Star Trek Online Heading to Consoles?

Star Trek Online, recently brought back from the dead after the demise of Perpetual Entertainment, might actually head to consoles in addition to the planned PC version.

Unfortunately, that’s all just speculation stemming from a recent job posting over on Craigslist. Whether or not the listing is legit remains to be seen, as the online auction site is usually reserved for hooking up with naughty girls and junk nobody really wants. However Cryptic Studios, the masterminds behind Champions Online, an upcoming MMORPG set for the Xbox 360 and the PC, is also busily working on the highly-anticipated, long-awaited, much-desired (and Kevin-is-laying-it-on-rather-thick-so-cut-it-out-moron) MMORPG, Star Trek Online.

What’s exciting about the Craigslist posting is that the developer is currently looking for a PlayStation 3 engine programmer. According to the developer, interested programmers will need to be extremely proficient in C programming and debugging as well as having a thorough understanding of Sony’s console.

"Are you interested in a challenge?" the job listing teases. "We have developed a flexible, cutting edge MMO platform to power games like Champions and Star Trek Online. It runs on PC and XBOX 360 - now we want to support PS3 too. Are you an expert PS3 coder? Do you enjoy squeezing every last drop of performance and spare memory out of the system?"

After reading the listing, there’s no question that Cryptic plans to expend its MMO engine to the PlayStation 3, but whether or not Star Trek Online will be a part of the expansion is still up in the air. Currently Cryptic has not announced the official host for the MMORPG, however it’s likely that the developer will mimic Champions Online and bring the game to the Xbox 360 console as indicated by the game’s FAQ.

Star Trek Online was originally in development over at Perpetual Entertainment, however in January 2008, the company announced that it would no longer be working on the project, and sold off the license and assets (except for the code) to an unnamed San Francisco development studio; all STO developers were laid off shortly thereafter. Previously the company canceled development of another MMORPG, Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising, and PR firm Kohnke Communications quickly retaliated with a lawsuit claiming breach of contract. Kohnke also alleged that Perpetual sold the STO license to P2 Entertainment before liquidating its assets, and did not notify Kohnke of the transaction.

Although Kohnke eventually dismissed its lawsuit against the company (due to a mutual resolution), P2 Entertainment closed its doors in February 2008. A countdown timer thus appeared on Cryptic Studio’s website, confirming that the company was indeed developing the MMORPG, and that the project is no longer in limbo. According to Cryptic Studios, the game will take place twenty-six years after Star Trek Nemesis (2409), allowing gamers to assume the roles of Human, Vulcan, Andorian, Klingon, Orion, Gorn and "several others." Cryptic also states that "technology has advanced and the galaxy is a much more volatile place."

It will be interesting to see if the MMORPG makes its way to both consoles. If that were the case, would PC gamers be able to interact with console players? "We would like that to be the case," says the company. "There is nothing technologically keeping us from making it so."

Currently Star Trek Online is slated to hit store shelves in Fall 2009.