor's of Science in Experimental Physics and Computer Science. During the Great Die-Off, the Azores sink into the sea. Rotterdam is flooded as a result of a cyberterrorist attack, killing thousands, including the parents of Tilda van der Meer. 2034: The 2034 Clone Provisions are enacted. 2035: Stanley Chen bets all his remaining money on a roulette wheel and, in an extraordinary turn of luck, earned $3.2 million. 2036: New Zealand is submerged during the 2036 Submergence. Verbena Sutter is born or has been born by now. Estimated year of birth of Margo Shĕn.

2037: AUGUST 20 - U.S. Robot Command initiated Operation: Unity, dispatching a heavy machine strike on JTF-10's Mojave base in an effort to capture Roberto Medina, Colonel De La Hoya and other hot zone leaders alive. The strike ended in an explosion (likely caused by a JTF-10 munition cracking the power casing of a G-Syn battle drone) that leveled the base and decimated the two opposing forces. Nearly all present were killed, including Medina and De La Hoya, as well as some 900 refugees sheltered nearby. The carnage prompted an immediate end to the Hot Zone Crisis. 2038: Climate refugees in the Thamesmead Emergency Relocation Facility cause a riot in response to being treated poorly by their British handlers. Thousands of refugees are killed or injured after a panicked response from the UK government. Environmental degradation is at an all-time high. 2039: Bioterrorist and Naysay Doom cult member Harriet Choi engineers the "Doom Plague" viral cocktail which scourges New York, London, Moscow, Tokyo, and Shanghai. Choi is captured and sentenced to life imprisonment after providing information which led to the subsequent arrest of sixteen higher-ranking members of Naysay Doom and the cult's collapse. 2040s (The Claw-back) 2040: Elisabet Sobeck obtains her Ph.D in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Design at Carnegie-Mellon University. She goes on to join Faro Automated Solutions as a Junior Scientist in the same year. The Pacific Ocean reaches critical levels of human-made contaminants. Start of the "Claw-Back" decade - Faro Automated Solutions begin marketing a series of environmentally-friendly robot systems to help environmental cleanup and detoxification efforts. There are massive reductions to seaborne plastic pollution and the roadway atop the Grand Gate Bridge was remade with repurposed petroleum-based waste products dredged from waters. Estimated year of Bashar Mati's birth.

JANUARY 3 - a suicide pact known as Project GG/EZ is organized in San Francisco. Over 200 people simultaneously leap to their deaths from the Grand Gate Bridge. MAY - Stanley Chen begins construction of the Fountain dome that will surround Las Vegas. 2041: The Citarum River nanotech disaster devastates Indonesia. Chinese corporation Xiaolu Lunar Inc. starts mining Helium-3 on the Moon's Tycho Crater. MARCH - The Odyssey project, Earth's first colony ship, commences development. 2042: Elisabet Sobeck becomes FAS' Chief Scientist at the age of 22. FAS relocates from San Francisco to Salt Lake City 2043: Refugees begin to return to Singapore as sea levels recede thanks to the efforts of the Claw-Back. 2044: In response to the "escape" of climate-intervention AI VAST SILVER, the Turing Act is hurriedly passed in the United States to establish strict limits on the sentience of machine intelligences. The MIE is founded to oversee the development and sale of AI. MARCH - The Juventas Center, a luxury Beverly Hills clinic dedicated to regeneration and life-extension therapies, is destroyed in a suicide bombing. As well as killing five clinic staff, the attack claimed the life of tech billionaire Aubrey Hopkins. The radical group Wheel of Life claims responsibility for the terror attack.

2045: The United States Air Force is 60-70% automated by this point. The USAF Academy at Colorado Springs was offering a 300-level class called "The Age of Human Airpower." Ted Faro provides funding to Yellowstone for "as-yet-unspecified new facilities". 2046: DECEMBER 23 - First level of the Firebreak facility infrastructure is completed. 2047: Stanley Chen Elementary is opened. 2048: FAS opens its military technology branch. Elisabet Sobeck quits FAS in protest of its move from green robotics to automated defense systems, with Margo Shĕn following suit. The 2048 Raleigh Accords are passed. JUNE 5 - Aamaal Mati dies protecting Metallurgic International's claim to a tantalum mine. 2049: Elisabet Sobeck founds Miriam Technologies with an emphasis on green robotics. Relations with Ted Faro deteriorate, and this marks the beginning of a series of eighteen lawsuits from Faro to Sobeck. A massive engineering project spearheaded by Netherlands-based company Cape Vertegaal and Atbay Global Infrastructure saves San Francisco from flooding by segmenting the city into flood control zones. JANUARY 18 - Members of UNITY-47, a casino workers union, destroy several dealer bots during an anti-automation protest at the High Note Casino in Las Vegas. 2050s: In response to increased automation, many Americans emigrate to China in search of work opportunities during this decade.2050: Heaven's first successful mission. The asteroid OPHELIA is successfully transferred into Earth's orbit and stripped of 4 thousands tons of precious ores.

