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  • Agents of Mayhem takes place in an alternate universe of the Saints Row series that was created in one of the endings of Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell in which Gat wishes for a Cosmic Retcon. Certain characters from that series appear in AoM and are even playable (Pierce Washington and Oleg Kirrlov are now "Kingpin" and "Yeti" respectively, with Gat and Kinzie joining them as DLC).
  • The Tyranny of King Washington downloadable content for Assassin's Creed III features the player character waking up in an alternate universe in which his mother is still alive, he never joined the Assassins, and George Washington went mad with power after acquiring some Lost Technology and declared himself King of America. In addition to the alternate historical elements, there are some supernatural powers present as well, truly separating the setting of Tyranny from the main Assassin's Creed setting, which is Like Reality, Unless Noted.
  • BioShock Infinite: One of the primary themes focused upon. Sidekick Elizabeth can open "Tears", which allow access to Alternate Universes. Most of them only have very minor differences — items placed in a different locations- or, as Elizabeth gives an example, tea instead of coffee. Others have major differences, such as a key gun runner for the rebels being killed off early, or Rebel Leader Daisy Fitzroy having become a conqueror just as bad as the Big Bad, Comstock. The end of the game reveals that Comstock is actually an Alternate Universe version of protagonist Booker Dewitt, having become a hypocritical Dark Messiah after accepting the baptism that Booker refused.
  • BlazBlue:
    • Makoto's Story in BlazBlue: Continuum Shift ("Slight Hope") has her accidentally travel to an alternate history wherein Noel wasn't alive, with Makoto landing on the eve of the New Year, 3-4 days prior to the date in her own timeline (and the date in which the events of Calamity Trigger took place). Rachel ultimately explained this to Makoto and guided her back to her own timeline. Even in Litchi's Story, she could sense an alternate universe happening.
    • The aforementioned timeline is explored further in the drama CD BlazBlue: The Wheel of Fortune. With the absence of Noel, Tsubaki becomes Jin's secretary instead of joining Zero Squadron (a fact that Hazama shares with Tsubaki — who is secretly jealous of Noel — in the "main" timeline as part of his efforts to coerce her). What Hazama deliberately left out is that she also dies taking a hit meant for Jin in a battle with Nu-13, who then jumps into the Cauldron at the bottom of the NOL branch in Kagutsuchi with Ragna in tow. A vengeful but heavily injured Jin follows... and winds up thrust into the past, where he ends up becoming Hakumen after Rachel bestows upon him the Susano'o Unit.
    • BlazBlue: Central Fiction takes place in one, due to the influence of the Embryo. Most characters just go around living their lives normally; only a few are aware of it, such as Relius (who is performing research into its nature). Act 2 reveals that it is the same time and same place, but with different "causality." Whatever that means.
    • The worlds of XBlaze and BlazBlue: The Bloodedge Experience (the respective origins of CF "newcomers" Es and Naoto) are not only linked to the world of BlazBlue through the Boundary (and, by extension, the Azure), but also implied to run parallel to it, though the XBlaze world leans more toward Alternate Timeline. Notably, several characters, entities, organizations, and concepts are shared between at least two of the three settings (ex. Clavis Alucard, Valkenhayn R. Hellsing, Relius Clover, the Magic Guild, the Takamagahara system, the Black Beast, Drives, grimoires), or at least have counterparts that often share similar names (such as the Amanohokosaka family or Nine and Ringo Akagi note ). This extends up to Naoto himself, who is suggested to be his universe's answer to Ragna and is even connected to a vampire girl by the name of Alucard (though his Alucard is Raquel, not Rachel).
  • Chrono Cross had alternate universes/timelines replacing its prequel's use of time travel as the main hook. Radical Dreamers, the original (and lesser-known) sequel to Chrono Trigger, is suggested in Cross — which builds off of many of the elements introduced in RD — to be one of many such alternate courses of history in the overarching Chrono canon, likely as a concession for the game being downgraded from the "true" sequel to a Gaiden Game.
  • The original Crazy Taxi has "Another Day" Mode. Where in the Normal Mode most customers want to travel in a certain direction which leads to the cabbie going in a counter-clockwise direction around the circuit, in "Another Day", the customers usually want to travel to a destination in the opposite direction, causing the cabbie to go in a clockwise direction around the circuit.
  • Dong Dong Never Die's plot is some alternate universe of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, where the John Conner role is filled by publicly acknowledged Chosen One Dong Dong and the advanced Terminator sent to kill him isn't a shapeshifter, but does celebrate its victories by drinking water through what appears to be a gas mask and singing "I Believe I Can Fly."
