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The action-adventure sci-fi game, Star Control 2: The Ur-Quan Masters, first hit the scene back in 1992 for MS-DOS by none other than Toys for Bob. In February 2024, an open-source remake of The Ur-Quan Masters was released under the name of Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters. In fact, this game is freely available to everyone through Steam.
While a Star Control 3 was eventually developed, it was done so without the involvement of Toys for Bob. After Star Control 3 was released, Toys for Bob founders Paul Reiche and Fred Ford made the source code for the 3DO version of Star Control 2 open source. This is what led to this year's remake of the cult classic. Prior to this remake getting released, Reiche and Ford were interested in making a full sequel to The Ur-Quan Masters but were blocked from doing so as Stardock claimed ownership of the Star Control rights following the 2013 bankruptcy sale of Atari assets. Stardock's lawsuit against Reiche and Ford was eventually settled, with Stardock maintaining the rights to the Star Control name, but with permission granted to Reiche and Ford to make new Ur-Quan Masters games.
This is where Free Stars is born. Free Stars: Children of Infinity is a direct sequel to The Ur-Quan Masters. Though I never played the game myself, apparently The Ur-Quan Masters has been hailed as "one of the greatest games of all time." It has apparently been an inspiration for other celebrated franchises and titles such as Mass Effect, No Man's Sky, and Stellaris.
Free Stars: Children of Infinity is being developed by Pistol Shrimp Games, a development studio founded by none other than Paul Reiche and Fred Ford. Children of Infinity will keep to the retro aesthetic, arcade-style space combat, and player-driven story that they popularized with Star Control 2 back in '92.
Set three years after the defeat of the Ur-Quan hierarchy and its Sa-Matra battle platform, a new discovery draws the captain into an old mystery. Hope and conflict continue to be at odds in the universe, and a new threat surfaces that may change everything.
As the newest captain in the Alliance of Free Stars, players will load up their starmap and explore a massive, living universe with hundreds of star systems and thousands of planets. As they navigate these many worlds, they’ll meet alien species whom they can befriend (or offend due to their human ignorance), uncover untold aspects of the story with each new discovery, and collect resources to upgrade their starships and fleets. Players needn't face the various hazards and creatures of the galaxy alone; Free Stars: Children of Infinity will support online cooperative play among friends, plus competitive PvP Super Melee matches.
As the newest captain in the Alliance of Free Stars, players will load up their starmap and explore a massive, living universe with hundreds of star systems and thousands of planets. As they navigate these many worlds, they’ll meet alien species whom they can befriend (or offend due to their human ignorance), uncover untold aspects of the story with each new discovery, and collect resources to upgrade their starships and fleets. Players needn't face the various hazards and creatures of the galaxy alone; Free Stars: Children of Infinity will support online cooperative play among friends, plus competitive PvP Super Melee matches.
I'm definitely interested in supporting this project, but more excited that the Ur-Quan Masters has an easy-to-install home now on Steam.