Champions Online Interview

MMORPG.com has an interview with community manager Victor Wachter about Champions Online.
(So you divested yourself of City of Heroes/Villains in order to concentrate on Champions?) I asked.

(You got it,) was the prompt reply.

(We wanted a comic-book style setting akin to CoH/CoV and Marvel Universe. A few of our guys here are Champions fans, and the long and short of it is that we bought the Champions IP but not the Hero system. We then licensed Champions right back to Hero Games in perpetuity so they can continue developing Champions the pen and paper game, but we have the right to develop Champions the Online game in the direction we wish.)

(The Champions IP is just a better match for us. With our ties to traditional PnP games, it was easier for us to envision the hooks. It's total action combat more action oriented than anything else.)