Setting

Armored Core VI is set in a future where humanity has developed an interstellar civilization. On the frontier planet of Rubicon 3, a substance called Coral was discovered that could be used as both an energy source and a data conduit. Coral was hailed as the key to humanity's technological advancement, but instead it caused a cataclysmic event known as the Fires of Ibis, which engulfed the planet and the surrounding star system in flames and left behind a lethal contaminant. All Coral in existence was thought to have been consumed by the disaster. Fifty years later, however, signs of Coral are once again detected on Rubicon 3. Corporations flock to exploit the planet and control the Coral, heedless of the cost and harm to the inhabitants, and mercenaries follow to profit from the conflict. The player is an augmented human designated "C4-621" who is in servitude to an infamous handler named Walter, and fights as an Armored Core pilot on the promise of earning a new life by taking on mercenary jobs. After illegally landing on Rubicon 3, C4-621 steals the license of a deceased mercenary and assumes their callsign: "Raven".^[2]

Synopsis

The augmented mercenary C4-621 is smuggled onto Rubicon with the assistance of their boss, Handler Walter. Upon landing on Rubicon, C4-621 steals the callsign of a deceased mercenary, becoming "Raven". With the new identity, Raven inserts themself into the war raging on Rubicon's surface between the megacorporations Balam Industries and Arquebus Corp, the anti-corporation Rubicon Liberation Front (RLF), and the Planetary Closure Administration (PCA), who are all racing to find or protect the Coral. During numerous battles, Raven ends up befriending V.IV Rusty, an elite AC pilot working for Arquebus; and "Cinder" Carla, leader of RaD, an engineering company. They occasionally provide assistance directly or through comms. In addition, after being caught in a Coral surge, Raven makes contact with an entity named Ayre who can speak directly to their mind; and encounters G5 Iguazu, a Balam AC pilot who develops a one-sided rivalry with Raven.

In the wake of the Coral surge, Walter detects Coral converging on the Central Ice Field, suggesting a massive deposit hidden there. As Raven heads over to investigate, Balam and Arquebus follow as well. This triggers the PCA into action, who send their military forces as well as recovered Coral superweapons to suppress the corporations. Faced with the threat of the PCA, Balam and Arquebus decide to join forces, and direct Raven to attack the PCA directly to weaken them. After the corporate alliance destroys the PCA's trump card, the Ice Worm, Ayre reveals to Raven that Coral is a sentient lifeform, and that she is a Coral-based entity.

After suffering numerous crippling losses, the PCA are forced to withdraw from Rubicon. Without a common enemy, Balam and Arquebus resume hostilities and the three-way war between them and the RLF continues, though Arquebus quickly gains the upper hand due to capturing PCA technology. Meanwhile, Walter sends Raven to explore an underground facility, and discovers the ruins of Institute City, the site of the Coral deposit as well as the Vascular Plant, which is designed to extract Coral and send it into space. However, Arquebus forces arrive, capture Raven, and seize Institute City while Walter is presumably killed. Carla helps Raven escape, explaining that she and Walter were part of a group called Overseer, who realized the threat Coral posed and swore to destroy it. Carla has Raven help her commandeer the Xylem, a massive colony ship, with the intention of ramming it into the Vascular Plant to destroy the Coral, even if it means creating another disaster like the Fires of Ibis. Ayre however refuses to allow her fellow Coral be destroyed and believes in the potential of both it and humanity coexisting, and asks Raven to eliminate Carla instead.

• If Raven chooses to side with Carla, Ayre breaks off relations with them. Raven breaks the Arquebus blockade around the Vascular Plant and is forced to kill Rusty, who is actually fighting for the RLF. Ayre then attempts to stop the Xylem by taking control of Rubicon's orbital weapon satellites. Raven is forced to confront Ayre directly and destroys her. The Xylem successfully rams the Vascular Plant and ignites the Coral stored within, creating an apocalyptic firestorm later dubbed the "Fires of Raven". In the aftermath, Raven's survival is left uncertain while the PCA and corporations completely abandon Rubicon, the planet having been completely scoured of all life. A recording left behind by Walter then plays, congratulating Raven for destroying the Coral and fulfilling his last wishes.
• If Raven chooses to side with Ayre, they attack Carla while her forces are distracted repelling Arquebus forces. Carla is killed, but this triggers a failsafe program that automatically sets the Xylem on a collision course with the Vascular Plant. Ayre then tasks Raven with sabotaging the Xylem to cause it to crash harmlessly in the ocean. She also sends a request for assistance to the RLF, who rise up en masse to overthrow Arquebus. Rusty joins forces with Raven, and they manage to disable the Xylem and kill Arquebus's leader, V.II Snail. However, Walter arrives in his own AC, killing Rusty and attacking Raven. Raven defeats Walter and narrowly escapes the Xylem before it crashes. Ayre thanks Raven for protecting both the Coral and Rubicon, and promises that they will ensure a future where Coral and humanity can prosper together.

In a New Game Plus campaign, Raven can take on newly unlocked RLF missions instead of corporate ones, while the mercenary support AI ALLMIND contacts them, giving them an opportunity to battle AI controlled ACs for analysis. In an additional New Game Plus campaign, Ayre discovers classified data related to these ACs, while ALLMIND recruits Raven into the Coral Release Project, which seeks to achieve complete symbiosis between Coral and humans. ALLMIND begins assigning Raven its own missions in order to further the Release Project, culminating in smuggling them aboard the Xylem to destroy Overseer and seize control of the ship before it can collide with the Vascular Plant, while ALLMIND eliminates Walter and Carla. With Raven's role complete, ALLMIND attempts to forcibly assimilate them and Ayre into itself but is usurped by Iguazu, who had uploaded his consciousness into ALLMIND's network in an attempt to kill Raven himself. Raven and Ayre kill Iguazu and destroy ALLMIND, and initiate the Coral Release themselves, spreading Coral throughout the entire universe and heralding a new age.

Sales

The PlayStation 5 version of Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon was the bestselling retail game during its first week of release in Japan, with 115,393 physical copies being sold. The PlayStation 4 version was the second bestselling retail game in Japan throughout the same week, selling 47,949 physical copies.^[28] The Windows version sold more than 1.3 million copies in over two weeks.^[1]

Accolades