Cryptic Studios, the developer of City of Heroes/Villains, has picked up the beached Star Trek Online project.

This news comes from an advert in Game Developer's latest Game Career Guide e-newsletter, where Cryptic has taken out an advert that states the following:

"Cryptic Studios, a leading independent developer of and publisher of massively multiplayer online games, including the upcoming Champions Online and Star Trek Online, is expanding into a global marketplace and launching publishing operations around the world."

Previously in development at Perpetual Entertainment, Star Trek Online was then offloaded to an unnamed Californian developer in early 2008. Cryptic had interviewed members of the Star Trek Online team at the time, but this is the first confirmation that Cryptic has purchased the license and assets for the MMO from Perpetual Entertainment and CBS Consumer Products.

While the project was originally announced by Perpetual Entertainment in 2004, details on the game have been thin on the ground ever since, so lap up this juicy looking set of new screens while they're still hot.

[UPDATE] News from the official Star Trek Online website has confirmed the title "for both console and PC formats". Additionally, it seems you'll be able to play under Federation or Klingon factions, while Cryptic has specified that both space battles and away team based "face-to-face confrontations" will play a part.

The MMO is set in the 25th century of the Star Trek timeline (in other words, after the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager), and we're sure to know more when the game gets it's full reveal at the annual Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas on August 10th.