More than 20 years after its debut, revered sci-fi adventure The Ur-Quan Masters is finally coming to Steam next week

GamesAdventureMore than 20 years after its debut, revered sci-fi adventure The Ur-Quan Masters is finally coming to Steam next weekWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

YouTubeWatch On

YouTube

The Ur-Quan Masters, an open-source remake of the revered sci-fi exploration-adventure Star Control 2, is coming to Steam next week, free for all and with a slightly different title—Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters.

Fast-forward a quarter century, and Ford and Reiche finally decided it was time to make their own direct sequel to The Ur-Quan Masters, calledGhosts of the Precursors. Just one problem: Stardock claimed it acquired ownership of the Star Control rights in Atari’s 2013 bankruptcy fire sale, and it filed atrademark infringement lawsuitagainst the project. The lawsuit was eventuallysettled amicably: Stardock maintained the rights to the Star Control name, while Reiche and Ford were free to make new Ur-Quan Masters games.

“While UQM was—and always can be—available elsewhere, having a presence on Steam for UQM is helpful in a few ways,” Gerstein wrote in an October 2023blog post. “It’s a place where we can showcase the work of our community in maintaining UQM and maybe even help it reach new audiences.

“It also lets us establish a presence for the whole series. If game number 1 is on Steam, when game number 2 is coming, we can tie them together nicely in a way both new and old players can understand. Book stores, as an analogy, usually put each book in a series sitting next to each other on a shelf, and we want to do the same.”

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

YouTubeWatch On

YouTube

Reiche and Ken Fordleft Pistol Shrimpin September 2023 but work is still continuing on the direct sequel that was announced in 2017. As agreed in the Stardock settlement, it now has a new name that’s more in keeping with the renamed series: Free Stars: Children of Infinity. There’s no sign of a release target at this point but you can find out more about what’s coming atfreestarsgame.com.

More about adventureThank Goodness You’re Here! reviewTrain like you game with this adventure-inspired workoutLatestToday’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13See more latest►

More about adventureThank Goodness You’re Here! reviewTrain like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

More about adventure

Thank Goodness You’re Here! reviewTrain like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Personal Trainer Tyler Buckingham and the Train Like You Game logo

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13See more latest►

Latest

Today’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13

Wordle today being played on a phone

Today’s Wordle answer for Monday, January 13

See more latest►

Most Popular

Today’s Wordle answer for Sunday, January 12

Watching an all-romances speedrun of the legendarily janky Fallout: New Vegas is a delight

Activision will send you alarmingly detailed data for every single Call of Duty match you’ve played in the last 4 years if you ask, and players are using it to figure out their mysterious SBMM rankings

Here’s a game about being a depressed, lonely maintenance robot on a long-haul space colony ship

Civilization 7 has been Steam Deck Verified ahead of its launch next month

23-year-old D&D RPG Neverwinter Nights just got a new update thanks to the ‘unpaid software engineers’ of its unkillable community

My Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early access

Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes a run at improving parkour, as Ubisoft strives to make the system less ‘like a gas pedal’

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals