Cryptic are busy working on Champions Online and Online presently, but yesterday's announcement that the specialist developer has been purchased by means that the firm could soon be making an game based on one the publisher's IPs, too.

"Atari has a great pool of resources: PR, marketing, distribution, et cetera. Atari also has a number of terrific IPs that would make great MMOs," offers big boss Jack Emmert speaking in the wake of the acquisition.

A third online release could be in the offing then, it would seem, and Atari certainly have some ripe properties, prez Phil Harrison pointing to revivals for Dungeons & Dragons, Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights.

Any one of these would make interesting MMO material; one already is, Dungeons & Dragons, presently being operated by - the team behind Online.

More on this soon, we'd wager.

By Luke Guttridge