Cryptic Gets New CEO, Prepares Champions Online

Developer Cryptic Studios is announcing that it is appointing a new Chief Executive Officer in the person of John Needham. The new appointment is seen as an effort to bring structure to the company as development on its Champions Online MMO is going into full gear.

John Needham comes from Sony Online Entertainment, where he has been Senior President of Business Development and Operations. He entered Sony in 1994 and has held positions in various divisions of the company. He served as director of Corporate Development for the television division of Sony and vice president in charge of finance for Telemundo Networks.

In 2001, Needham moved to Sony Online Entertainment, where he was put in charge of strategic initiatives, international operations, customer service and quality assurance testing. He has a vast experience in managing large teams that worked on the MMO projects developed by Sony Online Entertainment.

Michael Lewis, the president of Cryptic Studios, declared that "John Needham's proven leadership in the MMO space makes him a dynamic fit for heading up Cryptic's new corporate direction. As an SVP of Sony Online Entertainment he has contributed greatly to the growth of the industry and we're excited to combine his operational experience with our vision for the future of online games."

After successfully developing City of Heroes and its add-on, City of Villains, which it then sold to publisher NCSoft, Cryptic entered a partnership with Marvel, with the goal of bringing the Marvel superhero universe online in an MMO. When the partnership broke down, the studio re-oriented itself towards another superhero-powered project, taking the Champions pen-and-paper concept and creating an MMO around it.

Currently, the game has no estimated release date and so far Cryptic has revealed few details about it. It seems that it will try to offer a new kind of superhero experience, with an emphasis on team play.