💥 The Fourth Corporate War and Aftermath
“2020. The year everything burned.”
The Fourth Corporate War (2020-2023) was the defining cataclysm of the cyberpunk era. When Arasaka and Militech finally went to open war, they dragged the entire world down with them.
🔥 The War (2020-2023)
Origins
The war began as a conflict between two smaller corporations:
- OTEC (Ocean Technology and Energy Corporation)
- CINO (Corporation Internationale Nautic Oceanique)
Both Arasaka and Militech backed opposing sides. When proxy warfare failed, the megacorporations engaged directly.
Escalation Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Early 2020 | Proxy war begins |
| Mid 2020 | Direct combat operations commence |
| Aug 2020 | Assault on Arasaka Tower, Night City |
| Aug 2020 | The DataKrash - NET collapse |
| Aug 2020 | Nuclear detonation, Night City |
| 2021-2022 | Global combat continues |
| 2023 | War ends, both sides exhausted |
Global Combat
The war was fought on every continent:
- North America: Night City, corporate facilities nationwide
- South America: Resource extraction zones
- Europe: Financial centers, corporate HQs
- Asia: Arasaka home territory
- Africa: Mining operations
- Orbital: Crystal Palace siege
🌃 The Night City Holocaust
The Assault on Arasaka Tower
On the night of August 20, 2020, a strike team assaulted Arasaka Tower in Night City:
Known Participants:
- Johnny Silverhand - Rockerboy, revolutionary leader
- Morgan Blackhand - Solo, team lead
- Shaitan - Solo
- Rogue Amendiares - Fixer (support)
- Spider Murphy - Netrunner
- Additional operators
Mission Objectives:
- Extract or destroy Arasaka’s Soulkiller database
- Eliminate key Arasaka personnel
- Cripple Arasaka operations in North America
Placeholder: Arasaka Tower assault (pg. 261)
The Bomb
During the assault, a tactical nuclear device was detonated in Arasaka Tower. The truth of who detonated it remains disputed:
- Militech claims: Arasaka destroyed their own building
- Arasaka claims: Militech strike team brought the bomb
- Conspiracy theories: Government black op, AI involvement
Immediate Effects:
- Over 12,000 people killed instantly
- Half a million more died in the following weeks
- Arasaka Tower and surrounding blocks vaporized
- Massive radiation contamination
- Formation of the “Hot Zone”
The Red Sky
Nuclear fallout combined with environmental damage from the war created the “Time of the Red”—years of blood-red skies and nuclear winters that gave Cyberpunk RED its name.
💀 Key Deaths and Disappearances
Johnny Silverhand
The legendary rockerboy died in Arasaka Tower. His body was recovered by Arasaka and reportedly subjected to Soulkiller technology. His engram’s fate remains unknown.
Johnny's Last Words (disputed)
“Never fade away.”
Morgan Blackhand
The greatest Solo of the era disappeared during the Arasaka Tower assault. His body was never found. Theories range from death in the blast to survival and retirement.
Adam Smasher
Arasaka’s cyborg enforcer survived the blast. Reports indicate he killed Johnny Silverhand personally before the detonation.
🌐 The DataKrash
See main article: The DataKrash
On the same night, Rache Bartmoss (already dying from Arasaka poisoning) released his ultimate weapon: the R.A.B.I.D.S. (Roving Autonomous Bartmoss Interface Drones).
These AI viruses consumed the global NET:
- All long-distance NET connections destroyed
- Corporate databases corrupted or lost
- Billions of eddies in digital currency erased
- NET infrastructure requires complete rebuilding
🏚️ Aftermath (2023-2045)
The Time of the Red
The post-war period was characterized by:
- Red, polluted skies worldwide
- Climate disruption from nuclear winter
- Economic collapse
- Massive depopulation of urban centers
- Rise of local power structures
Night City Rebuilding
- 2024: Combat Zone established around Hot Zone
- 2025: First reconstruction projects begin
- 2030: New city center established
- 2035: Corporate return begins
- 2040: New Arasaka presence in city
- 2045: Current “RED” era begins
Placeholder: Night City ruins (pg. 265)
Corporate Consequences
| Corporation | Fate |
|---|---|
| Arasaka | Expelled from US, rebuilt in Japan |
| Militech | Nationalized by NUSA |
| Biotechnica | Expanded, filled power vacuum |
| Trauma Team | Thrived in chaos |
| Petrochem | Severely damaged |
| SovOil | Severely damaged |
The New World Order
Post-war reality:
- NUSA: Weak central government
- Free States: More independent than ever
- Europe: EC unified but struggling
- Japan: Arasaka-dominated recovery
- Net: Replaced by fragmented Data Pools
- Cities: Largely autonomous
🎯 Legacy
The Fourth Corporate War established the Cyberpunk RED world:
- No global NET - Only local Data Pools
- Weakened corporations - But recovering
- Night City - Rebuilt but scarred
- Edgerunners - More necessary than ever
- Technology - Setback but advancing
- Hope - Perhaps things can be rebuilt better
🔗 Related Topics
- The metal wars 2000 2020
- The DataKrash
- The Corporate Wars
- Johnny Silverhand
- Morgan Blackhand
- Rache Bartmoss
- Night City
- Arasaka
- Militech
(Source: Cyberpunk RED Core Rulebook, pgs. 258-272)