Stardock today announced Star Control: Origins, a new entry in the classic sci-fi series that had players exploring the galaxy and interacting with alien life. It will come out for PC and unspecified consoles. Stardock noted in a press release that the PC version is scheduled to come out in 2017, but it did not specify a time frame for consoles. This will be the first entry in the franchise since Star Control 3 released in 1996 for PC.
The original Star Control came out in 1990, and it centered on spaceship battles. The sequel, 1992’s Star Control II, elevated the series by adding role-playing game mechanics and focusing on exploration, story, and diplomacy. Many PC gamers and critics consider it one of the greatest games ever made. Fans later made a not-for-profit version of Star Control II called The Ur-Quan Masters that could run on newer PCs.
Stardock is selling a $40 Founder’s program, which gives players access to a beta version of the game, modding tools, and “private journals.”
Stardock bought the rights to Star Control in 2013 from Atari. It received publishing rights for the original three games as well, which are on sale now at the new Star Control site. Stardock opened a new studio in Towson, Maryland, to work on Star Control: Origins.
“The game starts in the year 2086 with the unaware humans receiving a distress call from an alien ship that has crashed on the moon of Triton, leading to the formation of Star Control, an international space agency dedicated to protecting the Earth,” Stardock noted in a press release sent to GamesBeat. “The player takes on the role of The Captain of Earth’s first interstellar ship whose first mission is to investigate the distress signal.”
The game’s structure sounds similar to Star Control 2’s, promising a galaxy filled with alien species and worlds.
“Star Control is ultimately about us Earthlings exploring the galaxy, finding and talking to strange alien civilizations, and hopefully living to tell the tale,” said Brad Wardell, Star Control: Origins’ executive producer . “We are hopeful those who remember the original trilogy will like the direction we’re taking here while at the same time introducing a whole new generation to the awesomeness of a game that combined action, adventure, and roleplaying in a sci-fi game simultaneously.”
Although this is Stardock’s first Star Control, the company has experience with sci-fi games. It has released strategy titles for PC like the Galactic Civilizations series and Sins of the Solar Empire.