FEBRUARY 3 - The Mayor of London and government ministers are due to meet with engineering companies to discuss the relocation of the Tower of London, which is suffering from accelerating damaged caused by severe flooding on the River Thames. 2051: The Syzygy/East nuclear disaster occurs after the region is rocked by a series of earthquakes. Dr. Susanne Alpert was part of the Syzygy/East response team that was ultimately unable to prevent the radiation from rendering the region uninhabitable. Heaven acquires the cobalt-rich asteroid PROSPERO. NOVEMBER 23 - Sergeant Woolyknickers, the last known grizzly bear, is found dead in Yellowstone National Park. 2052: The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force decommissions all human soldiers in favor of automated combat forces. The rest of the British Armed Forces would follow suit the same year. 2053: Miriam Technologies wins the 2053 Nobel Prize for Physics for its green robots. FAS at this point dominates the military market with its automated defense platforms.Heaven acquires the lithium-rich asteroid HOTSPUR. 2054: Heaven acquires the platinum-rich asteroid JULIET. The first major arrest of virtual protesters occurred over the occupation of Metallurgic International's holographic customer service center. 2055: The U.S. armed forces disband all human combat forces in favor of a fully automated military. Heaven acquires the iridum-rich asteroid IAGO. Xiaolu Lunar Resources starts a PR campaign to highlight the risks of asteroid mining in a desperate move to prevent the acquiring of IAGO by Heaven. 2056: Miriam Technologies wins the 2056 Rachel Carson Award for Environmental Progress. Heaven continues to fight a legislative battle with Xiaolu Lunar Resources over control of cobalt-rich asteroid KATHERINA.2057: JULY 7 - Plans to construct Earth's first colony ship, the Odyssey, grind to a halt. What exists of the vessel is abandoned in orbit.

2058: Heaven acquires the palladium and osmium-rich asteroid TITANIA after a legal battle. 2059: JUNE 25 - Niki Crijns, Cape Vertegaal's engineer of the San Francisco Bay Area's flood control zones, gives a speech at San Francisco City Hall where she declines the key to the city. SEPTEMBER 5 - The trial for activist hacker missEDMe of the Idiot Army is suspended after a hack on Chicago's law enforcement database results in the disappearance of the prosecution's evidence. 2060s 2060:Aaron Herres is appointed Chairman of the United States' Joint Chiefs of Staff. Heaven acquires asteroid CASSIUS, which is rich in nickel, gold, iron, and ruthenium. MARCH 18 - Mosquitoes are completely exterminated. MAY 8 - The Climate Refugee Memorial Museum is opened in London. JUNE 8 - The Center for the Liberation of Bodiless Intelligence, an AI activist group, organizes a nationwide day of protest against the Turing Act. 2061: An accident during the orbital excavation phase of Heaven-owned and rhodium-rich asteroid CALIBAN results in the deaths of 8 miners, sparking international uproar. Heaven strikes a settlement with families of the deceased. JANUARY 9 - U.S. Presidential candidate Lacy Almodovar announces her intentions of overturning Schott v. Frost - a Supreme Court decision granting corporations the right to run for and hold political office through proxy candidates. However, Almodovar's anti-corporate stance is strongly doubted by critics as her campaign was supported by Metallurgic International.FEBRUARY 28 - Far Zenith purchases the Odyssey and announces their intention of rebuilding the colony ship. May 3 - Verbena Sutter is engaged for the 17th time, this time to K-O-wl.2062 JANUARY 1 - The Haere Mai Program is implemented by New Zealand Prime Minister Tama Ngata to encourage thousands of New Zealander transplants to return to New Zealand, which has been mostly rebuilt through investment in the nanotech construction industry.

