Introduction
The Blade Runner timeline tracks a century of breakthroughs and failures in synthetic life. Commercial replicants extend humanity’s reach to off‑world colonies, driving expansion even as questions about memory, labor, and rights tighten back on Earth. Corporations compete to manufacture obedient workers; police divisions are tasked with retiring models that breach their terms; and cities adapt to a permanent dusk of neon, rain, and surveillance. Dates here mark the public flashpoints—blackouts, policy shifts, industrial rescues, and field operations—that define how governments and citizens understand the promise and risk of bioengineered persons.
Read the entries as dispatches from the archive: each focuses on what happens in the open and why it matters. Blackout 2022 resets infrastructure and record‑keeping, altering who can be found and who can be forgotten. The 2030s debate new production, culminating in petitions and demonstrations that reframe the economy. By the late 2040s, investigations in Los Angeles reveal downstream effects of decades of policy. Alongside films and short dossiers you’ll find a pivotal case in 2019, an off‑world‑shaped game perspective from 1997, and later initiatives pointing toward the 2090s. The hub keeps everything spoiler‑free and in present tense, so the emphasis stays on dates, places, and institutional decisions rather than private endings.
When does Blade Runner (1982) take place? (2019) — Timeline
Ridley Scott’s film portrays a rain-soaked Los Angeles in November 2019.
Open event →When does Blade Runner (1997 game) take place? (2019) — Timeline
Westwood’s point‑and‑click side story follows rookie runner Ray McCoy in 2019.
Open event →When does Blackout 2022 take place? (2022) — Timeline
Shinichirō Watanabe’s anime short depicts the catastrophic 2022 blackout.
Open event →When does Blade Runner: Black Lotus take place? (2032) — Timeline
TV anime series set in 2032, bridging the post‑blackout era.
Open event →When does 2036: Nexus Dawn take place? (2036) — Timeline
Short film showing Niander Wallace lobbying to legalize new replicants.
Open event →When does 2048: Nowhere to Run take place? (2048) — Timeline
Short film focusing on Sapper Morton shortly before 2049.
Open event →When does Blade Runner 2049 take place? (2049) — Timeline
Denis Villeneuve’s sequel returns to Los Angeles in 2049.
Open event →When does Blade Runner 2099 take place? (2099) — Timeline
Upcoming Prime Video series set decades after 2049.
Open event →FAQ
Q: What is the Blade Runner timeline order?
A: In short: 2019 (Blade Runner), 2022 (Blackout), 2032 (Black Lotus), 2036 (Nexus Dawn), 2048 (Nowhere to Run), 2049 (Blade Runner 2049), 2099 (Blade Runner 2099).