  • The DLC for Dragon Age: Origins entitled The Darkspawn Chronicles pitches the idea of a world where The Hero died near the beginning of the game, thus leaving Alistair to save the day. It does not end well.
  • Dragon Quest VI features the world that the The Hero comes from and the world referred to as the Phantom Realm. Except it's the "Phantom Realm" that's really the real world, while the other world is the Dream World.
  • The Dreamfall franchise features the protagonists jumping between an Orwellian dystopia and a Tolkien-style fantasy world.
  • Fear & Hunger: Termina: The game's setting, Europa, is an alternate-universe version of World War II-era Europe, where magic and eldritch gods are well-documented.
    • The Kingdom of Rondon, the setting of the previous game, appears to be a mixture between the United Kingdom and France.
    • The Bremen Empire is an alternate version of the German Reich.
    • Bohemia, the setting of the second game, is equivalent to Czechia.
    • Oldegard is equivalent to real-life Scandinavia.
    • The Eastern Sanctuaries replace the Middle East, with its capital, Jettaiah, being based on Jerusalem.
    • The Vatican exists in-universe, where it appears to rule over the rest of Italy.
    • Abyssonia is likely located somewhere in North Africa.
    • The Kingdom of Edo is equivalent to Japan.
    • Voroniya appears to be equivalent to Western Russia.
    • Vinland is an interesting case: it represents the entire "New World", including what would be the United States. The continent is a Death World inhabited by monsters and various horrors, and as such, was never colonized in a great capacity by Europa's powers.
  • Final Fantasy:
    • The areas Yaschas Massif and Academia in Final Fantasy XIII-2 have alternate versions that appear after solving paradoxes in the timeline, and are marked with an X in the year name (ex. 01X AF). You can still go back to the original universe, though.
    • Final Fantasy VII Remake:
      • The game seems to figure this trope prominently into its storyline, though in this case it's not so much "alternate universe" as it is "alternate dimension". The "Arbiters of Fate / Whispers" are time-travelling entities created by the lifestream in order to preserve the course of Destiny. By the end of the game, the heroes enter into a "singularity" / mirror dimension to confront the whispers and stave off their influence, consequently creating an Alternate Timeline. Supplemental material also heavily suggests that the Sephiroth in this story may be the version that appeared in both the original game and Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, and is attempting to manipulate events in this new timeline to ensure a more favorable outcome for himself.
      • Final Fantasy VII Rebirth goes much further into this trope, splitting the events of the game into at least two distinct timelines. As a result of the team's actions in the finale of Remake, Zack Fair not only survives the fatal encounter with Shinra's army at the end of Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core, but appears to have been "catapulted" to an alternate version of the present-day with the comatose Cloud. He manages to rescue a comatose Aerith, but witnesses the entirety of the main team either killed (Red XIII) or shipped off to parts unknown, while Biggs is revealed to have been "transported" between timelines, and Marlene somehow has knowledge of upcoming events she shouldn't know about. Later events in the game suggest that this is also occurring with the main team, as Sephiroth outright states to Cloud that The Multiverse is in play, while (depending on the player's interpretation) the ending suggests that Aerith is either appearing to Cloud as a ghost or is manifesting herself from a different timeline in order to help him.
    • Final Fantasy XIV: The world of the game consists of fourteen different worlds, including the main world, the "Source", and thirteen "reflections" created from the battle between the gods Hydaelyn and Zodiark. It is revealed in Shadowbringers that before the split, there was only one world — the home of the ancient antagonists known as the Ascians, whose machinations serve to merge the worlds back into one, restoring their home at the cost of all life on its reflections.
  • In the second installment of the "Timeline" mod trilogy for Half-Life, Gordon Freeman is transported to a parallel Earth where the US never rebelled (the major superpowers are the British Empire, the Soviets and the Japanese), and an ice age began some 300 years earlier, threatening human survival. That world's Gordon Freeman has failed, so our world's equivalent is sent to stop the Xen invasion there (as well as an invasion of time-travelling Nazis from our dimension).
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven establishes that the entirety of the JoJo setting(s) is/are a series of multiverses, the game itself revolving around pulling together protagonists from every "main" timeline and reality (including Steel Ball Run and JoJolion) to stop Heaven Ascension DIO, himself from an alternate universe in which DIO emerged victorious from Stardust Crusaders.
