Atari Announces Neverwinter

Online D&D game will be available in 2011, Cryptic Studios to take development helm.

Atari and Cryptic Studios announced today that they're developing a new online game set in the iconic Dungeons & Dragons city.

In Neverwinter, the city has seen some hard times. A century of civil war and deadly plague has claimed many lives and left the city in disarray. Players will spend much of their time in the city's dungeons as one of five traditional D&D classes.

"We're beyond thrilled to develop a brand new version of Neverwinter. It's been years since the original became a gaming icon and we're honored to work with such a great franchise," said Jack Emmert, COO of Cryptic Studios. "We've been working closely with Wizards of the Coast and R.A. Salvatore to create an authentic D&D adventure filled with compelling fiction and exciting gameplay."

Neverwinter is not an MMORPG, but will allow players to connect with four other players at a time to venture into dungeons and fight dragons. Single-player mode will also be available.

Perhaps the most interesting detail about the new game is the addition of something called "Forge," which will allow players to generate their own in-game content, including quests and storylines. Unfortunately, no additional details about Forge were announced.

Neverwinter will be released for the PC in late 2011.