Star Trek: Bridge Crew gets a May launch date and adds the original Enterprise

The November 2016 launch date for the virtual reality starship command simulator Star Trek: Bridge Crew whooshed by like the USS Enterprise in the opening credits: You knew it was coming, and then in a blink, it was gone. But today Ubisoft announced a new launch date of May 30, and revealed that the Enterprise bridge from the original series will be playable in the game.

Star Trek: Bridge Crew is a four-player online co-op multiplayer game in which each player takes on a specific role—captain, helm, tactical, and engineer—aboard a ship exploring an uncharted region of space known as the Trench. It was originally built around a new ship, the USS Aegis, which is loaded with unique, cutting-edge technology, but doesn't have quite the same emotional hook as the classic 1701.

"We felt it was important to include a part of classic Star Trek with this game, especially during Star Trek’s 50th anniversary,” Red Storm Entertainment senior creative director David Votypka said. “The original USS Enterprise is such an iconic part of the franchise—It’s the ship that started it all. The adventures and relationships that took place on the ship are a special part of Star Trek history, so we were determined to give players the opportunity to create their own adventures and stories on this classic ship."

Wes spent some time on the bridge of the Aegis last year and liked it quite a bit, despite its lack of complexity: "It looks so authentically Star Trek, especially when you press a button to view outside the ship and see your photon torpedoes arcing through space towards an enemy, that it's hard not to get into the action," he wrote. The Steam listing indicates that Star Trek: Bridge Crew requires an HTC Vive headset, but the latest announcement says it will also support the Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, if that's your thing. Find out more at startrekbridgecrew.com.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.