According to Gamasutra, Atari announced in an earnings report today that it is looking to sell Cryptic Studios, having "determined that external development creates more flexibility in the changing marketplace." In the meantime, Atari will continue to support all current Cryptic projects, including Champions Online and Star Trek Online. Development on Neverwinter will continue as planned for the time being.

Cryptic Community Representative WishStone has addressed the news on the official Star Trek Online forums:

"Right now I have no further details other than what has been mentioned elsewhere. Support for Champions Online and Star Trek Online will be continuing as normal, our staff is working hard on their projects (and the folks from the Champions team deserve an extra cheer for their new stuff by the way) and there are no planned changes to the way any of our games and projects will operate.

So Stormy is here, I am here, Dan and the gang are here, your GMs and QA staff are working hard. It sounds way more dramatic than it actually is."

According to WishStone's post, this move should not affect players of Cryptic's games.