Prime Directive is the roleplaying game extention of the long-running Star Fleet Battles wargame series. Prime Directive allows you to create actual crewmembers for the ships of the SFB universe. The original version focused on on small, specially trained and equipped Prime Teams who are sent on exceptionally dangerous missions. it featured its own unique RPG "engine" which many players found confusing and limited in its character development abilities. The more recent versions of the RPG allows for more flexibility in character creation, as the format has been licensed in three different gaming versions:
- A GURPS-based version, produced by Steve Jackson Games;
- A d6-System-based version, produced by West End Games; and
- a D20-system-based version, produced by Wizards of the Coast.
Each version has its pluses and minuses in gameplay options, but all allow for more than just the basic "shoot-em-up" characterizations of the original version.