In what appears to be a race among large publishing companies to buy up as many development and publishing studios before the year is out, leading publisher Infogrames (parent company of the barely sustainable publishing co., Atari) has announced that they are in agreement to fully acquire Cryptic Studios and all its properties.
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." He continued on to say, "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.”
So what happens to Champions Online? Simple, it gets canned! No, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. It's fine. Champions Online, Star Trek Online and a mystery game that Cryptic has yet to announce, are still slated for their respective release schedules.
Regarding the takeover...I mean, acquirement, John Needham, Chief Executive Officer of Cryptic Studios, commented that... “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.”
I'm sure Atari stocks will see some positive results from the acquisition. If not, then nothing can save them. Anyway, you can gather up more info on Cryptic by visiting the Official Cryptic Studios Website or dropping by the Official Atari Website. And remember to stay tuned in with Blend Games for more news and info regarding the latest happenings within the gaming industry.
