Star Trek: The Next Generation Sequel Officially Confirmed With Fan-Favorite Character

Published Oct 14, 2026, 1:00 AM EDT

Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond. 

Star Trek: The Next Generation completely changed the way people thought about science fiction television when it first aired back in 1987. Building on the legacy of the original Star Trek, the series introduced an unforgettable new crew led by Patrick Stewart's Captain Jean-Luc Picard, alongside fan-favorite characters like William Riker, Data, Worf, and Geordi La Forge.

Beyond its groundbreaking storytelling and unique approach that reinvented the classic formula, TNG ushered in an entirely new era and paved the way for future franchise hits, setting the stage for beloved spin-offs like Deep Space Nine and Voyager. Its legacy has lasted decades, with modern revivals like Star Trek: Picard that reunited several members of the original cast/crew and, despite two somewhat divisive early seasons, ended up bringing everything full circle with an epic reunion finale.

Now, as Star Trek celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, the franchise is preparing to revisit the beloved TNG era once again with an official new sequel, bringing one fan-favorite character back into the spotlight in an unexpected way.

Star Trek Returns To The Next Generation Era In 2027

Credit: MovieStillsDB

Star Trek will be making yet another modern return to The Next Generation era in the upcoming release of Star Trek: Shadow Frontier, a brand-new survival-horror experience from Bloober Team and Paramount Games that will spotlight one of the series' best characters, Lieutenant Ro Laren.

The story will focus on Ro answering a mysterious distress call in hopes of rescuing an old friend, only for her ship to crash on an uncharted planet littered with the wreckage of other vessels. What initially appears to be a rescue mission becomes a desperate fight for survival, as Ro discovers that the world is home to a strange, planet-wide consciousness capable of corrupting its environment and the minds of anyone unfortunate enough to get trapped there.

Shadow Frontier will be a unique experience for TNG fans in particular, taking players into an alien spaceship graveyard that features full-on horror gameplay. The planet's ecosystem is actively hostile, with terrifying creatures and environmental hazards, as well as other survivors who will be making things even more difficult for Ro than they need to be. According to the game's Steam description, a mysterious entity invades her thoughts, twisting her memories and forcing her to confront haunting visions that will make players question what's real.

Bloober Team is leaning heavily into the psychological storytelling that made its Silent Hill 2 remake so great, although Shadow Frontier is technically described as a third-person "action-adventure" game rather than a traditional survival-horror experience (but Bloober isn't fooling anyone). Players will investigate their surroundings, solve puzzles on a spooky alien planet, and even use iconic Starfleet technology, including a tricorder and phasers.

Michelle Forbes Is Back As Ro Laren In Shadow Frontier

• 

• 

With Michelle Forbes officially returning to reprise her iconic role, the upcoming 2027 release of Shadow Frontier promises a very different kind of Star Trek experience than fans are used to, but will still harken back to one of the best time periods. Ro is an interesting choice to lead the game, as her Starfleet career was anything but straightforward.

Introduced in season 5 of TNG, the Bajoran officer had a troubled past and initially struggled to gain Picard's trust. Over time, he became her mentor, and she earned a place aboard the Enterprise-D. That relationship collapsed in Season 7 during the infamous "Preemptive Strike" episode, when Ro abandoned her mission and joined the resistance group instead.

For decades, that betrayal was where her on-screen story ended, until Star Trek: Picard brought her back during Season 3, revealing that she had eventually surrendered to Starfleet, been imprisoned, and later recruited into Intelligence. By then, she had risen to commander, and her final reunion with Picard offered some long-awaited reconciliation before she sacrificed herself to expose a Changeling conspiracy.

Exactly where Shadow Frontier fits into that history is still unconfirmed at the moment, though its focus on Ro's unresolved trauma suggests a return to an earlier chapter of her life, potentially exploring the largely unseen years between The Next Generation and Picard. However, developers have not specified whether events happen before or after her defection to the Maquis, though it's likely to come to light sooner rather than later.

Either way, the game's psychological premise is well suited to Ro, being a character haunted by the consequences of her choices and even potentially giving us a bit more context into her rationale for defecting in the first place.

If you're excited for Shadow Frontier, Star Trek fans can wishlist it on Steam now to receive updates ahead of its planned 2027 launch.

Star Trek: Shadow Frontier

Systems