Stardock CEO confirms Star Control reboot is a prequel, will include multiplayer

Waiting for a reboot of one of your favorite franchises can be emotionally draining.

Waiting for a reboot of one of your favorite franchises can be emotionally draining. Will it reignite an old flame like XCOM: Enemy Unknown, or defile your memory of it like SimCity? Stardock CEO Brad Wardell knows you're probably really stressed out about the Star Controlreboot he's been working on for the past six months, but it's cool—he said a bunch of things in an interview with Ars Techincathat should calm you down. Most importantly, he said that reboot will be a prequel and that it will include a multiplayer mode. "We plan to start the game around 2112 with aliens first contacting the Earthlings and the formation of Star Control," Wardell says.

Wardell says he has a lot of respect for the creators of the Star Control series, Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III. The two can't officially work on the reboot because of their commitment to Activision (where they're working on Skylanders), but Stardock is "talking to them" about the story, so as to better respect their vision. However, even with their support, Stardock isn't quite prepared to meddle with the future of that universe, which is why it's taking the series back in time.

Wardell also says that the multiplayer will bring bacc ship-to-ship combat. It will include the Super Melee mode from SC2, and maybe completely new, "more sophisticated" modes that Wardell says resemble Dota.

As he explained when he first announced the project, Stardock's reboot will draw its inspiration from Star Control 2. Its unique mix of role-playing, space combat, and adventure gameplay is commonly considered the high point of the series, and the reboot aims to hit the same notes only with much improved presentation provided by Oxide's impressive Nitrous engine.

Wardell doesn't expect to even consider a release date until late 2015, but he does expect PC to be the lead platform, and that that the reboot will be available on all platforms that the Nitrous engine supports.