Today Star Trek Online reaches its sixth anniversary, and everyone at the studio could not be prouder. We know as well as anyone that this is a feat that is rarely achieved, and our thanks go out to the community for their support, feedback, and long-term engagement with Star Trek Online. We love developing this game and we consider ourselves lucky to have such an amazing community to develop it with. I would also like to thank the entire development staff, new and old, here and gone, for their hard work and dedication over these long years.

The year 2015 saw an incredible amount of story and systems make their way into the game at an unprecedented rate. Starting in March, we began a story-rich arc to finally confront the Iconian threat that had been lurking for half a decade. Every month from March through September saw the release of at least one episode of this expansive story arc, featuring the voice talents of Robert Duncan McNeill, Aron Eisenberg, Denise Crosby, Garrett Wang, and Jeri Ryan. The intrigue of the Iconian Conflict has been part of Star Trek Online since launch, and we felt the finale, Midnight, was a fantastic conclusion worthy of any Star Trek series.

In addition to the new episodes, we released a variety of new systems that add even more breadth to the game. The new Armada system allows fleets of any size to team up and work together on all of their holdings, eliminating the pinch for small fleets and providing large fleets a way to earn fleet credits more easily. The Fleet system itself was expanded with the addition of the Krenim Science Facility; players in fleets now have yet another place in the galaxy to call home. Our Admiralty system truly puts you in the chair of an admiral, commanding your personal fleet of ships and sending them on missions for fantastic rewards. The Pilot Specialization was also expanded, giving it all of the benefits and rewards of a primary specialization along with the amazingly maneuverable Pilot ships that complemented it.

We closed out the year with Season 11: New Dawn, which saw us moving our story away from the Iconian War and towards a new future. The seeds we planted in this season, along with some new revelations from the Iconian War, are going to start bearing fruit with the new anniversary episode, Time and Tide. I can’t wait for everyone to get in the game and see the characters and environments we pulled together for this amazing episode.

Star Trek Online has some amazing plans for this year, and since it’s the 50^th Anniversary of Star Trek we’re pulling out all the stops. There are going to be new stories, new locations, and new celebrity voice talent to help make this one of the most feature and story rich years yet. With a new movie coming out this year, less than a year to a new TV show, and Star Trek Online bringing you regular installments of new stories, there has never been a better time to be a Trek fan.

Happy 6^th Anniversary!
Thanks for playing, and I can’t wait to see you in the game!

Stephen Ricossa
Executive Producer
Star Trek Online