We’re fans of the Last Frontier these parts, so when the combo rang with news of a Star Trek game for Nintendo’s latest console, our anticipation grew like a bunch of tribbles in a grain silo.

As you can probably tell from the title, Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Universe is set during the TNG-DS9-VOY era and is tasked with bringing Captain Janeway’s crew home safely after they have been thrown to the other side of the galaxy by an alien force.

If you’ve watched the show over the 30-plus years since its debut, you know that the Delta Quadrant is full of dangers of all shapes and sizes, cubic or otherwise. However, the German-developed game Xcite deviates from canon and allows you to make different decisions throughout your journey, exploring hypothetical scenarios that will actually put you in the captain’s chair.

We spoke to the game director daniel bernard Get a few things confirmed via email and learn a little more ahead of the demo hitting the eShop on Monday and the game launching in the coming weeks…

you said inside you Development video focused on combat So you took inspiration from Starfleet Command, Bridge Commander, and Legacy. What other games besides Star Trek did you have in mind when designing Across the Unknown? (Side note: I love FTL. still Please hold out hope for a Switch port!)

We are from FTL everspace 2 — We wanted the combat to be as close to what you see on the show as possible. What would it be like to be the captain of a Starfleet cruiser instead of a fighter jet?

Gene Roddenberry, based on C.S. Forester’s novel about a British naval captain during the Napoleonic Wars, envisioned Captain Kirk as a “Space Age Captain Horatio Hornblower”, a decisive leader on a long voyage. Captain Janeway continues this tradition as Voyager Captain.

Naval battle tactics influence space combat and make space combat more authentic. Even cloaked vessels are similar to submarines, such as German U-boats of World War II or submarines of naval warfare, which are difficult to detect. We wanted our game to follow this tradition.

How long have you been working on this game? When did we hear about the Switch 2 version?

We started the initial concept in the summer of 2022, but it took quite a while to secure the license and publisher for Star Trek. We also created a prototype first to test some ideas and get everyone on the same page about the vision. Full-scale production will finally begin in September 2023.

We wanted to develop a Switch 2 version as soon as the console was announced, as the handheld format is ideal for our gameplay style, but understandably it took some time to get our hands on a development kit. Porting finally began in the fall of 2025.

Voyager seems well-suited to a roguelike structure, with a clear goal/journey and many decisions that Janeway must make along the way. I’m sure some fan-favorite topics have popped up (Tubix, Kim’s non-promos, warping 10 baby lizards!), but can you talk about the perhaps less obvious elements of the show that you’ve incorporated?

First of all, I should clarify that this game is not a true roguelike. We started with this concept, but quickly realized that the structure wasn’t a great fit due to the strong narrative and simple length of the show (and the journey within it). Instead of a simple “run” with multiple failures and restarts, you’ll be playing a 15-hour campaign to bring Voyager home.

To keep subsequent playthroughs interesting, you can build completely different ships, with an emphasis on research and resource production, or offensive and defensive capabilities, as well as narrative choices that lead to interesting “what if” scenarios and new ways to solve the questline.

For example, you can offer Seska a pardon and add a capable hero, but you may lose Chakotay due to protests. Or maybe B’Elanna finds a way to reprogram the Dreadnoughts she originally used against the Cardassians to become allies. Finally, what happens when we find a cloaking device for Voyager?

From the outside looking in, Across the Unknown appears to be a PC-first experience. What was the biggest design challenge in adapting this to consoles, specifically Switch 2? Mouse mode feels like a natural fit, whereas other consoles don’t have it.

In fact, the biggest challenge is the controls and whether the game plays well with a gamepad. But many people also play PC games from the comfort of their couches with gamepads or handheld devices like Steam Deck and ROG Ally. That’s why we designed the UI/UX from the beginning to work well with both mice and gamepads.

On average, how long does it take to successfully return to the Alpha Quadrant? Are multiple “runs” part of the gameplay loop, or are we considering a longer journey?

The first trip will take between 15 and 20 hours, depending on the amount of side missions and exploration that players do. As mentioned above, multiple runs aren’t part of the game loop, but with a branching narrative and a variety of options for building your Voyager, there’s plenty of incentive to replay the game.

Have you considered including anything that was marked “off-limits” for some reason (outside the scope of the project/directed by the license holder, etc.)?

Because our campaign follows the events of the series and tells the stories of established characters, we were very careful to give players meaningful choices while ensuring they didn’t feel out of place. For example, as Starfleet ships, they aren’t outright raiding other races.

On a related note, does the game include characters and elements from a wide range of franchises, or is this strictly Voyager-only? With so many shows and timelines/universes, the possibilities feel endless (and mind-boggling?).

We have the rights to all “Next Generation” era programming, but so far we’re focused on characters and events from the Voyager TV show. This is also the most logical choice since Voyager is far away from other Federation ships.

The Steam page says that the final version will include “partial narration and updated music and sound effects.” Can you elaborate on that? Will dialogue and music from the show also appear in the game?

Star Trek: Voyager – Beyond the Unknown will feature fully voiced logs by Tuvok and Tom Paris at the beginning of each sector. It was important to us to bring back the original actors in a meaningful way. These logs summarize recent events and prepare you for upcoming missions. The characters are voiced by original actors Tim Rath and Robert Duncan MacNeil.

Finally, we’ll also include the show’s main theme for the game’s full release.

When it comes to art, do you have access to materials and archival documents on art properties from CBS, or does it all come from personal research?

both. Our licensors have provided us with certain assets from their archives, but please keep in mind that Voyager is a fairly old show, so most things, such as ship models, are not available in the format we need and will therefore be recreated based on our research.

Trekkies are famous for their attention to detail and are quick to provide “feedback”. How does the team manage the weight of expectations placed on it by its players?

We were quite nervous before releasing the first trailer and then the demo, but luckily the majority of feedback was very positive. [Note. The demo was released earlier on other platforms.] Most players know that we are an indie team, but we absolutely love this IP. Because we are fans ourselves.

Therefore, we greatly appreciate the feedback and were able to correct many small mistakes and lore inconsistencies. That’s exactly why we released a demo during development.

Finally I have to ask. If you were Janeway, would you separate Tuvix?

I definitely will. But as players, we allow ourselves to ask, “What if…?”

Thanks to Daniel for the answers and Michal on 32-33 for the preparation.

Star Trek: Voyager – Beyond the Unknown launches on February 18th on Switch 2 and other platforms. $39.99 / £32.49there is a d of 10%,The e-shop iscount is valid until the release date. The demo will be available on the Switch 2 eShop on Monday, February 9th.

If you are looking forward to the trip, please let us know below. We would also like to hear your opinions on collective nouns in tribbles.