All good things must come to an end. Today I am announcing my departure from Star Trek Online and Cryptic Studios.

While there is never a perfect time to leave such a good thing, I’ve chosen to move on in my career and pursue new challenges. This was a difficult decision but ultimately one that will start a new chapter for me and my family. My time at Cryptic has been wonderful and I strongly believe in all the employees of this company.

Stephen D’Angelo, formerly the lead programmer on STO and current CTO of Cryptic, is returning to manage the project and ensure that the free-to-play launch goes off without a hitch.

Stephen will be driving the schedule through F2P launch and the months after to ensure that the switch over goes well and that there is a solid content plan after re-launch.

In the meantime, Cryptic will be considering a permanent Executive Producer to take over the LIVE development team in the months after free-to-play launches. Rest assured that the team responsible for all the great improvements and enhancements to the game is still here. I’ve no doubt that you’ll enjoy the creativity and talent this team has to offer in the months and years ahead.