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Overview

The Expanse is a hard science fiction franchise that began as a series of novels and grew into a critically acclaimed television show, multiple video game adaptations, and a tabletop roleplaying game. Created by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck under the joint pen name James S.A. Corey, the franchise is set in a future where humanity has colonized the solar system but has not yet reached the stars. The Expanse: Osiris Reborn draws directly from this universe, telling an original story set during the events of the first two novels.

The franchise is known for its commitment to realistic physics, complex political dynamics, and morally grey characters. Unlike many space operas, The Expanse treats space travel as genuinely dangerous: acceleration crushes bodies, radiation kills without warning, and a hull breach means instant death. These constraints shape every aspect of the setting, from military tactics to social structures, and they carry over directly into the game.

The Novel Series

The core of the franchise consists of nine novels published between 2011 and 2021. Each book advances the story by roughly thirty years of in-universe time from start to finish, following humanity's expansion from the inner solar system to the galaxy beyond. The series won the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2020.

In addition to the main novels, Abraham and Franck published eight novellas and one short story that fill gaps between the novels. These were collected in Memory's Legion: The Complete Expanse Story Collection (2022), which also includes a new novella, The Sins of Our Fathers, serving as an epilogue to the series. Notable novellas include The Butcher of Anderson Station (2011), Drive (2012), The Churn (2014), Gods of Risk (2012), The Vital Abyss (2015), Strange Dogs (2017), and Auberon (2019).

The Television Series

The Expanse was adapted into a television series developed by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, premiering on December 14, 2015. The show ran for six seasons and 62 episodes, concluding on January 14, 2022. It is widely regarded as one of the best science fiction series of the 2010s.

Syfy aired seasons one through three before canceling the show in May 2018. A massive fan campaign, including a petition with over 100,000 signatures and a plane flying a banner over Amazon Studios, convinced Amazon to pick up the series. Amazon produced seasons four through six, with the final season consisting of a shortened six-episode run. The show ended after season six, leaving the final three novels (Persepolis Rising, Tiamat's Wrath, and Leviathan Falls) unadapted, though Alcon Entertainment has expressed interest in continuing the story in some form.

The television adaptation made some changes from the novels, most notably introducing the character Chrisjen Avasarala from the first season (she does not appear until the second book) and expanding the role of Bobbie Draper earlier in the story. The show also condensed and rearranged certain plot points. Both the books and the show are considered valid reference material for the game's universe.

The Authors

The Expanse was created by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who write together under the shared pen name James S.A. Corey. The pen name combines Abraham's middle name (James) with Franck's middle name (Corey), while "S.A." comes from the initials of Abraham's daughter.

Daniel Abraham is an American novelist born in 1969, known independently for The Long Price Quartet and The Dagger and the Coin fantasy series. He brought extensive experience with prose, structure, and character development to the collaboration.

Ty Franck, also born in 1969, worked as an assistant to George R.R. Martin before co-creating The Expanse. He brought a background in game design and world-building to the project. The Expanse universe actually originated as a tabletop roleplaying game setting that Franck designed. Abraham played in one of those campaigns, was impressed by the depth of the world, and proposed turning it into a novel series. They divided responsibilities: Abraham focused on prose and structure while Franck drove story and world development, meeting weekly to outline chapters.

Both authors served as writers and producers on the television adaptation, giving them direct involvement in how the universe was translated to screen. Their hands-on approach helped maintain consistency between the novels and the show.

Core Themes

The Expanse is defined by several themes that distinguish it from other science fiction properties, and these themes carry directly into Osiris Reborn.

Realistic Physics: There is no faster-than-light travel, no artificial gravity plates, and no energy shields. Ships accelerate using high-efficiency drives, and the thrust creates gravity for the crew. Turning off the drive means floating in zero-g. Battles happen at extreme range, missiles and rail guns are the weapons of choice, and a single torpedo can end a fight. The game reflects this in its zero-gravity mechanics and overall tone.

Political Tension: The solar system is divided among competing factions with fundamentally different cultures, economies, and grievances. Earth has a massive population living on basic assistance. Mars is a military powerhouse building toward terraforming. The Belt is exploited for resources and treated as second-class. These tensions drive nearly every conflict in the franchise.

Alien Technology: The discovery of the protomolecule, an alien substance billions of years old, upends the balance of power. It can restructure biological matter, hijack human bodies, and build structures that defy known physics. Every faction wants to control it, and no one fully understands it. The protomolecule is central to Osiris Reborn's story.

Human Nature Under Pressure: The franchise repeatedly examines how people behave when survival is at stake. Idealists become pragmatists, corporations commit atrocities in the name of progress, and ordinary people make extraordinary sacrifices. The choices and consequences system in the game draws on this tradition, putting the player in situations with no clean answers.

Class and Inequality: Belters are born in low gravity and cannot visit Earth without medical assistance. They speak a creole language mixing dozens of Earth tongues. They are miners, haulers, and station workers who generate the wealth that inner-planet citizens enjoy. This class divide is not background flavor; it shapes every interaction, every alliance, and every betrayal in the franchise.

The Three Factions

For players encountering this universe for the first time, the political landscape can be summarized through its three major power blocs. Each faction appears in the game, and the player's chosen origin (Earther, Martian, or Belter) determines their relationship to all three. A more detailed breakdown is available on the dedicated factions page.

For full details on each group, see the Factions article.

Video Game Adaptations

The Expanse universe has been adapted into video games twice, each taking a very different approach to the source material.

The Telltale game was released episodically in five main episodes between July and September 2023, with a bonus episode ("Archangel") in November 2023 featuring Shohreh Aghdashloo reprising her role as Chrisjen Avasarala. It received generally positive reviews for its writing and atmosphere, though some critics noted the limited scope of its gameplay. The game is set before the events of the novels and TV series, making it a prequel that does not require knowledge of the main storyline.

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn takes a very different approach. Developed by Owlcat Games, the studio known for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, it is a full third-person action RPG with companion characters, branching narratives, and deep character progression. Rather than retelling existing stories, it creates an entirely new cast and plot within the established timeline.

Where Osiris Reborn Fits

The game takes place during the timeline of the first two novels, Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's War, which corresponds roughly to seasons one through the first half of season three of the television series. This is the period when the protomolecule is first discovered and weaponized, when Protogen conducts its secret experiments, and when the three-way cold war between Earth, Mars, and the Belt begins to boil over.

The player does not step into the shoes of James Holden or any other established character. Instead, the game tells a parallel story. While the Rocinante crew investigates the conspiracy surrounding Protogen's Thoth Station and the Eros incident, the player character, a Pinkwater Security mercenary, stumbles onto a different branch of the same conspiracy. Major canonical events (the Eros incident, the Ganymede crisis) form the backdrop, but the player's investigation leads to separate facilities, operatives, and experiments.

This approach allows the game to explore the protomolecule conspiracy from a fresh angle without contradicting established canon. Players familiar with the books and show will recognize references and connections, while newcomers can experience the story without prior knowledge. For a deeper look at the game's narrative, see the Story and Setting article.

Alcon Interactive Group

The Expanse intellectual property is owned by Alcon Entertainment, an American film production company founded by Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson. Alcon produced all six seasons of the television series and holds the rights to the franchise across all media, including interactive entertainment, graphic novels, and future film or television projects.

In 2016, Alcon established Alcon Interactive Group (AIG) as a dedicated division for expanding the company's film and television properties into video games. AIG licenses Alcon properties to game studios and also produces original interactive projects. Both The Expanse: A Telltale Series and The Expanse: Osiris Reborn were produced through partnerships between AIG and their respective development studios.

AIG's involvement means that the game has access to the full breadth of The Expanse IP, including characters, locations, technology, and lore from both the novels and the television series. Owlcat Games has worked closely with AIG and with the original authors to ensure that Osiris Reborn fits seamlessly into the established universe.