Autobots were the descendants of a line of robots created as consumer goods
by the Quintessons on the planet Cybertron. Their bodies were forged by the
Plasma Energy Chamber and given intelligence by the mega-computer Vector Sigma
in order for the work to be carried out. Eventually, they developed sentience
and rebelled against their creators. However, A-3, the resistance leader was
displaced from time by Quintessons from the future in order to stop the
insurgency. The resistance had help from future Autobots (whose transformation
technology frightened them) and A-3 returned to turn the tide by activating
his coda-remote which deactivated the Quintessons' Dark Guardian Robots.

With the Quintessons cast off and forgotten, Cybertron was at peace. The
consumer goods and military hardware bots renamed themselves as Autobots and
Decepticons. However, the Decepticons wanted war. No match for the superior
firepower and battle prowess of the Decepticons , the Autobots developed
transformation technology to win the war, bringing about the Golden Age of
Cybertron. Eventually, the Decepticons also developed transformation technology
and began the Third Cybertronian War. They would have succeeded in completing
their conquest had not more time-displaced Autobots blown up an energy
warehouse and brought its workers to A-3, now renamed Alpha Trion, as the new
defenders of Cybertron.

For five million years, the Cybertronians warred over the remaining energy that
was left. With this crisis, the Autobots, headed by Optimus Prime, made an
expedition to find new energy sources. But the Decepticons intercepted them,
causing the Autobot ship Ark to crash-land on Earth. The next four million years
the Beast Wars Occur on Earth.

Four million years later in 1984, the volcano that the Ark was wedged in erupted,
jarring the Ark's main computer Teletraan I back online. Through use of Spy
Satellites, Teletraan created new alternate forms for the Transformers out of
earth vehicles (Like F-15 Eagles for Starscream and a Semi-trailer truck for
Optimus Prime). The Decepticons were revived first and then the Autobots second
due to Starscream's error in judgement. The Autobots made an alliance with the
local humans, thus beginning the Great War.

After waging the war for 21 years, the Autobots created Autobot City as their
main base of operations while the Decepticons got complete control of Cybertron.
In 2005, the Decepticons launched an attack on the city, resulting in the death
of Optimus Prime. Optimus managed to pass the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra
Magnus before his passing. The city then received messages from the bases on
Cybertron's moons being devoured by the transformer demi-god Unicron. After
another Decepticon attack, the Autobots were scattered to two planets, Junk and
Quintessa. Forming new allies on those planets, the Autobots headed for Cybertron.
A young Autobot named Hot Rod used the recovered Matrix of Leadership from
Galvatron (formerly Megatron) to destroy Unicron and became Rodimus Prime. With
the Decepticons in disarray, the Autobots reclaimed Cybertron, bringing about a
new age of peace and prosperity.

In 2006, the Great War still raged. But both sides rediscovered the existence of
the Quintessons. After numerous battles, the Hate Plague was unleashed. Rodimus
ordered the uninfected Autobots to search for a Quintesson to revive Optimus Prime.
An uninfected Quintesson was found and forced to restore Optimus Prime to life.
Optimus would then recover the Matrix by defeating an infected Rodimus Prime, and
cure the galaxy of the plague. After one year of peace, Galvatron gained access to
the Plasma Energy Chamber. He planned to move Cybertron to Earth and use the Chamber's
energies to overload the sun. However, all this was planned by Vector Sigma who
wanted to restore Cybertron's Golden Age.