MMORPG developer Cryptic Studios has been acquired by Atari parent company Infogrames, the companies have revealed. The announcement specified that Atari will now be able to "create unique, high quality MMO games on 18 to 24-month cycles." Cryptic Studios, which developed City of Heroes and City of Villains for NCSoft, had been known to be developing Champions Online and Star Trek Online, but today's announcement also reveals development of a third project.

The untitled game is scheduled for 2011, according to GamesIndustry.biz, following Champions Online in 2009 and Star Trek Online in 2010. "This is exactly the type of company we wanted to acquire in order to build Atari for the 21st century," said Infogrames CEO David Gardener.

Infogrames is paying $26.7 million right away, with an additional $20 million in stock or cash heading Cryptic's way if revenues of Champions Online and Star Trek Online hit certain targets.

Continuing with this week's tendency to revive long-dormant franchises, Atari has announced that it will be reviving Midway's old Ready 2 Rumble series for Wii.

Due out in spring 2009, Ready 2 Rumble Revolution is said to "take advantage of the motion-controlled realism of Wii" and make "landing a punch more fun than ever." The last Ready 2 Rumble game, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2, arrived in 2000.

Keeping with series tradition, the game will put players against cartoony celebrity look-a-likes. A Championship Mode will let players create their own fighter and develop his or her skills through a number of mini-games.

The title is being helmed by famed fighting game developer AKI, which was previously responsible for such titles as Def Jam Vendetta (PS2, GCN) and WWF Wrestlemania 2000 for Nintendo 64. An AKI-developed Ready 2 Rumble game was initially announced in March 2007 by German publisher 10tacle, but no details were offered at the time.

Publisher Atari is planning to resurrect several of its beloved franchises, including Baldur's Gate, Dungeons & Dragons and Test Drive--just not in the next year.

"You will hear more from these but not today, because we're focused on 2009," said Phil Harrison, president of Atari owner Infogrames, according to Eurogamer.

PC entries in the Baldur's Gate series have been traditionally developed by BioWare, which is now owned by rival publisher EA. The last Baldur's Gate release on PC, the Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal expansion, arrived in 2001. BioWare is currently plotting its returning to the realm of PC fantasy-RPGs with next year's Dragon Age.

The Baldur's Gate series has also hit consoles, beginning with PlayStation 2 in 2001 and followed by an Xbox and GameCube release in 2002. All three were developed by Snowblind Studios. Black Isle then helmed a 2004 sequel for PS2 and Xbox.

As for Test Drive, the racing series has laid dormant since Test Drive Unlimited, which hit Xbox 360 in 2006 and then hit PC, PlayStation 2 and PSP in 2007. The PC and 360 editions were developed by Eden Games, with Melbourne House handling the others.

Update: The first trailer and screenshots have arrived.

Publisher Atari today confirmed reports that developer CD Projekt RED will be bringing its acclaimed PC fantasy RPG The Witcher to PS3 and Xbox 360 next fall.

Dubbed The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf, the game is being "completely rebuilt pixel by pixel" for consoles and runs on an entirely new engine. As previously reported, it will sport enhanced visuals, a "completely new combat system" and new animations.

"Console gamers don't want to be treated like kids; the're ready for deep story-driven games, and we think we're delivering one of the deepest console RPGs ever with The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf," said CD Projekt RED CEO Adam Kicinski.

"We're not about to dumb down our games for anyone. We want to give players the best games, regardless of platform," added CD Projekt co-founder Michal Kicinski. "Anyone concerned that we're going to somehow offer a shallow RPG or abandon the PC platform simply because we're working on consoles can stop worrying."

Atari is billing the game as the "ultimate console RPG," with CD Projekt noting its belief that the remake will be the "definitive console RPG." The adaptation is being developed by CD Projekt RED and Widescreen Games, which provided its DaVinci engine.

Atari today announced it will publish the World War 2 strategy game sequel Codename: Panzers - Cold War next February.

The game suffered a delay following the closure of series creator Stormregion earlier this year. InnoGlow, founded by ex-Stormregion employees, is now finishing up development.

Confirming earlier comments by actor Dan Aykroyd, Atari today announced it will be publishing Ghostbusters: The Video Game.

"Ghostbusters: The Video Game is a fantastic addition to Atari's global line-up in 2009," said Phil Harrison, President of Atari parent Infogrames Entertainment. "The title has built considerable anticipation and excitement among game fans for its high quality action and all-out mayhem. There's no more thrilling Ghostbusting experience to be had, short of building your own proton pack." Ghostbusters was originally a Vivendi Games-published title, but that company dropped the game following the Activision merger. Earlier, Atari signed The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, also originally on Vivendi's schedule.

In development at Terminal Reality (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) and Red Fly (Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS) and featuring the likeness and voices of the original movie actors, Ghostbusters will be released some time in 2009.

