Earlier this week, actor Leonard Nimoy passed away after checking himself into the hospital a few days prior. The beloved Star Trek star was 83.

Already there has been a huge outpouring of fan support for Nimoy - who most famously portrayed the character of Spock for Star Trek - including a “Live Long and Prosper” hash tag across all of social media. Nimoy may have been an icon amongst geeks and nerds most especially, but his legacy reaches much farther than that.

Part of that legacy will soon include an in-game memorial in Star Trek Online that is set to go live on March 5th. Executive Producer Stephen Ricossa took to the official Star Trek Online forums to reveal plans for the standing memorial, which developer Cryptic Studios will implement during their regular maintenance.

"I want to once again express my heartfelt condolences to the friends, family, and fans of Leonard Nimoy. Everyone at Cryptic Studios was saddened to hear of his passing and we want to make sure we never forget the cultural impact of the man or the character he played. To that end, the Star Trek Online team will implement a standing in-game memorial to Spock and Leonard Nimoy this Thursday March 5th with our regular weekly maintenance."

While one small gesture in a video game cannot possibly encompass what Leonard Nimoy meant to all iterations of Star Trek – film, TV, video game, etc. – it’s nice of Cryptic Studios to show their love for the actor. At the same time, it gives fans a chance to share their fondest memories or even just to stand vigil and remember the great man Nimoy was.

Star Trek Online fans have actually got a jump on the memorial, by holding their own makeshift vigils across the MMO. As readers might expect, hundreds of STO players have gathered on the planet Vulcan, the home planet for Nimoy’s Spock character, and started their own standing memorials.

Soon, though, Vulcan will have an official memorial and a place for fans to pay homage to a great man. Leonard Nimoy will be greatly missed and our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends.

We may partake in a hobby that plays host to some unsavory characters, but every now and again something like this, or the Final Fantasy 14 vigil for example, comes along to remind us how great the gaming community can be. So, for every incident of swatting, hacking, or deleting player progress that may pop up, remember that there are a lot of great gamers out there.

What do you think of this Leonard Nimoy memorial idea? Will you visit Star Trek Online to pay your respects?

Source: Cryptic Studios