Dust 514 takes place in the same universe as the science fiction MMORPG Eve Online, where humanity used up all of Earth's resources and so rapidly colonised the rest of the Milky Way Galaxy thanks to the discovery of faster-than-light travel and an empty wormhole.
However, this wormhole collapsed, cutting off the colonies that had been established on the other side of it. While many of these colonies died off without support from their home galaxy, a few managed to survive and, after a time, rediscovered much of the technology they had lost, including faster-than-light travel.
Civilisation in this other galaxy revolves around the competition (often violent) between five rival colonies. In Eve Online the player takes on the role of a 'capsuleer', who are elite ship pilots. In Dust 514 the player will take on the role of elite ground troops.
