It seems like ages ago that Perpetual Entertainment announced the “indefinite hold” that had been placed on their historically-based MMORPG, Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, leading many to question the future of the company’s other project, Star Trek Online.

When the original announcement hit that Perpetual’s original IP MMORPG would not see store shelves, the reason given by the company’s President Chris McKibbon was that the company would be focusing its efforts entirely upon their proprietary engine and on the development of Star Trek Online:

“Moving forward, we're shifting our collective focus, resources and development efforts to Perpetual's Platform Services division and Star Trek Online, thereby ensuring that the game lives up to the high level of expectation set by the dedicated Star Trek fan base.”

Recent events though suggest that it looks as though the “dedicated Star Trek fan base” will never see Perpetual’s vision of the Star Trek Universe as Warcry’s Dana Massey reported yesterday that, according to “multiple [unnamed] inside sources”, P2 (known previously as Perpetual Entertainment) had “ceased development on Star Trek Online”.

Massey’s article went on to assert that the license, along with the game’s content, minus the code, would be moving into the hands of another development studio in the San Francisco area.

Later last night, a site called Woot Studios announced that the San Francisco area studio in question is none other than Cryptic Studios. When reached for comment, Cryptic’s Online Community Manager Victor Wachter told MMORPG.com:

“What we are doing with P2 is interviewing a number of their former employees for positions here at Cryptic for our projects currently under development.”

While this is not an official confirmation, even the rumor could be seen as welcome news to numerous STO fans who had shown concern that Perpetual’s vision for the game and staying power as a company were lacking.

Cryptic Studios is best known for their work in developing the first ever superhero MMORPG in City of Heroes, which was later followed by its companion game, City of Villains. Both of these games have gained notoriety through their unique and detailed character creation and class systems.

Star Trek Online, should the license go to Cryptic, will join the studio’s other high-profile upcoming MMORPG Marvel Universe Online and would certainly make Cryptic the studio to watch in the coming years.

With all of this to consider, on question burns in my mind... If Cryptic Studios ends up developing a Star Trek MMORPG and Marvel Universe Online at the same time, will we finally see a digital version of those great X-Men / Star Trek crossover comics and books?