NCSoft Acquires City of Heroes

To continue the development of the City of Heroes property, NCSoft has announced the formation of a new development studio in Mountain View, California. The company also announced that the aforementioned MMO franchise is now 100 percent owned by it; previously, ownership of the IP was split between NCsoft and Cryptic Studios, the original developer of the project. The new studio will be built around key members of the City of Heroes team from both the companies, including the art, programming and design team leads.”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. With our existing Cryptic and NCsoft team as the core, we will be able to run our current service without any interruption to our players, expand our studio to deliver triple-A content, and take City of Heroes to new heights.”

NCSoft also noted that it will soon be announcing formal plans for a new game based on the franchise, as well as possible expansions.