Busy Cryptic won't forget STO, Champions

Cryptic has assured Eurogamer that Champions Online and Star Trek Online are "very solid" and won't be left to rot while the studio concentrates on making new game Neverwinter - not to mention the "several" other projects in development there.

"No, no," said Cryptic boss Jack Emmert. "These games don't really ever peter out. Both games have a very solid subscription base right now. They're not really shrinking."

"Look, those teams continue to chug along on Champions and Star Trek, and those teams aren't going anywhere. They're going to continue delivering great content month after month after month.

"These other projects have been under way for quite some time," he added. "If people are all of a sudden saying we're neglecting it, it's like no, we just didn't announce it - we've been working on it. There really isn't any change in the way those games are being handled; we're not shrinking the size of those teams. We're not cannibalising those people just for Neverwinter. That's not the case whatsoever."

Emmert went on to say that how STO and Champions change from here on will be up to the players. "What is it that the person who's been playing Star Trek for half-a-year, and the person who's been playing Champions for over a year, wants?" he asked. "That's what we'll deliver."

"The mistake that happens is... Look at Star Wars Galaxies, which got a massive overhaul of gameplay: they improved the game for the better - I played it. But every person who played the original version of Star Wars Galaxies was ticked off beyond belief to see the game they loved - maybe I didn't but they loved it - all of a sudden disappear," explained Emmert.

"And that is not something that we're going to do; we're not planning on making irrelevant all of the great things that already are in the game and alienate the people who like the products for what they are.

"Now we're going to improve it," he promised, "but we're going to improve it with the fans' help. That's what our current focus is."

Incidentally, Emmert revealed that Star Trek had "more players" than Champions Online, although Atari being a publicly traded company prevented him divulging actual subscription numbers.

But Star Trek Online and Champions Online will be the last MMOs that Cryptic - a company whose City of Heroes once stood against World of Warcraft - will ever make. The focus from here is on online multiplayer games, and they're different, despite how similar they sound.