Atari buys Star Trek, Champions Online dev

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Atari has acquired acclaimed MMO developer Cryptic Studios, the publisher has confirmed to CVG.

The City of Heroes developer joins Atari in a performance-based deal which will see it release DC Comics game Champions Online next year, followed by Star Trek Online in 2010 and another unannounced online game the year after.

The studiorecently hired ex-Flagship CEO Bill Roper, who joined as design director on DC Comics game Champions Online, which is bound to be brilliant.

City of Heroes and its expansion City of Villains have made over 100 million for previous parent company NC Soft, so we're sure the Crytpic deal will turn out to be a very fruitful one for Atari president Phil Harrison, who's babbled on for months that the company needs to shift its focus to online.

David Gardner, CEO of Infogrames, the parent company of Atari, said: "The acquisition of Cryptic Studios brings to Infogrames an outstanding creative organisation, with a proven track-record of success in the fast-growing MMO category. Cryptic's success is founded on leading-edge technology and the vision of a seasoned executive management team. I am impressed with the tools and technology that Cryptic has developed to make MMOs less expensive to build. Creating vast worlds and interesting interactions can be very people intensive but with the use of Cryptic's toolset they have a proven way of cutting average production costs in half. This is exactly the type of company we wanted to acquire in order to build Atari for the 21st century."

"We share a common vision with Atari and their leadership team." said John Needham, Chief Executive Officer of Cryptic Studios, "With our game development and online platform technology skills, we're very excited about the opportunities that this unique combination with Atari creates. I am committed to helping Atari grow into a leading online game company and look forward to being part of the team."

Excellent news for Atari, then. We're a bit surprised the news skipped it big Atari Live event in London just last week, but better late than never, eh?

Andy Robinson