Star Trek Online Ships Become Canon

Over the years, numerous Star Trek actors have had the chance to revisit their iconic characters in Star Trek Online. And now, apparently, the opposite is also true, as a number of starships designed specifically for Cryptic Studios’ MMO have made an appearance in the Season 2 premiere of Star Trek: Picard.

Here’s a press release with some extra details:

It was a historic moment for Star Trek Online last night, as four of the game’s starships were featured in the Season 2 premiere of Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+. At the end of the episode “The Star Gazer,” a fleet of Starfleet ships can be seen on screen, which includes original starship models from the long running free-to-play MMORPG, including the Gagarin Miracle Worker Battlecruiser, the Legendary Ross Command Exploration Cruiser, the Sutherland Advanced Research Vessel and the Reliant Advanced Light Cruiser. This marks the very first time in the game’s history that original content from Star Trek Online has been featured on a live Star Trek show, officially establishing these beloved ships as canon. This incredible opportunity was made possible by a collaboration between Star Trek: Picard’s production team and Star Trek Online’s design team at Cryptic Studios.

“It’s been such a great honor working with the STO people because they are passionate people who know Star Trek design,” Dave Blass, Production Designer for Star Trek: Picard. “They know how to design a Federation starship and it’s so important, both to me and the fans, to work with collaborators who can capture the nuance of these ships, down to the last detail. They made my life so much easier and we got to use the best possible ships on Picard. It’s going to be an amazing experience for all the fans.”

“As a childhood fan of Star Trek and Star Trek ships, I have spent my life fascinated with the incredible machines that boldly took our heroes into the final frontier,” Thomas Marrone, Associate Art Director for Star Trek Online. “Now, thanks to our collaboration with Picard, I can say that starships my team has created for Star Trek Online are now a part of the larger Star Trek canon. It was an incredible honor for us to contribute to the larger Star Trek Universe and we were thrilled to see them in action on Picard last night.

In addition to contributing ship models to the Federation fleet in Star Trek: Picard, two of Star Trek Online’s developers, Thomas Marrone (Associate Art Director) and Hector Ortiz (Senior Concept Artist) were also invited to collaborate with the show’s production team on the design of the U.S.S. Stargazer. The ship also made its premiere during last night’s episode.

The Star Trek Online ships that were featured on the Season 2 premiere of Picard include:

Gagarin Miracle Worker Battlecruiser – The Gagarin-class Miracle Worker Battlecruiser is a powerful Federation Battlecruiser, using the latest innovations and technology to make dream goals of the past reality today. It draws inspiration from many of the experiments attempted by the Shepard-class Battlecruisers of the 23rd century.

Legendary Ross Command Exploration Cruiser – Commissioned in the 2380s, the Ross class Exploration Cruiser is a hybrid of the Galaxy and Sovereign-class aesthetic. The U.S.S. Ross pioneers many advanced technologies that will go on to become standard on Starfleet ships in the 25th century.

Sutherland Advanced Research Vessel – The Sutherland-class Advanced Research Vessel is built to support fleet actions, as well as stand tall on its own through the use of its tachyon-based tech. A tough Federation science ship equipped with a Tachyon Particle Field Emitter, allowing it to drain enemy shields and restore the shields of allies in battle.

Reliant-class Advanced Light Cruiser – This modern version of the classic Miranda Class starship has been outfitted for high maneuverability, without sacrificing much in the way of the defensive and utility capabilities typically associated with Cruiser type vessels.

The first episode for Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard, “Star Gazer” is now live on Paramount+: https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/star-trek-picard/