As you enter Beast Wars, a Maximal ship has chased a Predacon vessel through a time warp, and both have crash landed on a planet much like Earth in the time when the dinosaurs ruled.

On landing, the Predacons steal a golden disk containing the location of a major Energon source which, if found, will enable them to resume an intergalactic war with the Maximals.

The Maximals and Predacons realize the power of the Energon is so intense it will damage their robotic structures with prolonged exposure. Therefore, to survive in this environment, both groups use biogenetic engineering to fuse their robotic body structures with native animal life forms. The result: wild animals that can transform into robot warriors to engage in an explosive fight to the finish.