  • Nearly every character from Kingdom Hearts is an alternate version of his/her Disney or Final Fantasy counterpart (otherwise the game would run into some serious continuity problems). This is implicitly stated in Space Paranoids.
    • Technically, Auron in Kingdom Hearts II might be an exception to this, as he did die and pass on to the afterlife in Final Fantasy X only for Hades to bring him back from the dead to complete a task. He even expressed his former role as a guardian to Sora. The statue containing his free will also echoed his memories from the events of Final Fantasy X. (Or rather, that game's backstory. The Auron seen in KHII is the younger one from his pilgrimage with Braska and Jecht as seen in flashbacks and sphere recordings.)
  • Kirby & the Amazing Mirror takes place in another literal mirror universe (akin to the Charmed and Red Dwarf examples), parallel to Dream Land and containing mirror versions of Meta Knight, Kirby, and, as revealed in the Dededetour mode of Kirby: Triple Deluxe, King Dedede.
  • League of Legends has several based from character skins, most of which are treated as being alternate-universe versions of that character. Some of these have actually become fairly detailed and have had a number of Troperiffic side-materials and ongoing storylines developed for them (see its theme page for more). Some of the major ones include:
  • The Legend of Zelda has plenty of alternate universes to choose from. Due to the timeline shenanigans of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, there are at least three alternate versions of Hyrule: One where Ganondorf was stopped before he could claim the Triforce, one where Ganondorf did claim the Triforce (and was stopped by Link), and one where Ganondorf defeated Link. There are also many "realms" such as the Sacred Realm, where the Triforce is usually kept (although at some points it was known as the Dark World). There is also a Twilight Realm, the world that the Minish come from, Lorule and others.
  • Based on what has thus far been fan-translated of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's: The Battle of Aces, it takes place in an alternate universe where Reinforce I/Eins survives and the corrupted Book of Darkness creates "Dark Pieces" of selected cast members (sorry, Arf and Yuuno) to get its own back again.
  • The Mega Man series has two universes: the main one (Classic, X, Zero, ZX, and Legends), and the alternate one (Battle Network and Star Force). The difference between these two timelines is that the latter has internet technology prosper instead of robotics (as was the case in the former).
    • In a strange way, the alternate universe also rewrites most of the Robot Masters who were Mega Man's enemies into potential allies, the most notable being Guts Man and Search Man, both whom are enemies in the mainline series, but consistent allies in the alternate timeline.
  • My Cafe's 35th level feature a parallel universe where Lucas is a celebrity instead of an inventor, Emily is a scientist instead of an advertising agent, and where Bill and Mary are not together.
  • The Myst franchise features the protagonist entering alternate worlds called "ages" via jumping into books.
  • The Neptunia games all have been set in a universe similar, but different from the Gameindustri of the first game. With only Neptune, Vert, Blanc, Noire, IF, Compa, Histoire and (most of the time) Arfoire as The Constants:
    • Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 is a Continuity Reboot that occurred because Nepgear, the protagonist of that game (and sister of the protagonist of the other games), wasn't born yet and because the ending of the first game ended with the resident godesses willingly relinquishing their godhood.
    • Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory while it starts in the same universe as mk2, winds up with Neptune going to a parallel Gamindustri based on The '80s (called the Ultradimension, in contrast to the Hyperdimesnion of the last 2 titles). And while Noire, Vert and Blanc have dimensional counterparts that are still the CPUs of their respective lands, Neptune doesn't and Planetune's CPU of that universe, Plutia, is a different person entirely. That is not to say that Neptune herself doesn't have a dimensional counterpart there.
    • Hyperdimension Neptunia: Producing Perfection's universe seems to be set in a universe based on the Ultradimension, but with Plutia nowhere to be seen and Neptune being Planetune's CPU there.
    • Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 is a remake of the first game, but is set in a different universe from it (a notable difference being that the CPU Candidates, including Nepgear, can be recruited in this game), likewise Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2 SISTERS GENERATION is a remake of mk2 and this is set in a universe independing of that universe and the universe of the original game (though it's debatable if it's set in the same universe as Re;Birth 1). This is also in effect for Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory Re;Birth3: V Generation, as it is set in a different universe than the original Victory, but does follow Re;Birth 2 chronologically just as Victory follows mk2.
