Like many MMOs before it, ‘Star Trek Online’ has become free to play. The game, by Cryptic Studios, takes place during the 25th century, in the year 2409, which is beyond the last ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ film. In the game, players can become a captain of a Federation starship, exploring strange new worlds and defending the Federation from the Borg, or players can become a Klingon Warlord and expand the Empire.

The first AAA MMO to have space and ground combat at launch, ‘Star Trek Online’ allows you to create your own species and customize your ship. Missions take you and your fellow players across the galaxy, and you get to visit many locations and engage in combat in space. The journey is yours, so you can focus on meeting new civilizations or fighting the Borg.

The monthly subscription fee has not changed, so current subscribers should not experience any changes. If you are a current monthly subscriber, you will automatically be a Gold Member, having access to all of the features you presently have. If you purchased a Lifetime membership, nothing will change for you. Lifetime subscribers become Gold Members but will not be charged a monthly fee and continue to have complete access to the game.

Those who want to play for free are Silver Players. If you are a subscriber, you can downgrade from Gold to Silver, but you will not have access to certain features. Silver players have smaller inventories, limited access to chat for the first 20 hours of gameplay, have limited access to the forums, and cannot access special Veteran Rewards.

If you would like to become a part of the ‘Star Trek’ universe, you can visit the site and download the game.

Here is a trailer for the game: