Publisher Atari is "divesting" itself of MMO specialists Cryptic Studios, which it snapped up in 2008. It's trying to sell the creators of Star Trek Online and Champions Online after losing Atari millions. [Atari Results (PDF)]

Bill Roper — one of the forces behind Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo — defected to Cryptic Studios back in 2008 to work on Champions Online and Star Trek. He has recently stated that he's leaving Cryptic, but hasn't given specifics.

Champions Online players will soon have new foes to fight with the introduction of Adventure Packs, regular doses of new story content, kicking off next month with The Serpent Lantern.

Adventure Packs are like comic book story arcs, taking players on a complete adventure with its own villains, storyline, and rewards. The first pack, due out next month, pits players against a sinister group attempting to acquire the unspeakable power of The Serpent Lantern. It's up to the players to travel from the rooftops of Millennium City to the wilds of Africa to halt this insidious plot.

The coolest feature of Adventure Packs is the scalability. Players level 11 and above can take part in the adventure either solo or with a team, ensuring that all types of players can experience the new content without having to grind levels in advance.

Look for The Serpent Lantern next month in Champions Online.