Loading...
Loading...
Story and Setting
March 29, 2026 at 06:15 AM
Fix companion naming: Jay → J, remove Larry references
The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is set during the events of the first two books in the series, Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's War, which roughly correspond to seasons one through three of The Expanse television show. This is a period of escalating tension between Earth, Mars, and the Belt, with the discovery of the protomolecule acting as the catalyst for a solar-system-wide crisis. The game tells an original story that runs parallel to the adventures of James Holden and the Rocinante crew rather than retelling those events.
By the time of the game's events, humanity has colonized the solar system but has not left it. There is no faster-than-light travel and no contact with alien civilizations (yet). Human civilization is divided into three major factions: Earth's United Nations, the Martian Congressional Republic, and the Outer Planets Alliance representing the Belt. These three groups are locked in a cold war that threatens to turn hot at any moment.
Life in the solar system is governed by physics. Travel between planets takes weeks or months, not hours. Acceleration is measured in g-forces that can crush the unprepared. Gravity on stations is generated by spin, not magic. Resources are scarce, especially in the Belt, where water and air are commodities that people kill for. This grounding in realistic science fiction is what sets The Expanse apart from most space opera settings, and the game reflects that tone throughout.
The player takes on the role of a Pinkwater Security mercenary stationed on Eros Station. Pinkwater Security is a private military company that contracts with corporations and governments across the solar system. The player character's background is determined by their chosen origin (Earther, Martian, or Belter), which affects both the narrative context and how other characters react throughout the game. The player is on shore leave at Eros when the protomolecule incident hits, turning a routine break into a desperate fight for survival.
The story begins linearly for the first few hours, guiding the player through the Eros incident and the initial escape aboard the Gemini. After this opening sequence, the game opens into a semi-open solar system where the player can choose which locations to visit and in what order. Main story missions provide direction, but players are free to pursue side content, companion personal quests, and exploration between critical story beats. This structure mirrors the pacing of the source material, where the investigation drives the plot forward but detours and character moments fill out the experience.
The game opens with the player on Eros when the protomolecule incident begins. The station descends into chaos, and the player barely escapes alive aboard a stolen Protogen vessel: the Gemini, claimed under the legal principle of "right of salvage" during the emergency. The player's twin sibling J and the engineer Zafar escape together, forming the nucleus of the crew that will grow over the course of the game. The opening section on Eros is linear by design, establishing the stakes and the player's motivation before the game opens up into a non-linear structure.
The main narrative revolves around the protomolecule, an alien substance with the ability to fundamentally restructure biological matter. The protomolecule was discovered by Protogen, a powerful megacorporation with connections to inner-planet governments. Rather than disclosing the discovery, Protogen began experimenting with the substance in secret, including conducting horrific tests on human subjects.
The player encounters a different branch of Protogen than the one depicted in the books and show. While the Rocinante crew deals with the Protogen operations at Thoth Station and Eros, the player's investigation leads to a separate network of Protogen facilities, operatives, and experiments. This allows the game to explore the protomolecule conspiracy from a new angle without contradicting established canon.
One of the threads the player uncovers is Project Caliban, Protogen's program to create protomolecule-human hybrids as weapons. These Caliban subjects are encountered during the game as enemies, and they represent some of the most dangerous threats the player will face. The project ties into the events of Caliban's War and connects the game's story to the broader lore.
The Caliban subjects are not mindless monsters. They are the result of deliberate experimentation, and the ethical horror of what was done to create them is a recurring theme. Encountering a Caliban subject feels different from fighting ordinary human enemies; these are something else entirely, and the game's tone shifts when they appear.
James Holden appears in the game via broadcast message, though without Steven Strait's voice from the TV show. Holden's broadcasts provide context for the broader political situation and occasionally intersect with the player's own investigation. Minor NPCs reference the destruction of the Canterbury and other canonical events, grounding the player's story in the same timeline as the books.
The game's title, "Osiris Reborn," likely references the Protogen stealth frigate Osiris, an Amun-Ra class vessel that is disabled by the Rocinante near Thoth Station during the events concurrent with the game's timeline. The connection has not been officially confirmed, but the naming convention and Protogen ties make it a strong inference.
Game Design Director Leonid Rastorguev confirmed that some actors from the 2015 Expanse TV series will reprise their roles in Osiris Reborn through voice acting and digital scanning. This means select characters from the show appear in the game with the same actors providing performance capture and voice work. No specific actors have been officially named as of the March 2026 reveal.
James Holden, the protagonist of The Expanse novels and TV show, appears in the game via broadcast message. However, this footage is recreated without Steven Strait's voice work. Holden's presence is contextual rather than interactive, placing the player's story within the same timeline as the events Holden is involved in without requiring the player to meet him directly.
Dialogue choices are a core part of the storytelling. Conversations with NPCs, companions, and faction representatives offer branching options that affect how the story unfolds. Some choices have immediate consequences (angering an NPC, unlocking a side quest, losing access to a vendor), while others have ripple effects that only become apparent hours later. The developers have emphasized that choices are not signposted with obvious moral labels. There is no "good" or "bad" tag on dialogue options.
The Pinkwater Station scenario is a good example of how choices work. The player can convince civilians to resist a Protogen assault: some will die in the fighting, but the player gains allies and resources. Or the player can order a surrender: civilians survive, but the armory stays stocked for Protogen to claim, and the player loses potential support. Neither option is clearly "correct." Both have costs and benefits.
The most significant choices tie into the companion permadeath system. How the player treats their crew, which missions they prioritize, and how they handle critical story junctures all contribute to determining which companions survive the story.
Beyond dialogue and cutscenes, the game uses environmental storytelling to fill in the world. Encrypted notes found on datapads, audio logs left by station residents, graffiti on walls, and the physical condition of the spaces the player moves through all tell stories. A corridor with blast marks and sealed bulkheads tells you something happened here. An abandoned hab unit with personal effects scattered across the floor tells you someone left in a hurry. The February 2026 developer tease about Luna confirmed that political intrigue would extend into environmental details, with station histories and factional power plays visible in the architecture and signage of Lovell City.
For fans of the source material, the game's story spans events from Book 1 (Leviathan Wakes) through Book 2 (Caliban's War), covering roughly Season 1 through the first half of Season 3 of the television adaptation. The player is not James Holden or any of the main characters from the novels. Instead, they are a separate character operating in the same universe during the same period. Major events from the books (the Eros incident, the Ganymede crisis, the discovery of the Ring) form the backdrop of the game's story without requiring the player to step into the shoes of an established character.