    • Hyperdevotion Noire: Goddess Black Heart not only has a different protagonist (Noire, Lastation's CPU), but even the continent has a different name (All other games have the continent be called "Gameindustri", this one is called "Gamarket")
    • And finally Megadimension Neptunia VII has not one, not two but three parallel universes as its setting, including Hyperdimension though both of the other two are eventually revealed to be the creation of the Big Bad of the game. As for chronological placement, the game is canonically set after the events of Victory/Re;Birth 3, but due to how the game references past games (and the goddesses have Character Development more in line with their Re;Birth counterparts than their original selves), it seems to be a sequel to Re;Birth 3 rather than Victory.
  • The games of the Phantasy Star series span different universes: the original series of 8-bit and 16-bit Role Playing Games take place in the Algol solar system, while Phantasy Star Online takes place entirely on and in orbit above the planet Ragol. The Phantasy Star Universe series, meanwhile, takes place within the Gurhal system. Then there is Phantasy Star Zero, which takes place on Earth and the Moon in the distant future, which brings us to Phantasy Star Online 2, which takes place in a completely different solar system than any of the previous games.
  • Pokémon:
    • The Distortion World in Pokémon Platinum is one of these. It is home to Giratina. Dialga, Palkia, and Arceus are also implied to live in their own dimensions as well.
    • Pokémon Black and White establishes the reason for having One Game for the Price of Two as because of this trope — the other version is in fact a parallel universe to the one you're playing, and the histories of a few areas and characters are different. Using the Entralink you can visit the other world and see the changes. It may also explain how you can get multiple members of otherwise Single Specimen Species. Sun/Moon takes this further by allowing you to travel to the opposing version post-game via an Ultra Wormhole at the versions' respective Altars.
    • The alternate universe explanation is also used for the existence of Mega Evolutions in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, remakes of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, as implied in the Delta Episode of ORAS. This may also explain the existence of Pokémon remakes in general, though Cutting Off the Branches and Merging the Branches are also in effect.
      • The reason for the split? According to Zinnia in the Delta Episode, it was the firing of AZ's ultimate weapon 3,000 before the events of Pokémon X and Y. As all titles starting with Gen VI use the Mega Evolution gameplay mechanic, they are assumed to belong to this second timeline, and Pokémon Sun and Moon complicates things further with an appearance by Salon Maiden Anabel, who is suggested to have "fallen" into that world from the one that the original Emerald (and the rest of the pre-Gen VI games) took place in, or at least a world of a very similar nature and history.
      • This also implies that spin-off game series like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon and Pokémon Rumble are part of the multiverse. note 
      • Game Theory took this one step further and theorized that every copy of every game takes place in a different universe. After all, what's the device that the Devon Corporation uses to send the world-ending meteorite to another universe called? The Link Cable. What's the real world device used to trade and battle between two different players' save files called? The Link Cable.
    • In addition to the above, Sun/Moon also introduces the Ultra Beasts, which turn out to be extradimensional Pokémon from an Eldritch Location called Ultra Space.
    • To take things even further, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon take place in an alternate universe from the original Sun and Moon and feature an entirely different story (though these changes are largely only in regards to the goals of the Aether Foundation and the role of the cover legendary) as well as the ability to ride Solgaleo and/or Lunala through Ultra Wormholes into various other parts of Ultra Space located light-years away. Additionally, the post-game scenario, Episode RR, features a new incarnation of Team Rocket (Team Rainbow Rocket), which is a Legion of Doom led by Giovanni consisting of alternate universe counterparts of all the series' main villains prior to Gen VII (and Faba). As it turns out, the villains each hail from a world where they actually succeeded in their plans (or, more specifically, succeeded because the Player Characters of their games didn't exist), only to be swept up by an Ultra Wormhole (or an implied Giratina in Cyrus's case) and recruited by Giovanni. It should be noted that Ghetsis appears to have been taken from some version of the events of Black/White and not their sequels judging by his attire note , whereas Maxie and Archie appear with their original designs in lieu of the newer ones their OR/AS counterparts sport.
  • The plot of the Portal 2 PeTI DLC involves this. Earth-Prime's version of Aperture is nearly broke, so they decided to cut test chamber construction costs by sneaking the designs into alternate versions of Aperture, letting them build it, then stealing them back. You can either play the part of a test chamber designer with the new level editor, or a test subject traveling between universes to test the new chambers. You end up running into various versions of Cave Johnson, all of whom are still running tests (and probably pulling the same scheme) and crazy to some extent (save for the one who stopped the resonance cascade experiments after buying Black Mesa).
