Officials from former City of Heroes developer Cryptic Studios have confirmed that the company has taken over development of troubled massively multiplayer online game Star Trek Online, following the exit of Perpetual Entertainment from the project earlier in the year.
In a statement, Cryptic Studios staff revealed that the company now owns the global rights to develop and publish Star Trek Online, following legal battles over Perpetual’s use of the license.
The Bay Area developer is also working on superhero MMO Champions Online for a PC and Xbox 360 debut in 2009, following publisher NCSoft's setting up of a separate studio to continue development on City Of Heroes/Villains.
No further details of Star Trek Online have been announced at this time, with new gameplay footage due to be unveiled at the annual Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas on Sunday, August 10th.
However, in a separate statement to fans, chief creative officer Jack Emmert commented that: “When the opportunity came for Cryptic to obtain the license for Star Trek, we were absolutely thrilled. I realized how many people at Cryptic loved the IP when the possibility of us getting the rights leaked out to the rest of the company.”
“Admittedly, Star Trek has its challenges," he added. "We want to make a game that best captures the real essence of Star Trek. We see Star Trek as much about exploration as combat. As much about the variety of alien civilizations as it is about the core Vulcans, Klingons, Humans, etc. It's going to be an exciting ride over the coming months as we begin to unveil STO. I can't wait."
