Elite Force was one of several Star Trek games announced after Activision secured the license to Star Trek video games from Viacom in 1998. The game was one of the first to license id Tech 3, a game engine by id Software used by a number of video games during the early 2000s. Elite Force was a critical success, and is often praised as the first truly successful Star Trek video game, able to appeal to people who were not Star Trek fans. Raven Software released an expansion pack to the game in May 2001, whilst Wildstorm adapted the story for a short graphic novel in July 2000. A sequel developed by Ritual Entertainment, Star Trek: Elite Force II, was published in 2003.