Atari picks up Cryptic Studios

While other midsized publishers are scrambling to pay their debts Atari are seizing the opportunity to expand their business and today it was announced that the parent company Infogrames have purchased independent studio and publisher Cryptic Studios.

Cryptic are best known for their City of Heroes and City of Villains game that were published by NCsoft. Cryptic then went on to work for Microsoft on Marvel Universe Online, but problems between Microsoft and Marvel meant the game was cancelled. Cryptic then sold the City of Heroes/Villains franchise to NCsoft and acquired the Champions IP and began work on Champions Online - game confirmed in development for PC and Xbox 360 (a PS3 is likely at some point as well) that is supposed to be published by 2K Games (Take Two). It remains to be seen if 2K Games will still publish the game or whether Atari will take over. Cryptic Studios are also working on Star Trek Online (PC/Xbox 360, PS3 likely) and work on a third MMO project has also been confirmed.

Happy quotes from the press release:

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."