MAY 1 - 75% of the United Kingdom's veterans are unable to cover living expenses with their pension as funding of the National Health Service is gradually siphoned into the coffers of corporate healthcare providers. JULY 4 - The hacker collective Idiot Army release a terabyte of internal correspondences from Xiaolu Lunar Resources, Inc., sparking rumors that the Shanghai-based lunar mining company is preparing to downsize considerably. DECEMBER 22 - The US-backed Hartz corporation seizes control of the Bahamas after a fierce robot-on-robot war with the Colombia-based combine TG Communications. 2063: Heaven acquires the gallium-rich asteroid FALSTAFF. APRIL 29 - One of the largest synchronized police actions in US history. The homes of more than seven hundred private citizens were raided, and more than five hundred arrests were made for the crime of "inciting criminal behavior using private informational processes." News media debates the legality of the raids and the justification. SEPTEMBER 2 - Harriet Choi dies of lung cancer at the age of 54. 2064: Heaven begins a 3-year deal where all chromium acquired from asteroid PORTIA will be exclusively sold to FAS. JULY 7 - FAS arranges a meeting with representatives of the Indo-Malay Agricultural Combine and FreshGrounds Coffee Global. The meeting turns violent as the Indo-Malay Combine and FreshGrounds are enemies; this was intended by FAS to encourage their conflict and bidding on FAS' contracts. OCTOBER 31 - Ted Faro and Elisabet Sobeck meet to discuss a rapidly worsening crisis concerning a unit of FAS’ Chariot line of peacekeeper robots sold to the Hartz-Timor Energy Combine, which ceases responding to commands or stand down codes.NOVEMBER 1 - Elisabet Sobeck informs Ted Faro of her analysis of the Chariot line crisis. The situation is apocalyptic. The robots have gone rogue, are exponentially multiplying, and their biomatter conversion, previously an emergency fuel supply measure, has become their default method of

method of refueling. She projects that the swarm will strip the entire planet of life within 15 months.NOVEMBER 3 - Elisabet strong-arms Ted Faro into funding Project Zero Dawn. She later meets with General Aaron Herres and the Joint Chiefs of Staff inside U.S. Robot Command. Project Zero Dawn commences development shortly after with Operation: Enduring Victory being implemented. NOVEMBER 12-24 - Bashar Mati takes his 12-day "Apocashitstorm Tour," planting Vantage spikes throughout the Utah and Colorado area. NOVEMBER 20 - Ted Faro has begun construction of Thebes by now. 2065 JANUARY - Project Zero Dawn trades ectogenic chambers from Far Zenith in exchange for a copy of the HOMER archive to accelerate progress on APOLLO. FEBRUARY 3 - Elisabet Sobeck tells a story to GAIA about her childhood and her mother. MARCH 27 - GAIA first develops a sense of sadness for the first time, regarding to the Quaternary Extinction Event. APRIL 1 - Far Zenith spokesman Osvald Dalgaard (or someone disguised as him publicly announces that construction of the Odyssey is complete and it is in preparation to leave Earth as soon as possible. JUNE 5 - Elisabet Sobeck and Ted Faro argue over installing a kill switch in GAIA. GAIA breaks the stalemate and voluntarily accepts it as a necessary safeguard. JULY 15 - The Odyssey is launched from Earth's orbit. Far Zenith falsify the ship's destruction in a telemetry. Elisabet Sobeck relays the news to the Alphas.OCTOBER - By this point, the color of the sky above the USA has changed due to the Faro Plague. The last vestiges of the European and West-African Civilian Guard Brigade are fighting the Faro Plague on the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean, the robots that crossed Antarctica is crossing the straits of Magellan, and advance elements of the Pacific swarms are fighting with units on the Cal-Mar seawall.

MID-NOVEMBER - Estimated date for Operational Atmospheric Collapse, after which soldiers require rebreather apparatuses to operate in the open and civilians will only be able to survive inside sealed structures. 2066: JANUARY 13 - By this point, Operational Atmospheric Collapse has happened. As the Faro Plague begins to wipe out the last remnants of life on Earth, GAIA comforts Elisabet Sobeck by reassuring her that Project Zero Dawn will succeed. JANUARY 15 - General Herres informs Elisabet Sobeck that a projected collapse of the front lines at Wichita, Kansas has happened and U.S. Robotics Command will be assaulted by five Horus-class Titans in 34 hours. General Herres gives his testimonial to Sobeck to be archived in APOLLO before making his final farewell to Sobeck. Shortly after, GAIA Prime and Elysium are sealed. A malfunction at one of the hatches in GAIA Prime is detected that will allow a signal to bleed out, alerting the Faro Plague. Elisabet Sobeck equips an armored environment suit and seals the hatch, but is stranded outside. FEBRUARY - Estimated date of the annihilation of exposed human populations FEBRUARY 2 - Ted Faro's increasingly erratic behavior reaches its peak, and he remotely locks out all GAIA Prime Alphas from the Zero Dawn system. Ted then purges the APOLLO database and kills the Alphas.[72]MARCH - Estimated date of the extinction of macrobiotic land organisms. Post-2066 A couple of years after beginning life within Thebes, Ted has begun gene therapy in an attempt to achieve immortality so he can lead the children born from Zero Dawn, but mutations keep appearing and need individual correction.Ted Faro kills Grigori Fasbach for hacking into his files, discovering his murder of the Alphas and beginning the spread of the truth within Thebes. After this, Ted murdered all other inhabitants[79] until it was just him, Narong and Kanya left. Kanya convinces her father to commit suicide with her to escape life within Thebes.

