The recently announced game Star Trek: Outposts Unknown is set to deliver a SimCity-like builder set in the Strange New Worlds era and a new gameplay video and additional images show off what fans can expect, including “familiar faces” from the TV series.
But first, more on the demo planet
Outposts Unknown is being showcased in a new video that details a new planet – and set of environments – called “Kourou.” Though it, potential captains can see what they’ll need to accomplish on one planet before embarking off toward strange new worlds. The new video begins back on Daegus, the very same tropical oasis that captains who played through Outposts Unknown‘s demo will be very familiar with. The five-minute video actually spends most of its time explaining how players will need to build up one outpost before they can beam back up to the U.S.S. Resonant and head off to establish the next.
The gameplay video provides some narration to help explain the experience. “Terrestrial medical facilities, mess halls, housing, and other systems need to be well-supplied when you leave to establish the new research facility on Kourou,” general manager of developer Magic Fuel Games, Kip Katsarelis, explains in the video below.
“As captain, you’ll need to successfully manage the resource logistics underpinning your scientific efforts,” Katsarelis continued. “Always making sure there’s storage for your new resources, and that production buildings are getting the water, energy, processing capabilities, and resource inputs they need to succeed.”
As the video shows, you won’t always be able to use a planet’s resources to accomplish your goals. Instead, you can request resources from your ship’s own storage to bolster a building like the outpost’s mess hall — a shipment of food proteins from the Resonant may be all you need to continue on your journey of scientific exploration through the largely unexplored Tetryon Rift.
“With all the core systems in sync, it’s time for the resident to leave Daegus for a new adventure,” Katsarelis said. “The voyage map lets you inspect the various destinations within the X’Lehari system. Your mission is to better understand the Tetryon Rift and its risks, and each location offers a unique perspective on uncovering this mystery.”
Cold climates, volcanic veins, and steam vents… welcome to Kourou. (Magic Fuel Games/Playstack)
New planet, new dangers… familiar faces
The final couple minutes of today’s new trailer are all about the planet Kourou, a decidedly different experience than Daegus.
“Vast frozen glaciers slowly move across its surface, concealing integral resources beneath,” Katsarelis wrote in a Steam news post that accompanied today’s video. “Volcanic badlands shoot fire and magma through deep surface trenches, scaring the frozen landscape. Steam fields combine the two extremes as superheated water erupts and provides a home for the only source of organic material on the planet.”
That variety of environments is important, Katsarelis, as Outposts Unknown‘s unique planets will “provide unique opportunities, resources, and risks, as you explore and work towards solving the mystery of the Tetryon threat.”
Some of the races you’ll encounter… oh, and Admiral Robert April too. (Magic Fuel Games/Playstack)
We already knew that Outposts Unknown was set in Strange New Worlds‘ 23rd century, and that it certainly borrows from the show’s aesthetics. Today’s new video and accompanying assets solidify this, also showcasing Adrian Holmes’ Admiral Robert April, a former commander of the Enterprise. You can see the in-game version of April above, alongside “a cast of other familiar faces who’ve signed up with Starfleet to make the world a better place,” according to Katsarelis.
Adrian Holmes as Admiral April in season 4, episode 1, of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds streaming on Paramount+, 2026. Photo Credit: Jan Thijs/Paramount+
Star Trek: Outposts Unknown is a top-down outpost builder inspired by the likes of Sim City and Spore. The game has an unknown release date and is planned for Windows PC and Mac via Steam alongside unnamed consoles. As always, we’ll report back as we learn more about it.
Steve Wright is a longtime Trek fan, an experienced Australian-based games journalist, and the editor-in-chief of Stevivor.com, the country’s leading independent video games site. He’s recently opened up his own personal portfolio, available at SWright.au.
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