    • Amongst the other notable universes you encounter are a universe ruled by giant mantis-men, a universe ruled by an evil, sentient cloud god, a universe where Cave Johnson created Robo-Cop, a universe made of money, and a universe with an evil version of Johnson where asparagus is the primary food source of the planet.
  • The basic premise of Rakenzarn Frontier Story is travelling between alternate versions of different worlds and finding out just how they vary from their canon counterparts.
  • The Resistance games take place in a setting where after World War I Germany's economy wasn't totally devastated, therefore Adolf Hitler never rises to power and there was no World War II. Instead, creatures known as Chimera take over the entirety of Europe and by the sequel have wiped out the US.
  • The Dawn of Victory mod for Sins of a Solar Empire has its premise based on an Alternate History where the course of World War II is changed by the arrival of a powerful alien race known as the Scinfaxi (inspired by Harry Turtledove's Worldwar series). After losing much territory to the invaders, the main world powers manage to develop nuclear weapons and beat them back to the Southern Hemisphere. They then rebuild and consolidate their power. Eventually, the Northern Hemisphere is divided between the Soviet Union, the Greater German Reich, and the Democratic Federation. They manage to develop interstellar flight and settle other worlds. After the Scinfaxi resume their advance, the human powers evacuate the remaining population from Earth and nuke the entire planet from orbit. Fast-forward a few centuries. The three main human nations (as well as many smaller states) are spread out over many star systems and vying for domination. Meanwhile, the Scinfaxi (a vast interstellar empire) are preparing to strike again.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog:
    • The two Sonic Rush games feature a parallel universe. The first game takes place in Sonic's universe, which is slowly merging with Blaze's. The second game takes place in Blaze's universe... which is apparently a giant ocean.
    • Sonic Forces: Due to some timeline shenanigans in the previous game, Classic Sonic's world ended up splitting off from Modern Sonic's, remaining in pre-Adventure stasis. Not just in design, graphically too: All games taking place in that universe from Sonic Mania on are Genesis-styled 32-bit platformers.
  • Stellaris has in its Astral Planes expansion rifts in spacetime that allow you to send scientists to explore alternate realities and find new technologies and resources.
  • The Super Robot Wars games are set in an Alternate universes for each of the series portrayed in it(the alternate, of course, being that they're all happening at the same time in the same place). Each game or series is, additionally, an alternate universe from each other. Then there is the Original Generation universe, which contains all the original characters and mecha from the other games and then some, which also has its own Mirror Universe, the Shadow-Mirror universe, which is itself the Original Generation version of the Shadow-Mirror universe from Super Robot Wars Advance. Confused yet? We haven't even gotten to the Endless Frontier!
  • In Tales of Xillia 2, much of the plot revolves around the exploration and destruction of alternate universes, which are threatening the original universe simply by existing.
  • The World Ends with You has Another Day. This takes place in a world where Neku and his friends never died, Shuto is The Hero with Neku as The Lancer, Tin Pin Slammer is Serious Business, Eri's parents decided to call her Shiki for some reason, and Neku is less emo.
    • And, mind-bogglingly, despite what the game says, it actually has some bearing on the main plot. Joshua flees to that universe after shielding Neku from Minamimoto's Lv. i Flare. Whereupon he challenges Another Day!Neku to a Boss Rush to kill time.
    • It also seems to cross over into The Multiverse with certain people as they can go to other dimensions, and even meet themselves if they aren't careful.
  • World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor involves former Warchief of the Horde Garrosh Hellscream going back in time, creating one of these, and then making a portal between the universes. It should be noted though that it already existed as an alternate with a few key differences from ours. He just changed it MORE and connected it with ours. The alternate Draenor is actually a mix of this trope, Time Travel, AND Set Right What Once Went Wrong.
    • World of Warcraft in general messes with this as there are many canon timelines that the Bronze Dragonflight watch over, including and not not limited to a timeline where Thrall was never born, an alternate future where Deathwing succeeded in destroying all life on Azeroth including himself, and of course the aforementioned alternate Draenor that the fifth expansion takes place in.
  • In Yandere Simulator's Mission Mode, Info-chan runs an assassination service instead of being a Knowledge Broker, and the main character Ayano Aishi is a Professional Killer instead of a Yandere. The "Retribution" manga reveals the exact event that set the world of Mission Mode on a different path than the main timeline - in this universe, Taro Yamada, normally the target of Ayano's obsession, was her first victim, and his sister Hanako became Nemesis to avenge her brother's death by killing Ayano.

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