Atari announced it has nabbed the publishing rights to The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, after Activision Blizzard dropped the Starbreeze Studios game following the Vivendi Games merger.

Originally announced as a remake of 2004's critically acclaimed The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, Assault on Dark Athena will include an additional full-length campaign as well as online multiplayer support.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena had been announced as a PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360 project, but Atari today confirmed a PC version will be released as well.

Assault on Dark Athena will ship next spring.

Ghosbusters writer and actor Dan Aykroyd has revealed that the Ghostbusters video game will arrive next year under the Atari label, according to Kotaku.

Ghostbusters is slated to arrive on PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS. Terminal Reality is handling the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 editions, while Red Fly tackles the remaining versions. Aykroyd, who lent his voice and writing talents to the game, dropped the tidbits during a morning interview with Dallas radio station 105.3 KLLI.

Atari has yet to comment on the matter. Ghostbusters was one of the many games left without a publisher in the wake of the Activision Blizzard merger, during which the company retained a small number of Sierra titles.

Rights holder Sony Pictures previously suggested that the game, once expected to hit this fall, might be delayed into next year "to potentially coincide with the 25th anniversary of the original film in '09."

After at least two years of solid losses and being delisted from Nasdaq, publisher Atari has announced a profit of $3.5 million for the first quarter of its 2009 fiscal year, which ran from April 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008.

In all, the company brought in $40.3, with $36.7 million of that stemming from the its publishing efforts, which include Eden and Hyrdravision's Alone in the Dark (PC, 360, PS2, Wii), CD Projekt's The Witcher (PC), and several Xbox Live Arcade games.

The news comes just as Atari is about to complete its merger with parent company Infogrames, a deal that is set to close shortly.

SimBin Studios, the developer behind the RACE and GTR line of PC racing simulators, today announced its first Xbox 360 effort, RACE Pro.

Due out this fall, the game is billed as "the ultra real racing simulation" and is said to recreate "a breathtaking reality giving gamers the ultimate racing simulation experience" through its use of SimBin's internally-developed physics engine Lizard.

The game will sport 13 real-life tracks--including Macau, Porto, Pau, Laguna Seca and Road America--throughout campaign and online play, which supports up to 12 players.

The amount of cars in the game was not disclosed, though SimBin noted that it will contain all the World Touring Car Championship cars from Alfa Romeo, BMW, Chevrolet and Seat along with vehicles from Aston Martin and Saleen. Only three cars were specifically mentioned: the Audi R8, Dodge Viper SRT10, Mini Cooper.

RACE Pro will be published by Atari. THQ had previously been reported to be publishing a SimBin game titled RACE 360. However, SimBin quickly denied that news, stating that while it was developing an Xbox 360 title, the reported details were incorrect.

Update: Gamer.nl staffer Erwin Bergervoet has informed Shacknews that Atari also asked the Dutch gaming site to pull its 5/10 review of Alone in the Dark posted Thursday, a day before the game's official European street date.

"Within an hour [after posting], Atari called to have the review pulled off, claiming there was an embargo till Friday," Bergervoet said in a comment to Shacknews. "Our review copy was sent directly to us by Atari and [was] not a pirated copy. They explicitly told [Gamer.nl] that they only let high scoring reviews break the post-release embargo date."

Original Story: Atari has filed suit against German gaming website 4Players for publishing a negative pre-release review of Alone in the Dark, alleging that it was written based on an illegally obtained copy of the game.

According to a 4Players editorial spotted by Game|Life, Atari's lawsuit claims that the publication date of the review—which scored Xbox 360 version of the game at 68%—implies that it was written based upon a pirated or preview... Read more

Atari has released its financial results for its 2008 fourth quarter and financial year ending March 31, showing a $23.6M net loss in 2008 for the troubled publisher.

The loss illustrates a significant improvement over Atari's staggering $69.7M loss in its 2007 fiscal year, and also accounts for $6.5M in charges amassed in the publisher's corporate restructuring efforts.

The company reported net revenue of $80.1M its 2008 fiscal year, compared against a $122.3M take in 2007.

In the midst of reconstruction after several brutal years, Atari was recently purchased outright by former majority shareholder Infogrames, now led by former Sony Worldwide Studios executive Phil Harrison.

Harrison has repeatedly noted that Atari will shift its focus towards social, multiplayer titles as "the single-player, disconnected console game is probably in its dotage."

Leonardo DiCaprio is attached to star as Atari founder Nolan Bushnell (pictured left) in a new feature film detailing the gaming godfather's life, according to Variety.

Bushnell, with fellow Atari founder Ted Dabney, founded Atari in 1972. The company was critical in bringing video games to North American audiences via arcade games, home gaming consoles and consumer-oriented personal computers.

Pitched with the title "Atari", the film will be produced by DiCaprio's production company Appian Way. The script was written by Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman, both independent writers with little Hollywood experience.

