Star Trek Online may have just entered closed beta about a month ago on Oct. 22, but Cryptic just announced that the open beta will be held from Jan. 12-26, 2010. Keys will be given on a first-come, first-served basis on the game's revamped Web site.

Star Trek Online is scheduled to launch on Feb. 2, 2010 in North America and Feb. 5 in Europe. Do you expect the game to actually be released on those days, or do you think the game will be delayed? We asked this question when the launch dates were announced, but it seems like a good time to ask it again since the open beta has already been scheduled.

Regardless, we're looking forward to the launch of the Star Trek MMO. We gave the game the "Best in Show" and "Most Innovative Gameplay" titles in our 2009 PAX Awards, and we also took another look at the game at the convention.

In anticipation of Star Trek Online's Feb. 2, 2010 launch in North America, Cryptic has completely revamped the game's official Web site. According to the announcement, "in addition to the new overall look, we'll be updating a lot of the features we've been bringing your way to look and feel more interactive, so they're informative and fun to read."

In addition, Cryptic has revealed the finalized box art for the Star Trek MMO. Just click the above image to see the full box art in all its glory.

Star Trek Online Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich has confirmed to the Associated Press that ship bridges will appear in the upcoming MMO as social hubs where players can hang out with their bridge officers and other captains.

"We didn't want to have interiors at launch," Zinkievich said. "We thought it was just a little bit too much. We really wanted to make sure we delivered a really deep experience, but your bridge not being in the game, it really felt like a hole in the game, and it was just something that we had to put in."

Zinkievich said players will be able to choose from about 20 different bridges in Star Trek Online. You can view a screenshot of a bridge that Cryptic gave to the Associated Press after the jump.

Eurogamer had already confirmed it, but now it's official: Star Trek Online is scheduled to launch on Feb. 2, 2010 in North America and Feb. 5 in Europe. If all goes according to plan, we'll be playing the MMO in less than three months. The closed beta began on Oct. 22, so only time will tell if this launch date will hold firm or if the release gets pushed back.

While you wait for the launch of Star Trek Online, you can make sure your PC is able to handle the game. Cryptic released the system requirements today, and it looks like most gamers will easily meet the minimum requirements. Just make sure you have 8GB free on your hard drive by February. You can check out the minimum and recommended system requirements after the jump.

As hinted to in an earlier developers chat, a new Star Trek Online developer blog at MMORPG.com explains the episodic progression in more detail. The post, "Star Trek Online: Episode Missions Explained," reveals the mechanic used in the upcoming MMO that link main story arcs together, progressing the content in 45- to 90-minute "Episodes." Apparently, Cryptic Studios decided to base the MMO's main "quest lines" on a format that better lends itself to the franchise; a series of "Episodes," each containing missions that advance the overall story at a familiar pace.

Just like watching a TV episode or movie unfold, the Episode missions "have themes, interesting dialog and dramatic moments designed specifically to look, feel and play like Star Trek," according to the blog. At launch, STO will feature three "Seasons," containing 14 Episodes each. "Post-launch, we already have plans in place to continue Star Trek Online's story with even more Episodes," the dev post indicates. Again, check out the full post for complete details, and stay tuned to our STO portal site for future news.

According to Eurogamer, Cryptic and Atari have confirmed that Star Trek Online will be released for PC on Feb. 2, 2010 in North America, followed by a Feb. 5 launch in Europe. Both Amazon and GameStop started listing Feb. 2 as the release date earlier this week, so it may not come as a surprise to excited Star Trek fans.

The closed beta for Star Trek Online just started on Oct. 22. Do you think the game will actually be ready to launch in three months, or will the release be delayed? Start placing your bets now! Personally, I hope the launch goes smoothly because I'm looking forward to taking command of a starship.

Gamespot has posted the second part of "The Future Past" video series for Star Trek Online. In case you missed it, the first part focused on the civil war between the Romulans and Remans and explained how the the Klingons and Gorn got involved in the battle. Associate Producer Andy Velasquez kicks off the second part by discussing how an alien race attempted to infiltrate the Klingon high command in 2395, which ultimately made the Klingons' attitude toward other races more aggressive.

After seven years of war, the Klingons seized control of the Gorn homeworld and discovered that the Gorn government had fallen prey to the same alien plot. Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich then picks up the lore starting in 2404 and explains the chain of events that led up to the war between the Klingon faction and the Federation. Zinkievich then welcomes players to 2409 and the setting of Star Trek Online. For more details, check out the Path to 2409 series on the official site.

For the past few weeks, the ZAM staff has been titillating our readership with exclusive Star Trek Online screenshots that have managed to be - as a whole - utterly captivating. This week's batch of exclusive STO screenshots is no exception and features a few spectacular shots of starship combat and one of our first peeks at a (rather studly) Cardassian!

So don't waste your time reading this, go check out the images!

Beam me up, Scotty! Cryptic just announced that Star Trek Online has entered closed beta as of today, Oct. 22. If you applied to be a beta tester, keep an eye on your e-mail and the game's official site to see if you've been accepted. The team will "periodically be inviting people to join in and share their feedback," so don't give up hope if you're not part of the initial wave.

There's still time to sign up for a beta spot. All you have to do is fill out the preview application and make an account if you haven't yet. We're definitely excited about the upcoming Star Trek MMO and suggest you sign up if you're at all interested in the franchise. We gave Star Trek Online the "Best in Show" and "Most Innovative Gameplay" titles in our first PAX Awards if that's any indication of our feelings about the game.

For more of our thoughts, check out our most recent preview of the game and some exclusive screenshots featuring Klingons and the Borg. So have any of you applied to be in the beta?

The transcript for yesterday's Star Trek Online dev chat on player progression has been posted on the official forums. System Designer Steve "Snix" Nix answered numerous questions on the topic, which was also covered in the two most recent Ask Cryptic segments.

Nix said your characters will have species traits based on the species you select. "Most species have one or more Traits that are always gained, while allowing the player to chose a few from the species list to customize their character," he said.

In response to a question asking if NPCs can leave your team, Nix said Cryptic is interested in exploring the gameplay options that could occur if your bridge officers advance to Captain. He also said they will be offering a version of "sidekicking" in Star Trek Online to "encourage player groups of various experience to play together." You can read the full transcript after the jump.