Star Trek Online
Cryptic Studios · Arc Games
The long-running Star Trek MMO where episodic storytelling and starship combat carry a creaky but beloved frame.
Worth playing in 2026?
Worth a look, with caveatsStar Trek Online in 2026 scores 64/100 on the overall lens — updates arrive at a steady drip, and reviews aggregate to 72/100. It's genuinely excellent played entirely solo.
Worth it if
- ✓ Trek fans
- ✓ Ship collectors
- ✓ Solo episodic story players
Skip it if
- ✗ lockbox/gamble-ship monetization
- ✗ ground combat is clunky
- ✗ aging systems bloat
Composed from this page's data — score, update cadence, monetization — not from a reviewer's mood. Same inputs as the tier list.
What it costs to start
Free to start- · Free to download and play — no purchase required
- · Free to play; the entire episode campaign is free
- · Ships, lockboxes and keys are the monetization
- · Optional monthly or lifetime sub adds perks and a currency stipend
Prices and bundles change — verify on the official site ↗.
Business model
Combat
World design
Platforms
Housing
Update cadence
Steam Deck
Cross-play
Cross-progression
Profile facts verified 2026-07-21 · monetization verified 2026-07-21
Time commitment
Low chore pressure = the game doesn't punish missed days. Editorial assessments · verified 2026-07-21.
Development
Review scores
Population activity
Sourced, dated observations — never an estimate. Different sources measure different things and are never combined.
Platform activity
Scope: Players with the game open through the Steam client at the moment of observation, as reported by Steam's own player-count API. partial coverage
Does not include: The game's own launcher, console players, other storefronts (Epic, standalone clients), and any separate regions or server clusters. For most MMOs Steam is one launcher among several, so this is a floor, not a total.
Source & method →Related context (not a player count)
Data as of 2026-09-12.
Live data refreshed 2026-09-12 · refreshes daily
Gameplay profile
Editorial scales · verified 2026-07-21
Pros & cons
- ✓ Ship combat is unique and satisfying
- ✓ Episodes feel like Trek TV
- ✓ Original cast voice work
- ✗ Lockbox/gamble-ship monetization
- ✗ Ground combat is clunky
- ✗ Aging systems bloat
Best for
- Trek fans
- Ship collectors
- Solo episodic story players
Notes & links
Moved to reduced content cadence in recent years.
Sources
Guilds recruiting
No guilds recruiting for Star Trek Online yet
Playing with a community? Yours could be the first listing here — an evergreen recruitment page beats weekly forum posts.
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Not sure Star Trek Online is your game?
Answer a few questions about how you actually play — get matches ranked by fit, not popularity. About 60 seconds.
What changed recently
- Star Trek Online walks players through Spock's life with September 22's Rediscovered update read ↗
- Star Trek Online shares more information about September 8's digital presentation event read ↗
- Star Trek Online and Beyond: A Star Trek Day Celebration! read ↗
Same rules as the email alerts: Steam activity swings of ±15%+, calendar events in the next two weeks, release-date changes, recent news. Quiet spells show nothing.
Head-to-head
Frequently asked questions
▸Is Star Trek Online free to play?
Yes — free to start. Free to download and play — no purchase required. Free to play; the entire episode campaign is free. Ships, lockboxes and keys are the monetization.
▸Is Star Trek Online worth playing in 2026?
Worth a look, with caveats. Star Trek Online in 2026 scores 64/100 on the overall lens — updates arrive at a steady drip, and reviews aggregate to 72/100. It's genuinely excellent played entirely solo.
▸How many people play Star Trek Online? Is it dead?
Star Trek Online's official servers are online, but no verified total player count is publicly available. MMOlist shows sourced activity observations — such as Steam concurrent players where a source exists — in the Population activity section rather than estimating a total. An absence of public numbers is not evidence that a game is dead.
▸Is Star Trek Online pay-to-win?
Somewhat — there is real cash-shop advantage, though opinions differ on how much it matters.
▸What platforms is Star Trek Online on?
Star Trek Online is available on PC, PlayStation, Xbox.
Spotted outdated or wrong info? — corrections ship fast.