Just because it's near the end of the year doesn't mean there won't be major changes at game publishers. Today is a good example as Atari has announced that it has a new CEO in Jeff Lapin. Lapin, who was named Chief Operating Officer of Atari last May, replaces David Gardner in the CEO position. There is no word as to why Gardner is departing but he will still be a member of the company's board of directors.

Atari has been moving its development into more online oriented games such as last September's Champions Online and Star Trek Online which will ship to stores on February 1.