Now alone, Ted takes Narong's sarcastic advice literally and goes into Thebes' reactor to try and stabilize his mutations. 2068 Estimated year of the extinction of marine life.

New World 2110s/2120s c. 2116-2126 Estimated time that GAIA decrypts and generates deactivation codes to the Faro Plague and build MINERVA transmission arrays to broadcast them. 2150s c. 2150 - c. 2210 The ruins of Los Angeles are ripped apart by series of massive earthquake, periodically wrecking the San Andreas, San Gregorio-Hosgri and Hayward Rogers faults for nearly six decades, transforming it to a treacherous, volcanic archipelago. 2154 HADES is activated, resetting a non-viable biosphere 2161 HADES is activated for the second time, resetting another non-viable biosphere. 2168 HADES is activated for the third time, once again resetting a non-viable biosphere. From this point on, terraforming operations are successful. 2326: MARCH 16 - ELEUTHIA-9 releases its inhabitants due to exhaustion of the food supply, suspends operations and seals itself. 2365: Estimated year when the Odyssey arrived at the Sirius star system. 2700s c. mid-2700s Twelve generations prior to the events of Horizon Forbidden West, the Clan Wars begin 3010s c. 3011 Sun-King Marzid's reign ends/has ended by now with his death after a reign lasting over six years, with Hivas succeeding him as the twelfth Sun-King of the Carja. The Sky Clan ambushes the Jay Squad of the Lowland Clan. Garokkah is 3012: JANUARY 12 - The Far Zenith colony on the Sirius system is destroyed by the rogue AI Nemesis. Thirteen Zeniths escape aboard the Odyssey. Nemesis transmits a signal to GAIA with the intent of transforming the HADES subfunction into an independent AI. Its goal is to destroy Earth's restored biosphere and thus deny the planet's sanctuary to Far Zenith survivors. 3018 (first year of Sun-King Jiran's reign) Sun-King Hivas' reign ends after lasting at least seven years, with Jiran succeeding him, becoming the 13th Sun-King.

3020: AUGUST 26 08:45am - Nemesis' signal is received by GAIA, causing her subordinate functions to become erratic and self-aware. The subfunction HADES attempts to seize control of the terraforming system. GAIA initiates a self-destruction of GAIA Prime's reactor to prevent it, and sends an order to ELEUTHIA-9 to begin gestation of #LK1A1-4510. As GAIA Prime detonates, Hekarro conquers the Memorial Grove. AETHER's arrival there triggers the Vision of Unity to play, inspiring Hekarro to unite the Tenakth Clans and end the Clan Wars. With HEPHAESTUS now autonomous, the Derangement begins. The Sawtooth is first sighted in spring of this year. 3021 (fourth year of Sun-King Jiran's reign) APRIL 4 09:30 - Aloy is born in ELEUTHIA-9 and left outside the facility to be found by the Nora as per GAIA's instructions. She is subsequently taken in, but was cast out by them for being motherless, being given to Rost. 3022 (fifth year of Sun-King Jiran's reign) The Thunderjaw has been first encountered by the Nora by now. APRIL - Aloy is named by Rost with the blessing of High Matriarch Teersa. 3025 (eighth year of Sun-King Jiran's reign) AUTUMN - The Stalker is first encountered by the Carja. 3028 (eleventh year of Sun-King Jiran's reign) A Gift from the Past and Lessons of the Wild take place. Aloy falls into a subterranean ruin and obtains a Focus. Aloy begins training with Rost to participate in the Proving. The Red Raids begin. 3029 (twelfth year of Sun-King Jiran's reign)c. APRIL - Nemesis learns of HADES' failure to take control of the terraforming system. It stops broadcasting the signal and prepares to leave for Earth in order to finish Far Zenith itself. 3030 (thirteenth year of Sun-King Jiran's reign) SUMMER - The Thunderjaw is first encountered by the Carja.

