.hack

The fictional series this wiki is dedicated to. Created by CyberConnect2

About

.hack (pronounced "dot hack") is a multimedia franchise initially released in 2002 and continued releases through 2022. The franchise's story spans across light novels, manga, anime, video games, trading card games, toys, live events, webcomics and webnovels, soundtracks, and much more. The series is is developed by CyberConnect2 and the games are published through Bandai Namco Entertainment.

The story of .hack takes place in an alternate timeline to our own. At the time of release, the most entries of the series were set in the near future. While similar to our reality, several key events differentiate the history of .hack's world from our own. Near the turn of the 21st century, a catastrophic computer virus wipes out most of the internet and forces world leaders to restrict access to regular citizens. In the following years, only governments and some businesses are allowed use the remaining network infrastructure. The ALTIMIT OS (Altimit Operating System) is released to ensure greater security and avoid future security threats. Over time, citizens are allowed to access the new network and it becomes widely adopted.

A company known as CC Corp releases a MMORPG called "The World." As the first network game since the crisis, The World is incredibly popular, gaining over 4.5 million players on its first day before going on to having 20 million players by the time of the events that occur in the first set of games in the series.

Unbeknownst to CC Corp, the development of an "Ultimate AI" was integrated with the game and was intrinsically linked with ALTIMIT OS and the network's vital operations, upon which the majority of Earth's population now depends. As unexpected factors hinder the Ultimate AI's development, the network gradually becomes unstable and the effects begin blurring the boundaries between offline and online life.

The shift is gradual enough that initially it can be handwaved away by CC Corp, but the frequency of incidents accelerates past the point of being able to conceal it from the general public. Players start to see strange errors spread across The World. Rumors spread of invincible monsters, unusual abilities, and players falling into a coma while playing the game. Strange incidents escalate to the point regular players start to search for answers as CC Corp attempts to cover up the game's involvement.

History

The franchise can be broken up into 3 major seasons. The timeline of events in the series can be viewed via the Chronology page. For a timeline of media releases, view the Production page.

Season 1

The first season ran between 2002-2004 with .hack//AI Buster, .hack//SIGN, .hack//ZERO, .hack//Another Birth, .hack//Infection, .hack//LIMINALITY, .hack//Mutation, .hack//Outbreak, .hack//Quarantine, and .hack//Legend of the Twilight.

Season 2

The second season ran between 2006-2008 with .hack//Alcor, .hack//CELL, .hack//Roots, .hack//G.U. Rebirth, .hack//G.U. Reminisce, .hack//G.U. Redemption, .hack//GnU, .hack//Returner, .hack//Trilogy, .hack//G.U. Ragtime, Innocent Call, .hack//G.U. Reconnection.

Season 3

The third and final season ran between 2010-2012 with .hack//LINK, .hack//Quantum i, .hack//Quantum, .hack//Bullet, .hack//Beyond the World, .hack//VERSUS, Thanatos Report.

project .hack .hack Conglomerate .hack 3rd Project