Cryptic Studios officially announced its development of Star Trek Online on July 28, 2008, as a countdown timer on Cryptic`s web site reached zero and the new official site was launched. A letter was sent out from Jack Emmert, the game`s online producer, detailing some aspects of Cryptic`s approach. Previously, on January 15, 2008, Warcry Network reported that Perpetual Entertainment, the game`s earlier developer, had ceased work on the title. The license and other assets were transferred to another San Francisco Bay Area development studio. The new developer was unnamed at first, but several clues pointed toward Cryptic Studios, original developers of the superhero MMORPG City of Heroes.

According to the official web site, each player can be captain of his or her own ship, with explicit mention of a "Federation Captain" and a "Klingon Warrior" as possibilities. It also stated that players will be able to beam down onto the surfaces of different planets "for face-to-face confrontations". Exploration of the inside of starships is also implied. The first announcement of the game structure took place at a media event in Las Vegas in August 2008. it was announced that players could play as a Starfleet or Klingon officer, or can create entirely new races. Adventures will be possible in space, on planets, or aboard ships. Every player will be captain of their own individual ship; in keeping with naval tradition, anyone who commands a ship, regardless of his or her `actual` rank, is considered a `captain`. Their ships will have a number of crewmen who will all be NPCs.

According to an interview by Gamespot with Cryptic Studios` executive producer Craig Zinkievich, there will be references to several famous storylines, ships, and characters from various Star Trek shows. Players will be able to explore uncharted star systems, and might find content which opens up new resources and technologies. Players may find races with various special abilities who can be recruited to the players` crew. The game will feature two very different combat systems. Away-team missions will feature fast paced "run and gun" combat. Space combat will stress the long-term tactical aspect of combat between capital ships, in concert with the Star Trek storyline, and will entail positioning, shifting power from weapons to shields, and finding various weaknesses.

There might be a Galactic Economy, which would be based on trade, and might fluctuate like a stock market. It will be possible for players to pool resources to form fleets or guilds. Fleets will be able to build space stations, mining platforms, satellites, shipyards, and more. Quests be issued from Central Command, and players can join together on the ground. Gameplay will be fully co-operative, and dynamic events will be one part of the game. A "system of infinite exploration" will enable players to find and explore random, uncharted planets.

There will be variety of ship classes which can be used by all players. Playable ship classes will not be restricted based on a player`s specialty.