Star Trek Game Makes Surprise Steam Debut

Star Trek: Legends is now available on Steam Early Access. Star Trek: Legends is an officially licensed team-based RPG featuring characters from the Star Trek universe that first launched on Apple Arcade. The game is available via Steam Early Access as of today at a discounted price of $14.99 until 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET, after which the price will rise to $19.99. Star Trek: Legends casts players in the role of fan-favorite Star Trek heroes and villains from throughout the franchise's history as they embark on a mission vying for control of the mysterious Nexus, with the fate of existence hanging in the balance.

According to Star Trek: Legends publisher Tilting Point, the Steam Early Access release of Star Trek: Legends is bringing the game to Steam along with a host of new features and improvements. The game includes 95 Star Trek characters, with 8 expanded episodes with 6 missions each to play through, and the new Collections feature, exclusive to Steam, that allows players to unlock rewards and combat enhancements by collecting sets of thematically connected characters across the Star Trek franchise.

Star Trek: Legends features characters ranging from the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series up to characters from Star Trek: Discovery. Players take command of the USS Artemis, recruiting their team while undertaking missions and making choices that change the game's story.

The Star Trek: Legends Steam launch trailer is included above. Here's the full list of enhancements coming to the Steam Early Access version of the game, via publisher Tilting Point:

• A Universe of Characters to Recruit: Collect and command a roster of 95 playable characters available from day 1, each with 3 to 4 unique skills. Unleash the potential of your team with characters from across the entire history of the Star Trek franchise.
• Complete Collections and Earn Rewards: Complete thematic collections, from Starfleet Captains to notorious Villains. Activating collection-specific combat bonuses adds a layer of strategy to your battles – each completed collection will also reward players with exciting bonuses.
• Play Your Way: We've added both controller and Steam Deck support for this version of the game. 
• Experience Expanded Missions: Embark on 8 Episodes with 6 Missions each, offering narrative choices and multiple pathways. The Steam version includes all 8 Episodes from day 1, with refined reward and difficulty balancing for an engaging experience.
• Enhanced Shuttlecraft System: Assign characters to Shuttlecraft routes for XP and rewards. The Steam version introduces a player-friendly and streamlined experience with overhauled timers and rewards for enhanced gameplay.
• Improved Combat and UI: Engage in turn-based combat with up to 4 characters in your team. The Steam version brings quality-of-life changes, combat balance tuning, and a revamped UI for a smoother gaming experience.
• Updated Survival Mode: We've updated the balance of Survival Mode for a better player experience and improved the mode's character reroll feature. 
•  Customize Your Bridge: Unlock 8 different stations aboard the U.S.S. Artemis, assigning characters to each station to provide combat bonuses. Tailor your team to fit your preferred strategy.
• Enhanced Summons: Collect "Orbs" to summon new characters, now with the convenience of +1 & +10 buttons for multiple summons in a single transaction.
• Unlimited PVP Battles: Challenge fellow players in unlimited PVP battles, earn medals, and advance through lifetime PVP Leagues for better rewards.
•  Exciting PVP Seasons: Participate in limited-time PVP leaderboard Seasons, competing for the highest score and exclusive rewards. A fresh start every 2 weeks keeps the competition fierce.
• Operations and Events: Engage in daily challenge battles with the overhauled Daily Operations system. Weekly events offer Event Operations for points, unlocking characters, and participating in faction-specific War Events.

Star Trek: Legends' campaign mode features a storyline by writer Mike Johnson, who may be familiar to Star Trek fans as the New York Times bestselling author who has penned Star Trek comics such as Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness, IDW Publishing's first ongoing Star Trek series, and Star Trek: Picard – Countdown. Players can also pit their crews against others online in PVP mode, with unlimited daily battles in PVP leagues. There's also survival, where players can attempt to unlock more rewards.

Star Trek fans may remember Star Trek: Legends being promoted via a viral campaign featuring Star Trek: The Next Generation star Michael Dorn. One of the Star Trek: Legends developers previously spoke to ComicBook.com about creating a new starship for the game.

"The Nexus, where the game takes place, is this realm that you can only enter through these destructive rifts, so we had to kind of set up that the Federation of Planets created this unique starship that's the only starship in the fleet that can go into that realm," said Amir Lotan, Executive Producer and Creative Director on Star Trek: Legends, at the time. "Another reason is that, because we're bringing in characters from all eras of [Starfleet], we didn't want a starship that would be associated specifically with one of those shows or one of those eras. We really wanted something that would feel like it's the player's as the captain and can't be claimed by anybody that they bring on board."

Star Trek: Legends launches on Steam Early Access on February 20th. The game also remains available on Apple Arcade.