As long as a Halo TV show has been in development, fans have wondered where in the franchise’s canon it would be set. After all, Halo has some pretty complicated lore and just about anywhere you place the series, it’s likely going to bump up against events seen either in the games, or the novels that have built out the universe. And with that comes the possibility of some tinkering with continuity.

Ultimately, it wasn’t something fans needed to worry about, as it was announced that the show would be set in its own canon, known as the Silver timeline. It’s just like the Halo timeline you know, but not connected to it in any way. As executive producer Kiki Wolfkill explains, “It takes place at a time that people are so familiar with.”

According to Wolfkill, the choice to separate the two–TV show and games–was done out of necessity. “The creation of the Silver timeline was really to try and keep these things from needing to be so tied closely together that we lose creative freedom on either end–either with the show or with the game–but still kind of keep those pivotal moments,” she told GameSpot.

So while the Silver timeline will share a lot of key events and details with the rest of the Halo franchise, it’ll also have the ability to grow as it unfolds the story of John-117 over–presumably–multiple seasons.