Put this squarely in the “rumor”  “seems likely” category for now even though there’s been no official confirmation as of yet.  I spotted this just now via Virgin Worlds, which linked to the “news” at The Escapist.   Here’s what is being said:

We’ve received word from an anonymous source that Perpetual Entertainment, developers of Gods and Heroes and Star Trek Online, will dissolve in the near future.

The remnants of the company have been acquired by a major independent game developer, which will purchase Star Trek Online and Perpetual’s game platform assets. It’s unknown whether Gods and Heroes will be purchased, but the leadership has already offered certain members of the team a position in the new company, working on the Star Trek Online team. The majority of the Gods and Heroes team will be laid off, so the game’s future doesn’t seem bright.

Phone calls to Perpetual were not immediately returned.

So, if this is true, it sounds like G&H might cease to exist, while STO might live on but be a long ways out.  If this is true, my thoughts are with all the devs who may be laid off. 

So Warhammer Online announces a 2 month beta shutdown (and quite possibly a delayed release as well), Tabula Rasa pushed back it’s release two weeks, AoC was already pushed back, Spellborn has been pushed back and now it seems that G&H might be extinct.  It’s been an interesting 2007 indeed - heck let’s throw in the VG debacle just for old times sake.

Will certainly update here to either confirm this is true and give more info, or to retract this if it turns out to be false.

EDIT:  More info from WarCry:

Perpetual Entertainment has indefinitely delayed (essentially canceled) Gods and Heroes. The company will continue work on their development platform and Star Trek Online, and continue its operations in the same San Francisco studio under the same management. Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising, though, is no more.

Our source tells us that the majority of the Gods and Heroes development team has been let go as part of the move, which comes only a few weeks after they had downsized and pushed back the release date. The Star Trek Online team, those who worked on the Perpetual Platform (which was recently licensed to BioWare) and a small number of people from the Gods and Heroes team will be remain with the company.

WarCry will bring you more details as the story unfolds.

Update 8:28 PM EST: We originally reported that Perpetual Entertainment had been acquired by another firm, but according to further sources at Perpetual this not in fact the case. It will continue on as described above with new investors.

More from TTH:

The industry types are buzzing like bees about this one.

Inside sources are reporting that Perpetual Entertainment, makers of the upcoming MMOGs Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising and Star Trek Online are being bought out by an undisclosed studio. WarCry is reporting that according to their sources it may not be a complete buy-out, but rumors are flying like crazy and nothing will be positive until an official announcement goes out.

Other sources indicate that the company involved in the acquisition/investment is likely to be Foundation 9 Entertainment (http://www.f9e.com/), although this is unconfirmed at this time.

Keep an eye on Ten Ton Hammer for further news as the situation develops!

Well that’s starting to sound a bit more “official”, but again, nothing has been directly released by Perpetual at this time that I’m aware of.  Again, my thoughts and prayers go out to all affected by the layoff.  I’ve had to lay off people before and it’s not a fun thing to do, at all.  Seems that G&H is definitely gone and who knows how this will impact the timeframe for STO, although really they weren’t getting into real “production” until 2008 anyhow.

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I wouldn’t call myself a hard-core Trekkie, but I’ve watched my fair share of Star Trek over the years.  I love ST:TNG and own all the seasons on DVD.  I also own all of Voyager (I was never into DS9 much).  As far as the original, I loved the movies they were in but was never a huge fan of the original tv series.  So there you go - I’ve laid out my Trek cred for what’s it worth on the table.

I do have enough Klingon blood running through my veins that I’m excited about what Star Trek Online could be someday.  I honestly haven’t heard a heck of a lot about this title except that it’s in development, but that’s mostly because 2008 will really be the year they ramp up into real production.  So there hasn’t been a lot to say about it yet, but a recent article by MPOGD.com gives us more insight into what developer Perpetual is up to.  They were fortunate enough to interview Daron Stinnett, Executive Producer of Star Trek Online.  Through this interview I learned several things about what they have planned for the game such as:

1.  Star Trek will have defined classes called “professions” - science, tactical, engineering, security, etc. as broad categories which can branch into more specific roles.

2.  Everyone will get a ship, starting out with a shuttle and working your way up.  You won’t, however, be flying the Enterprise.

3.  The largest ships and also space stations will be the equivalent of player run cities, having all the services you’d expect in a typical MMO city.

4.  Player models have a unique, stylized look to them that apparently is pretty appealing, differntiating different races quickly based on body type, etc.

5.  There will be seven playable races.

6.  Group size will likely be the typical 5-6 people, with larger groups for raids (called Armadas).  There will also be guilds (called Fleets).

7.  PvP?  Yep - consensual PvP in the Holodecks (where things like arena and specific matches can be fought) as well as world PvP.  There will also be special free-for-all PvP servers set up.

8.  The game will take place 25 years past Star Trek:  Nemesis.  So it’s the future of the Trek Universe, after Picard’s time.

9.  Holodecks (can and probably will) serve as portals to missions in any conceivable era of time, much like the show.  So in a way you almost have the Star-Gate-esque thing going on there.

So there are a few choice pieces of information for those of you, like me, who had not heard a lot of detail about this game yet.  How will this game ultimately turn out?  Time will tell, but it’s got definite brand recognition and a huge following.  I’ll be very interested to hear more detail on specific game mechanics as time goes on.  Live long and prosper.

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