Atari, Inc. and Cryptic Studios announced today a quartet of new programs to celebrate the holiday season in Champions Online.

"We really wanted to celebrate the holidays by giving our players some really fun gifts," said Bill Roper, Executive Producer of Champions Online. "So we’ve cooked up a brand new winter event, and created several new ways to share the joy of Champions Online."

First among those is the Attack of the Misfit Toys. In celebration of the winter holiday season, psychotic badguy Black Harlequin has made deadly changes to all the toys being given out in Millennium City. He’s even brought along his own giant, murderous mecha-teddy, Clarence, to have some fun.

Also in the holiday spirit, but far less deadly, Cryptic Studios is initiating a referral program allowing players to invite a friend to play free for ten days. Both players and recruits will win a rare in-game action figure and bonuses. For every recruit who buys the game, players will also earn an extra costume slot and 400 Cryptic Points to spend as they wish.   

To prolong the fun, Cryptic Studios is also inviting new players to enjoy a Champions Online demo. Players can play the tutorial for free, defending Millennium City from alien invasion. Players will be able to create two fully customized characters and play them all the way up to Level 15 within the tutorial.

The team at Cryptic Studios is also taking Champions Online mobile with a new iPhone app. Players can download the Champions Companion for free from the App Store. Champions Companion allows players to keep up with the latest game news, view their characters and communicate with friends playing the game.