Activision terminates Star Trek game license

Activision has announced that it has filed a breach of contract suit against Viacom, the media company that owns Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV, and several other major media brands. The lawsuit contends that Viacom hasn't kept its promise to continue producing and promoting Star Trek films and television shows at the rate it was when the two companies signed a 10-year licensing agreement in 1998. Activision alleges that "through its actions and inactions, Viacom has let the once proud Star Trek franchise stagnate and decay," and it claims that Viacom recently admitted that there are no current plans for new Star Trek movies.

Activision has terminated the licensing agreement and is seeking to recover monetary damages in the lawsuit, saying that it cannot successfully develop and sell Star Trek games without ongoing movie and television production and related marketing. Activision released Star Trek Elite Force IIlast week and hasn't announced any other upcoming Star Trek projects.