Set in 2009, The game explains the origins of Cole MacGrath, a bike courier, who gained his electrical-based superpowers after surviving a large explosion in Empire City caused by the package he was carrying containing the Ray Sphere.
The series takes place in the present-day United States with real and alternate versions of real cities such as the setting of Infamous, Empire City, which resembles New York City and the setting of Infamous 2, New Marais, which resembles New Orleans ( Infamous: Festival of Blood also takes place in this city).