NCsoft Grabs City Of Heroes IP, Opens New Studio

NCsoft has announced the acquisition of the City of Heroes IP and the opening of a new development studio in Mountain View, California -- a city approximately 37 miles south of San Francisco. The studio will be "built around key members of the City of Heroes team from NCsoft and Cryptic Studios including the art, programming and design team leads," according to the NCsoft press release. This studio will be in charge in expanding on the City of Heroes property, which NCsoft had shared with Cryptic Studios. As of today, the property is 100% owned by NCsoft. Cryptic Studios will presumably continue to work on Marvel Universe Online, a game announced a little over a year ago by Microsoft. “We’re happy to announce that NCsoft has acquired full ownership of the City of Heroes IP,” said Brian Clayton, NCsoft executive producer and manager of the new studio. “Our plans are clear. We are now in a position to make a major reinvestment in the City of Heroes product line." Clayton served as the executive producer on City of Heroes and its companion game, City of Villains. In a FAQ posting on its site, Cryptic Studios justified the decision to sell by stating that "CoH/CoV will be in good hands at NCsoft, and the transition will be as seamless as possible. With this move, we now have complete creative freedom and the resources we need to develop new games." The company promises "no change" and a "smooth transition" to the game's players, noting that "every member of the team has been offered employment at NCsoft." No plans about the future of the franchise in NCsoft's hands are being revealed at this time.