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.

Executive Producer Dan Stahl has published his latest Star Trek Online Engineering Report, and this one focuses on Season 4. He states that the update is tentatively scheduled to launch on July 7 and hints that it will be put on the TRIBBLE test server in early June. Here are some details on upcoming major ground combat changes:

"One of the biggest changes coming to the game is the reworking and rebalancing of nearly every ground weapon and kit power in the game. These changes can include range changes, modes of fire and area of effect changes, reload times, new audio, new visual fx, new secondary fire modes, as well as base stat and dps updates. This also includes a new optional camera mode which allows you to use an over the shoulder reticle mode to aim and shoot instead of needing to Tab or Mouse Select targets. It also means being able to drag weapon fire across an area an hit multiple targets, or dumb throw grenades in a general area. In all, the ground combat changes will provide an entirely different feel to away missions and completely change ground PVP."

Stahl also discusses the new Qo’noS for the Klingon starting area, the Duty Officer System, new event missions and much more. Check out his Engineering Report for more information.

Star Trek Online Executive Producer Dan Stahl has answered 50 questions from players for his latest Ask Cryptic segment. Fifty! You can read the full Q&A after the jump.

May is Feature Episode Rerun Month in Star Trek Online, and Cryptic is kicking things off today with a rerun of Series 1: The Breen. Here's the schedule:

• May 5-12: Series 1: The Breen
• May 12-19: Series 2: The Devidians
• May 19-26: Series 3: Cloaked Intentions

Cryptic is hosting a couple of events in Star Trek Online this weekend. Through May 2 at 10 a.m. PDT, players can now visit Q in Earth Spacedock or Qo'noS to receive a boost that will double their rewards. Also, most ships in the C-Store are 50% off during this time period.

The Oberth class ship was recently added to the C-Store, so be sure to check it out. Of course, the ship is excluded from the sale.

Executive Producer Dan Stahl has published his latest Star Trek Online Engineering Report, and it mainly focuses on the upcoming Seaon 4 update. He kicks things off by saying that the future of the newly launched Foundry looks bright, and they'll be "adding a new repeatable mission that will allow you to receive scaling rewards for playing a various number of Foundry missions."

Stahl confirms that the team is "looking at an update as early as May that would add in some new surprises prior to the release of Season 4." Also, all sorts of gameplay tweaks will be added to the test shards in late May or early June.

Lastly, Stahl comments on the recent staffing changes at Cryptic Studios, with Jack Emmert becoming CEO and former STO Executive Producer Craig Zinkievich returning as the new COO. Stahl says he's "very pleased with the direction these two are headed with both Star Trek Online and the studio in general."

For more details on all of the updates coming to Star Trek Online, check out the entire Engineering Report.

Whether your taxes are done or you're scrambling to meet the deadline, Cryptic Studios is offering a tax relief weekend sale in both Star Trek Online and Champions Online. Everything in both the Star Trek store and the Champions Online store is 20% off until April 18 at 10 a.m. PDT. Some items are excluded, so double check the price before you hit the buy button.

In addition lifetime subscriptions for both Star Trek Online and Champions Online are 20% off until April 18 at 10 a.m. PDT. You can purchase either subscription for $239.99 throughout the weekend. Remember, Champions Online is free-to-play, but the lifetime subscription will give you all the benefits of a paid Gold Members in perpetuity.

Bear with us, because this may get a little confusing. Last month, Jack Emmert was appointed CEO of Cryptic Studios following the departure of John Needham, who is now Gazillion's CEO. Emmert was formerly Cryptic's COO, and that position has been filled by none other than Craig Zinkievich!

Zinkievich is no stranger to Cryptic Studios. He was the executive producer of Star Trek Online for two years before ending his seven-year run with Cryptic in July 2010 to spend more time with his family. Now he's back as Cryptic's COO and will will oversee the production and operations of the studio's live games and those currently in development.

"It’s great, after a break, to return to the studio that has always felt like home to me," Zinkievich said. "I have always believed in Cryptic’s potential to make great games and I'm excited to be part of the business going forward."

The latest installment of Star Trek Online's Ask Cryptic is here! Dan Stahl is answering 41 fan questions this time around, and he's answering them at length!

Get the answers to all 41 questions straight from Cryptic after the jump!

The Foundry is now live in Star Trek Online! This editor lets players design and build their own missions and share them with the game's community.

For more details, head over to The Foundry information page. It even includes player-created video tutorials to help you make the most of The Foundry's features. You can also read the brief FAQ after the jump.