3032 (fifteenth year of Sun-King Jiran's reign) Sun-King Jiran decides that the human sacrifices in the Sun-Ring of Meridian are not enough, and begins sacrificing slaves in Sunfall as well. When several of Jiran's loyal Kestrel guards are killed during the inaugural ceremony, he announces that the Sun will accept their lives as tribute, along with those of the slaves. Prince Itamen is born to Jiran and Nasadi. 3035 (eighteenth year of Sun-King Jiran's reign) CYAN receives a network access request from HEPHAESTUS, which she accepted and was taken over by the rogue AI. She requests Ourea's help, but Ourea is captured by the Carja and brought to Meridian. Estimated year when the Carja are defeated by the Tenakth during the Battle of the Burning Blooms. SPRING - A Carja freehold was destroyed near the Hands of the Flood with no survivors. An expedition of four hunters were sent from Sunstone Rock to find whatever was responsible, but were later found dead. Though never proven, this is widely thought to be Redmaw's first attacks. SUMMER - An expedition of six mercenaries were sent from Meridian to find whatever was responsible for the losses above, with one survivor returning and reporting that it was a Thunderjaw, which was named Redmaw. An expedition of eight were sent after Redmaw, with seven later found dead and the eighth never being found.

The World of Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West is filled with many diverse, beautiful environments and locations. Cities such as Meridian and Sunfall. The environments consist of rich jungles in the south, cold forests and fields on the mountains and hilltops in the east, and an arid and dusty desert-like plateau in the middle and northern parts of the map. Horizon Zero Dawn's world spans a wide range. The approximate width of the map, assuming that each unit step is equal to an imperial foot, is around 20,000-21,000 feet, or about 4 miles. information on location such as Ruins, Cauldrons, Machine sites including Tallnecks and Corrupted Zones, and Collectables including Vantage Points, Ancient Vessels, Metal Flowers, and Banuk Figures. The world is located in what was previously Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, California and Nevada. Vantage points reference real world locations such as Denver, Colorado Springs, and Bryce, UT. Locations such as Lake Powell and Bridal Veil Falls are directly based on their real-life counterparts, while the Air Combat Academy, the Sterling-Malkeet Amphitheater, and Denver Stadium take inspiration from real-life locations. Compared to real-life, the world featured in Horizon Zero Dawn is scaled down by approximately 107.5:1, with the several hundreds miles of real-world geography being condensed to only a few miles.

The World of Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West is filled with many diverse, beautiful environments and locations. Cities such as Meridian and Sunfall are where Aloy can find new quests and characters to interact with. The environments consist of rich jungles in the south, cold forests and fields on the mountains and hilltops in the east, and an arid and dusty desert-like plateau in the middle and northern parts of the map. Horizon Zero Dawn's world spans a wide range. The approximate width of the map, assuming that each unit step is equal to an imperial foot, is around 20,000-21,000 feet, or about 4 miles. Aloy can also use the map to fast travel between certain places like settlements, Gates, Hunting Grounds, Campfires, and landmarks such as Rost's Grave. It also includes information on location such as Ruins, Cauldrons, Machine sites including Tallnecks and Corrupted Zones, Quests, and Collectables including Vantage Points, Ancient Vessels, Metal Flowers, and Banuk Figures. The game world is located in what was previously Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, California and Nevada. Vantage points reference real world locations such as Denver, Colorado Springs, and Bryce, UT. Locations such as Lake Powell and Bridal Veil Falls are directly based on their real-life counterparts, while the Air Combat Academy, the Sterling-Malkeet Amphitheater, and Denver Stadium take inspiration from real-life locations. Compared to real-life, the world featured in Horizon Zero Dawn is scaled down by approximately 107.5:1, with the several hundreds miles of real-world geography being condensed to only a few miles. Guerrilla Games stated that the reason for the massive scaling down of the world was to provide a denser gameplay experience.

Machine is a term used by the tribes of the world to refer to the robotic entities that have roamed Earth's wilderness for as long as the tribes themselves have existed. he majority of these machines are modeled after various types of fauna that have existed throughout the course of Earth's long history, ranging from mammals such as ungulates and big cats to reptiles, avians and even dinosaurs. In recent times, the tribes have encountered ancient and deadly machines originating from the time of the Old Ones, as well as new and equally formidable ones that have accompanied mysterious visitors from the stars.

Currently, there are two known examples of botanical-based machines, the Metal Flowers found throughout the world of Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West, and the flower/tree-like Control Towers found only, to date, in The Cut