Continuity family

A continuity family is Transformers Wiki's term for a group of distinct but closely-related individual continuities. For example, "Generation 1", the original Transformers toyline and franchise, had several separate continuities. Therefore, there is no single "Generation 1 continuity", but many (many many) related ones. Further, these continuities are clearly distinguishable from the various "Unicron Trilogy" continuities, or from Robots in Disguise.

There are, at this time, five known major continuity families—each referred to in-universe (by the TransTech Cybertronians) with a designator used to catalogue each universal stream that lies within a given family. The known designators are listed in parentheses:

1. Generation 1 (Primax)
2. Robots in Disguise
3. Unicron Trilogy (Aurex)
4. Live-action film (Tyran)
5. Transformers Animated (Malgus)

Other continuity families not recognized by TransTech Cybertronians:

1. Go-Bots
2. Shattered Glass

Specific continuity families

Generation 1

Generation 1 is by far the most extensive continuity family in the Transformers multiverse. It includes the original toyline and all related media, the divergent Japanese exclusive material begun in 1987, and the Generation 2 revival of the franchise from the 1990s, as well as later "rebooted" versions of the Generation 1 story, such as those created by Dreamwave and IDW. Additionally, the so-called "Beast Era" also belongs to this continuity family. This includes Beast Wars, Beast Wars II, Beast Wars Neo, and Beast Machines. The Classics continuity follows from The Transformers but disregards UK and G2.

This family had 17 years of exclusive reign, encompassing all material that was produced between 1984 and the end of Beast Machines in 2001. Even after the establishment of other continuity families beginning in 2001, the rate at which Generation 1 fiction has been produced is almost equal to that of non-G1 fiction. It also includes by far the largest number of micro-continuities.

Robots in Disguise

This includes the television series, the short comic story from the Dreamwave Summer Special and the expanded toyline-spawned fiction.

Although RiD's original Japanese incarnation—Car Robots—was initially presented as part of this new family, Car Robots has since been retconned into a part of Japan's Generation 1 continuity family. (See Unified Japanese continuities.) Good luck figuring that one out.

Unicron Trilogy

This includes the Armada, Energon, and Cybertron toylines and all related media. Japanese incarnations are included. Initially, the Japanese version of Cybertron (known as Galaxy Force) was not part of this family, but has apparently been retconned back in. (See Unified Japanese continuities.)

Live-action film

This family features the Movie and Revenge of the Fallen franchises. This includes the showcase films Transformers and Revenge of the Fallen and their associated toylines. There is also a large array of supporting fiction in the form of books, comics, video games, and online games.

Transformers Animated

In 2008 a new continuity family was born with the premiere of the Transformers Animated cartoon, and soon grew to also include comics and other ancillary fiction.

Shattered Glass

In 2008 Fun Publications also introduced the "Shattered Glass" continuity family, a "mirror universe" where heroic Decepticons and evil Autobots battle. Though largely taking its lead from "Generation 1," the twisted (and often deliberately surreal) "evil" versions of existing characters don't follow any single set pattern, and it is considered its own family. The Shattered family includes the wacky quasi-British Shattered Expectations, and the grimly ridiculous Shattered Glass continuities.

Go-Bots

The least prominent continuity family, this is based around the Go-Bots toyline, encompassing the Playskool Transformers lines and cartoons aimed at ages five and below. (Sometimes called Go-Go-Go-Bots by fans.)

Singular continuities

TransTech

TransTech exists as a continuity of its own, and therefore does not exist within any of the above families. You could think of it is a continuity family of one, but since it doesn't make much sense to have a "family" of one, it is a singular continuity.

Quibbles

Continuity families do not exist, in-continuity. The Transformers multiverse is made up of more than 75 million+ discrete "universes." There is no top-down organizational scheme or hierarchy to them, they are all "siblings". It is entirely possible for a universe to be exactly 50% "Robots in Disguise" and 50% "Armada," defying categorization. Continuity Families are an imperfect constructed schema that imposes an artificial structure on something that has no structure to it. That said... the model does seem to work for the most part, and most continuities are easily identified as falling into one family or another. In-fiction, the scientists of Axiom Nexus classify universal streams via an almost identical system, and have mapped up to 21% of the Transformers multiverse that way.

Categorizing stories into their continuity families is a subjective business, so all of the above should be taken merely as operational definitions agreed upon by the editors of Transformers Wiki to make our job easier. Therefore, they are not declarations of universal truth.

IDW comics

IDW Publishing's ongoing Generation 1 comics are clearly beholden to Generation 1. Most of the major and minor characters (save the humans) come directly from the Generation 1 toyline or the Transformers fiction contemporary with it. Some feel this continuity is notably further out from the center than any other continuity designated as "G1", for while the characters by and large stick to their pre-established roles and personality traits, they often have completely different origins and histories.

IDW Evolutions

IDW's Evolutions line of comics features explicitly alternate-universe treatments of Transformers characters. E.g., the only existing example, Hearts of Steel, sets the G1 characters in the 19th century, where they transform into locomotives, ironclad ships, etc. As Hearts of Steel broadly resembles G1, it is treated here as part of the G1 family. (Though it is arguably further-out than even the main IDW continuity.) Future releases in the Evolutions line may be judged differently.

Universe

The Universe franchise features a meta/cross-continuity family storyline which begins as part of the Generation 1/Beast Era continuity family, but also includes characters from the Unicron Trilogy, Robots in Disguise, and even one character from the Go-Bots franchise. However, because the "home base" of the Universe stories is post-Beast Machines Cybertron, it is generally thought of as belonging to the Generation 1 family.