Throughout the Red vs. Blue series, several species have been introduced, with some having sub-species.
Human[]
Humans (scientific name homo sapiens), also known as shisnos by the aliens and Cosmic Powers, are mammals relating to primates. Humans have a bipedal stance and a large brain in ratio with their bodies, allowing them to become the most advance and intelligent lifeforms originating from their planet. In the series, many humans are seen to wear armor to protect their bodies. Naturally from Earth, when humans mastered interstellar travel, they began to colonize other planets due to their growing population. However, they soon discovered hostile alien life. This led to the Great War, which went on for many years and ended before the events in the Reconstruction. Most of the characters in the series are human.
Cyborg[]
Considered a "sub-species" of humans, cyborgs (short for cybernetic organisms) are humans who both have organic and artificial body parts. A Cyborg's artificial parts serve as technological enhancements that provide aid for the host, such as a robotic limb to aid in movement or combat. Due to these cybernetics, cyborgs can sometimes be far stronger than ordinary humans. Currently, only three cyborgs have appeared in the series: Simmons, the Demo Man, and Siris.
Artificial Intelligence[]
Artificial Intelligence, commonly abbreviated A.I., is an artificially created construct that exhibits intelligence similar to a sentient being. Most A.I. appearances have a form that relate to their designed purpose. A.I. have the possibility to go rampant, a process were they go insane, after a specific amount of time. However, if they survive the four stages of rampancy, the A.I. can, theoretically, be considered a human being. Dozens of A.I. appear in the series, with some playing a major role in Red vs. Blue.
Freelancer A.I.[]
Freelancer A.I., also known as fragment A.I. due to their origin, are A.I. programs that lack a physical body that use holographic constructs to give themselves a unique appearance (otherwise known as an avatar). Some of these A.I. have the ability to "jump" into objects and armor to aid themselves or their host, such as by running armor enhancements and functioning a vehicle. On rare occasions, these A.I. also have the ability to take complete control of their hosts and vehicles. Notable Freelancer A.I. include Church, Tex, Epsilon, and Omega.
Cosmic Powers[]
The Cosmic Powers are highly advanced A.I's who were created by Chrovos. Genkins, an A.I. created by the Cosmic Powers, would later become Chrovos herself due to a time paradox. While they were built to be powerful A.I's, the Cosmic Powers were programmed to merely spectate the affairs of other races and are unable to directly harm or interfere with younger species. Notable members of the Cosmic Powers include Atlus Arcadium Rex, Kalirama and Burnstorm.
Robots[]
Another "sub-species" of A.I., robots are machines that performs various complex acts for their creators. Although having a physical body, robots tend to be less advance than other A.I., as they usually tend to lack free will and can only follow their programming. However, some robots seem to have the ability to develop a personality based on events that happen to them and their interactions with others. Their purposes can vary from mechanics to war machines. Notable robots include Lopez, Freckles, and Lopez 2.0.
Other A.I.[]
Santa is an alien A.I. construct that was designed to ensure that the gifts left behind by his "creators" were passed down to those who were worthy. Those who are worthy are able to activate the alien temples on the planet Chorus, which are activated by using one of many Great Keys, which were also made by Santa's creators.
Alien[]
Aliens are creatures that aren't of Earth origin; simply species originating from another planet that isn't Earth. They have also mastered interstellar travel before discovering humans. Due to hostile actions, the Great War began between the Sangheili (and possibly other species) and humans before ending years later after the events of the Blood Gulch Chronicles. In the series, aliens don't have a major role and have few appearances, which gives little information about certain species.
Sangheili[]
Sangheilis, more commonly called "elites" by humans, are a species of aliens that have a bipedal stance, 2 fingers and thumb, dark skin, and mandibles. Elites are the most common aliens seen and, after the Great War, became allies to the human species. In the series, elites are only known to communicate in two ways: through blargs and honks or using different pitches of sound to speak. They are also shown to be very religious about ancient technology and their prophecies. Some of the only known elites include the Blue Alien, the Great Retriever, Junior, and Smith.
Huragok[]
Huragoks, more commonly known as engineers by humans, are a race of biological supercomputers. Their exact appearance is unknown in the series as only a shadow of one is shown, but it seems to have the ability to float in mid-air and has several tentacles. The only known huragok in the series is the Engineer used by Project Freelancer to create the fragmented A.I.
Other Alien Species[]
In some non-canon material, other aliens have been shown in the series. For example: in Red vs. Blue: Animated, several species aligned to the Covenant are seen during the rescue attempt to save Sarge and Tex. This includes grunts, jackals, and brutes. These species of aliens make their first canon appearance in the series (using the same footage from the animated short) in Room Zero. However, these aliens were projections within the Epsilon Unit as a the culmination of Epsilon's attempt to keep Tex in Blood Gulch by antagonizing the aliens.
Sentient light beings are, as their name suggests, sentient beings of light. They travel through the ability of flight and cannot be destroyed due to being energy. They are known to have the ability to travel through time by moving at near light speed in order to do so. Notable light beings include Huggins and Muggins.
The alien race known as Displorians are briefly mentioned by Burnstorm in Headshots, where they are described to be bipedal beings that reside in the gamma quadrant. Their most notable act as a species is harnessing the power of fire.
Trivia[]
- The reason why elites are the most common alien species seen in the series is that they're (most commonly) the only other species to play as in the Halo franchise.
- Due to player limitations, Elites can only be portrayed in Machinima using the Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo: Reach and Halo 2 Anniversary game engines. Elites are unplayable using any other Halo title.
- Despite animals rarely appearing in the series, many characters mention seeing animals where they are (such as birds, cows, bats, snakes, dogs, and more). Along with this, a recurring gag involves the characters comparing objects or people to animals (arguing if the Reds' vehicle in the series look more like a warthog or puma, Tex being called half-shark, saying the Meta has the strength of multiple bears, and so on).