Star Trek Online developer sued by PR firm

Perpetual Entertainment, the developer behind the much-delayed Star Trek Online is being sued by the PR agency originally hired to promote the game, Kohnke Communications. Kohnke is accusing Perpetual of breach of contract, fraud and lots of other fancy legalese words.

The court case became public knowledge after MMO fansite TenTonHammer got its hands on a copy of the Californian court documents. The court case centers around the cancellation of another Perpetual title, Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising.

Kohnke is alleging in the filing that Perpetual canceled the game in order to avoid paying the PR firm for the promotion of the game. Fees would have totalled somewhere between $80,000 and $280,000 and Perpetual, who canceled the game in order to plow resources into the now more casual Star Trek Online, may have wanted to save that cash in order to fund development of the sci-fi MMO.

Kohnke is also alleging that PR materials were ordered by Perpetual, even when the developer knew that the game was going to be canceled. Kohnke is claiming that this action constitutes fraud.

The PR firm is seeking between $80,000 and $290,000 in damages, in addition to lost earnings.

What do you reckon to the idea of a Star Trek MMO - does it hold promise or is it just nothing more than a lame cash-in? Let us know what you think in the forums.