Editing Armored Core (section)

== Premise ==
In the original continuity established by 1997's ''[[Armored Core (video game)|Armored Core]]'' through 2001's ''[[Armored Core 2: Another Age]]'', Earth experienced a cataclysm known as the "Great Destruction" and humanity has been forced underground. Corporations begin fighting for dominance, leading to the increasing reliance on Armored Core pilots called Ravens.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/33853-armored-core-review|title=Armored Core Review|last=Chang|first=Clint|date=November 4, 1997|website=[[Game Revolution]]|publisher=[[CraveOnline]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018210828/http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/armored-core|archive-date=October 18, 2012|access-date=December 14, 2018}}</ref> Following the events of 1999's ''[[Armored Core: Master of Arena]]'', humanity rebuilds and colonizes Mars. Through 2000's ''[[Armored Core 2]]'' and its expansion, ''Another Age'', the fledgling Earth government struggles to maintain power as opportunistic corporations exploit the power gap and rebel groups resist against the hegemony of government and business interests.<ref name=":02" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r18974.htm|title=Armored Core 2 Another Age Review|date=October 22, 2001|website=GameZone|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921210137/http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r18974.htm|archive-date=September 21, 2008|access-date=March 13, 2020}}</ref>

The series was rebooted with 2002's ''[[Armored Core 3]]'', beginning a new story arc that concluded with ''[[Armored Core: Last Raven]]'' in 2005. Following a global nuclear war, humanity has retreated underground. Following centuries of rule by an artificial intelligence called The Controller, its decay leads to the destruction of much of humanity's underground network, causing them to look toward the surface for safety.<ref name=":0" /> By the end of 2003's ''[[Silent Line: Armored Core]]'', humanity has fully returned to the surface of Earth.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.gamepro.com/sony/ps2/games/reviews/30120.shtml|title=Silent Line: Armored Core Review for PS2|last=Dawg|first=Atomic|date=July 8, 2003|magazine=GamePro|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050212134939/http://www.gamepro.com/sony/ps2/games/reviews/30120.shtml|archive-date=February 12, 2005|access-date=March 13, 2020}}</ref> The final two games of this continuity, 2004's ''[[Armored Core: Nexus]]'' and 2005's ''Armored Core: Last Raven'' involve the end of the existing power dynamic of corporations and Ravens fighting over the surface.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/armored-core-nexus-review/1900-6111776/|title=Armored Core: Nexus Review|last=Provo|first=Frank|date=October 28, 2004|website=GameSpot|language=en-US|access-date=March 13, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/armored-core-last-raven-review/1900-6153137/|title=Armored Core: Last Raven Review|last=Mueller|first=Greg|date=June 23, 2006|website=GameSpot|language=en-US|access-date=March 13, 2020}}</ref>

2006's ''[[Armored Core 4]]'' rebooted the series yet again. Here, corporations have seized control of Earth governments and are waging war across the surface for dominance. A war waged over the course of the game pollutes the environment, leading to the creation of floating cities in 2008's ''[[Armored Core: For Answer]]''. Depending on the player's choices, humanity either barely survives the fallout of ''For Answer's'' conflict or is completely eradicated.<ref name="Armored Core 4 Review">{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/armored-core-4-review/1900-6167744/|title=Armored Core 4 Review|date=March 21, 2007|website=GameSpot|language=en-US|access-date=March 17, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/armored-core-for-answer-review/1900-6198445/|title=Armored Core: For Answer Review|last=VanOrd|first=Kevin|date=October 1, 2008|website=GameSpot|language=en-US|access-date=March 31, 2020}}</ref>

The third continuity of the series continued with 2012's ''[[Armored Core V]]''. A single corporation has dominance over a contaminated Earth and is being opposed by a resistance faction that seeks to overthrow them. 2013's ''[[Armored Core: Verdict Day]]'' details the outbreak of another war 100 years later following an apocalyptic event.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/10/01/armored-core-verdict-day-review|title=Armored Core: Verdict Day Review (PS3)|last=Butterworth|first=Scott|date=October 1, 2013|website=[[IGN]]|publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119165517/https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/10/01/armored-core-verdict-day-review|archive-date=November 19, 2018|access-date=December 23, 2018|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Another continuity has begun with 2023's ''[[Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon]]''. The game takes place far away from Earth in a human-colonized star system on the planet Rubicon 3. Decades prior to the game's start, a powerful resource called Coral was discovered, leading to significant technological advancements, but a disaster called the Fires of Ibis scorched the entire Rubicon system and left it highly contaminated. However, the Coral, thought to have all burned, has begun to reappear, bringing multiple corporations into conflict for control of it which, in turn, has brought the attention of mercenaries. Added into the conflict are the Planetary Closure Administration, an organization tasked with quarantining Rubicon, and the Rubicon Liberation Front, a resistance group who venerate the Coral, wishing to end its exploitation and free the planet.