Cryptic announces new superhero MMO

Cryptic Studios, original developer of NCsoft's superhero MMO City of Heroes and developer of the recently canned superhero MMO Marvel Universe Online, has announced its next game. It's a superhero MMO.

US magazine Game Informer has the scoop in its next issue, and has leaked a couple of details early along with the mag's cover.

The game will be called Champions Online and is planned for "consoles" as well as PC. Seems it will allow you to play as a hero or a villain.

To us, this sounds distinctly like a project salvaged from the ashes of Marvel Universe Online. That game was in development for both PC and 360 and was to support cross-platform play. Champions Online could effectively be Marvel Universe Online without the comics licence.

So it would come as a surprise if Cryptic's new game isn't destined for 360, if not other formats. Whether Cryptic can pull off cross-platform play without the support of Microsoft, which was set to publish Marvel Universe, is more of an unknown.

Champions Online will end up facing off against Cryptic's prodigal son City of Heroes, now under NCsoft's watch at an in-house studio formed by former Cryptic employees. Rumours persist that City of Heroes is being adapted to consoles as part of NCsoft's deal to produce PlayStation Network games for Sony.

Either way, the announcement of Champions Online means that massively multiplayer superhero gaming for consoles is a going concern once more, and that makes us happy.