Star Trek Online warps into Discovery’s universe as Stephen Ricossa steps down as exec producer

While Star Trek Discovery has proven to be a divisive entry into the long-running franchise, with some fans hating its take on the Trek universe and some loving the new direction, it would have been impossible for Star Trek Online to ignore it. And in fact, the all-franchise-inclusive MMO will be sending players into the Discovery universe this fall.

With Age of Discovery, Star Trek Online will give players the opportunity to dip their toes into this earlier period by creating a Discovery-era captain and exploring a new tutorial, fighting in a new queue, and beating a pair of additional missions. The content update will be bolstered by the addition of Starfleet Academy Cadet Sylvia Tilly, voiced by the TV show’s Mary Wiseman.

“The first installment from Age of Discovery will introduce a brand new starting experience allowing players to create a Federation character from the Discovery era,” Cryptic said in a press release. “The update also includes two new Discovery episodes available to all characters, a new Task Force Operation to defend Starbase 1 and an expansion to the game’s Reputation System to Tier 6 that unlocks powerful new rewards. Additional details — including the release date for Age of Discovery’s first installment on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation®4 — will be announced later this year.”

In other STO news, Executive Producer Stephen Ricossa announced today that he’ll be stepping down from “the big chair” on the game and moving on to another role under Cryptic’s umbrella – it must be a huge opportunity indeed as he’s a pretty serious Trek fan.

“I’m proud of every release, every feature, every event and every episode we released over the last three and a half years and with the incredibly successful release of Victory is Life behind us, I’m announcing that I’ll be leaving the big chair as the executive producer of Star Trek Online,” he writes. “I’ll still be a part of the Cryptic Studios family and in my stead I’m happy to introduce our new executive producer, Andre Emerson. He has a wealth of video game industry experience and knowledge of Star Trek, and I know his time in the captain’s chair will mean exciting new things for this community and this game.”

An era is coming to a close, as long time Executive Producer Stephen Ricossa is moving on to another part of Cryptic Studios. Join us in wishing him well:https://t.co/zegIaBXl65 pic.twitter.com/3tc3R5Zbw0

— Star Trek Online (@trekonlinegame) July 26, 2018