Bethesda secures Star Trek videogames license

After recent unofficial news that a new Star Trek videogame was in development, Elder Scrolls creator Bethesda Softworks has officially announced the acquisition of the exclusive license to create Star Trek video games across all formats.

Following an apparently amicable resolution to the much publicised legal wrangle between Viacom and previous license holders Activision in March last year, it was believed that Activision would maintain the license until 2009. However, following the official announcement of forthcoming PC and Xbox 360 title, Star Trek: Legacy, Bethesda has confirmed that it now holds the license and will be developing a number of new titles based on the legendary sci-fi series.

Bethesda Softworks' VP of development, Todd Vaughn, commented: "Being able to work with the entire universe of this beloved series is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us. We have some great ideas about where we want to go with this license and having the exclusive right to develop and publish Star Trek games across all platforms ensures that every Star Trek game will be a quality game worthy of its name."

The first title for the new license holders, Star Trek: Legacy, features a storyline that encompasses the original series, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise, and is scheduled for release on PC and Xbox 360 in September.

Star Trek: Tactical Assault, a previously unknown game for the PSP and Nintendo DS handhelds has also been confirmed by Bethesda, featuring real-time combat, multi-player modes and a storyline based on the original Star Trek series.