Grineer Empire

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

All factions in the Origin System, including the Grineer, trace their origins back to the fallen Orokin Empire. Before the empire's collapse, the Orokin faced resource depletion and sought to colonize new star systems by sending ships through the Void. They also dispatched Sentients to terraform the Tau system for future colonies. However, the residential ships never returned; those carrying Sentients came back intending to wipe out their creators. This conflict, known as the Old War, led to the creation of the Tenno and the eventual fall of the Orokin. The Grineer emerged from this era as a splinter group or direct creation of the old regime. By the time the Tenno awaken from centuries of suspended animation on Earth, the Orokin are virtually dead, yet their influence lingers. The Grineer now operate as a violent matriarchy, ruled by Queens who command their clone legions in a constant state of war.

In Their Own Story

The narrative reveals that all enemies encountered, including the Grineer, were created by or are splinter groups of the Orokin Empire. The story begins when Tenno warriors awaken from millennia-long cryosleep on Earth, guided by the Lotus. They immediately join an interplanetary war against the Grineer and other factions. Later quests expand this history: 'The War Within' introduces the Grineer Queens as rulers of the race and their asteroid-based Kuva Fortress. This quest also reveals that the Tenno are actually human children known as Operators, who survived a Void passage on the Zariman Ten Zero ship while the adults went mad. These children were put to sleep for thousands of years by the Orokin before being found by the Lotus. The Grineer serve as the primary antagonists in this unfolding history, defending their territory against the newly awakened Tenno who control biomechanical combat units called Warframes.

Reader's Guide

Players control members of the Tenno to complete missions against various factions, including the violent matriarchal race of militarized human clones known as the Grineer. The game features both player versus environment and player versus player elements. Missions often take place on procedurally generated maps where players must defeat specific numbers of enemies (Exterminate), steal data without raising alarms (Spy), rescue prisoners, or defend points for set periods. Later updates added three large open-field environments and a fourth named Duviri. High-difficulty daily and weekly challenges offer rare rewards. The Grineer are encountered throughout the Origin System as part of the interplanetary war. Players use weapons, abilities, and parkour maneuvers to navigate missions. Support for cross-platform play was released in 2022, with cross-platform save rolling out from December 2023 to January 2024.

Did You Know?

• The Grineer are a violent, war-driven matriarchal race of militarized human clones.
• All factions in the game, including the Grineer, were created by or are splinter groups of the ancient Orokin Empire.
• The 'War Within' quest introduced the Grineer Queens and their asteroid-based Kuva Fortress.
• Grineer forces are engaged in an interplanetary war against the Tenno, Corpus, Infested, Sentients, and Corrupted.