We reported just a few weeks ago that Atari was planning on selling off the only good thing they had going for them in Cryptic Studios, the developers of Star Trek Online, Champions Online and the highly anticipated Neverwinter MMO. Well it didn't take long for a buyer to come out of the woodwork as Chinese MMO giant Perfect World Entertainment has agreed to purchase 100% equity in Cryptic Studios for approximately 35 million Euros.
"We are very pleased to sign the agreement to acquire Cryptic Studios," commented Mr. Michael Chi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Perfect World. "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. More importantly, Cryptic Studios' highly reputable development team and its technology platform will further strengthen our well-established R&D capabilities. We deem this as another noteworthy achievement of our global expansion efforts."
"With the acquisition by Perfect World, Cryptic has found a strong platform for continued expansion into free to play business model and growth in the global marketplace," said Jim Wilson, CEO of Atari. "The divestiture of Cryptic is in line with Atari's continued focus on key owned and third-party strategic franchises and expansion into emerging game platforms."
