Star Trek Online for consoles moved to 'back burner'

Cryptic Studios announced the massively multiplayer online role-playing games Champions Online and Star Trek Online within a few months of each other for the PC and consoles in 2008. The PC editions of those games landed to soft critical receptions within a few months of each other in 2009 and 2010, and now the demise of their console editions have also come in lockstep.

With the Atari-owned studio confirming that "there are no current plans for a console version of Champions" in late March, executive producer Craig Zinkievich has said that a similar fate has befallen Star Trek Online. "It's pretty much in the same boat as the Champions console version right now," Zinkievich told UK gaming site VideoGamer.

"It's something we can readily do in terms of technology," he continued. "We've had it up and running on certain consoles and had plans and designs in order to take advantage of those platforms. But as it stands right now, it's a little difficult to make that final leap on the business side of things. So, currently, just like Champions, the console version of Star Trek Online is on the back burner."

Star Trek Online operates independently from any of the events established in the film or television series. Players assume the role of a starship captain operating under the banner of either the United Federation of Planets (better known simply as "the Federation") or the Klingons, who are locked in an intergalactic struggle.

For more on the PC edition of Star Trek Online, check out GameSpot's video review, below.