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Atari lets Cryptic go

MMO dev studio suddenly on its own

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In an earnings report yesterday, Atari said that they are divesting Cryptic and that they now see the company as a "discontinued operation", Gamasutra reports. Atari has been in financial trouble for quite some time, and the reported losses from Cryptic - €5.3 million for the last financial year - didn't help and the MMO-centered studio that Atari bought in 2008 does no longer fit into the overall strategy.

"In line with the previously stated strategy of fewer but more profitable releases and further expansion into casual online and mobile games, the Company has determined that external development creates more flexibility in the changing marketplace," Gamasutra quoted Atari as saying in the report.

So where does this leave Cryptic? It's hard to say right now, considering the lack of information. Community representative WishStone stated on the Star Trek Online-forums that the whole thing "sounds way more dramatic than it actually is" and that "[s]upport for Champions Online and Star Trek Online will be continuing as normal, our staff is working hard on their projects." According to WishBone there are "no planned changes to the way any of our games and projects will operate."

That doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of questions. Cryptic is working on a new Neverwinter Nights-game, which is set in the Forgotten Realms-franchise - a franchise that Atari holds the right for (Dungeons & Dragons Online, Turbine's MMO, is set in Eberron). Will that project be cancelled, or will Atari still publish it with Cryptic as an independent studio? Will the technology and assets for the project be moved over to another game, since all Cryptic's games are built in the same engine? How does the Star Trek-license deal look?

There is no information if anyone is interested in buying Cryptic at this point. We can assume a couple of things though - the move to free to play, for example, has clearly not worked as well for Champions Online as it did when Cryptic made the same change to Lord of the Rings Online or Dungeons & Dragons. At least not yet.

Star Trek Online
Star Trek Online is one of the two MMOs that Cryptic is currently operating. While the game has improved tremendously since it launched, it has clearly not been enough to put Cryptic in the black. We'll follow any developments closely.

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