DiCaprio's Appian Way is currently at work on a number of projects, including an adaptation of the classic sci-fi anime Akira in a partnership with Warner Bros. The actor is perhaps best known for his appearances in Titanic, Gangs of New York and The Departed.

Adding to comments made late last week, Infogrames president and former Sony executive Phil Harrison suggested that linear single-player gaming experiences may be on the way out in favor of online-enabled, downloadable content-fueled titles.

"I think the single-player, disconnected console game is probably in its dotage," Harrison told Videogaming247. "Now, that doesn't mean that those games aren't relevant going forwards, but they will be enhanced by community features being embedded in them, or downloadable content becoming an inherent part of the experience, or some kind of user-generated content will be part of the experience."

"All of the things we see in other games, the things that we can point to in compelling games," he added. "A relatively linear single-player game without online connectivity is going to be a challenge to green-light going forward."

Harrison said last week that Atari, which is wholly owned by Infogrames, would likely be turning away from high-budget single-player titles in the future. It was recently revealed that the Atari-published horror reboot Alone in the Dark will feature an unconventional DVD-style chapter menu, allowing players to rewind or fast-forward through the game at will.

Alone in the Dark publisher Atari will soon move away from publishing and developing "high-budget single-player games," according to Phil Harrison, the president of parent company Infogrames.

"I don't see that we're going to be making huge-budget, single-player games in the future," he told Gamasutra. "That doesn't mean that we won't have ambition to do really incredible games that have high quality, high execution, and high innovation, but they won't be one-player, narrative-driven, start-middle-end games."

Instead, Harrison, who previously served as the president of Sony Computer Entertainment's worldwide studios, suggested that Atari might take a leading role in the shift towards online social games.

"I think Atari is part of an industry in some transition from pure packaged media to an online business model and social communication and community model," he observed. "If we are part of that transition, perhaps we are going to take a slightly aggressive, leading-edge role in that transition."

Publisher Atari has revealed that, as of today, its stock will no longer be listed or traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market.

The action follows numerous warnings from Nasdaq, in which Atari was informed that it would be delisted if the value of its public shares did not increase to $15 million or more and stay above that figure for at least ten days.

Following its removal from Nasdaq, Atari stock will be available for purchase and sale through delisted company trader Pink Sheets.

The company does not expect its delisting to affect its merger with parent company Infogrames, which is set to close in the third quarter of 2008.

Publisher Infogrames today announced that it has acquired the remaining shares of Atari for $11 million, making the ailing company a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Infogrames previously held a majority stake of 51.4% in Atari.

"Bringing Atari US and Infogrames businesses together will enable us to create a simplified global structure for our business as we seek to re-build a well-managed, cohesive and financially disciplined company," said Infogrames CEO David Gardner.

Atari had been financially troubled for months, posting losses quarter after quarter. As part of the merger, Infogrames has agreed to lend Atari $20 million in cash.

Battlezone and Rocky and Bullwinkle will debut on Xbox Live Arcade this week, Microsoft has revealed. Both will be downloadable from the Xbox 360's online Xbox Live Marketplace beginning Wednesday, April 16.

Ported by Stainless Games and priced at 400 Microsoft Points ($5), Battlezone is an update to Atari's classic tank-on-tank combat title. As is typical for most XBLA reimaginings, it includes both the original game and a mode with enhanced graphics.

Battlezone also features support for two-person offline and online multiplayer.

A collection of over 100 mini-games inspired by the cartoon series, Rocky and Bullwinkle was developed by Zen Studios and will sell for 800 Microsoft Points ($10). It allows up to 12 local players care of controlling-passing, and 25 of its mini-games can be played with the Xbox Live Vision camera.

Atari today announced the appointment of former Vivendi Games executive Jim Wilson as CEO and president of the troubled publisher, effective immediately.

Wilson's appointment is the latest in a series of restructuring efforts by Atari and parent company Infogrames following mounting losses and workforce cuts. His predecessor, David Pierce, resigned in November of last year.

Earlier this month, Atari owner Infogrames hired a new president of its own, former Sony Computer Entertainment executive Phil Harrison, with Harrison specifically noting Atari's high potential.

"Atari, Inc., with its world-renowned brand and strong library of game franchises, has a tremendous opportunity in North America," Wilson said today. "I look forward to working with the Atari team and shareholders to lead Atari, Inc. into its next phase of growth."

Valve Software today announced that Atari is the latest publisher to put many of its games up for download on Steam, Valve's popular digital distribution service.

Beginning today, Atari-published titles such as Bohemia Interactive's ArmA: Combat Operations and Frontier's RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Platinum will be available for purchase via the Steam store.

Valve also announced that CD Projekt's highly-rated RPG The Witcher will be added to the Atari catalog in the coming weeks, along with other Atari-published RPGs such as Obsidian Entertainment's Neverwinter Nights 2 and its expansion Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer.