by Stacy Jones on May 31, 2011
Two weeks ago we reported that Atari had put Cryptic on the market and today the developer has a buyer.
Gamasutra is reporting that Chinese developer Perfect World (PW) will acquire Champions Online and Star Trek Online (STO) developer Cryptic Studios from Atari. Cryptic has been part of Atari since its 2008 acquisition. Last month Atari announced that it would be divesting its interest in Cryptic, but PW stepped forward and spied a new opportunity to expand into the western market.
Michael Chi, chairman and chief executive officer of Perfect World, said of the move, "This strategic acquisition will add attractive game titles to our portfolio, which will help us further penetrate into the U.S. and global online game markets."
PW is known for its extensive library of free-to-play titles such titles as Battle of the Immortals, Perfect World International, Forsaken World and several others. The acquisition will add Cryptic's portfolio of games to PW's lineup, including the upcoming Neverwinter. Given that STO is currently a subscription title, could we see a free-to-play version coming soon? Stay tuned and we'll update you when we have more.
Sources:
Gamasutra
EuroInvestor