2K Announces Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the SwordTM Expansion Pack
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY - March 28, 2007 - 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today that Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword TM , the latest expansion pack for the critically acclaimed Civilization IV TM series, will be available in July 2007. Developed for the PC by the Company's world-renowned development studio Firaxis Games, Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword ushers in the largest amount of expansion content in the history of the Civilization® franchise.
Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is the second expansion pack for Civilization IV - the 2005 PC Game of the Year and a major commercial success, selling over 1.5 million units worldwide since its October 2005 release. The expansion will focus on the late-game time periods after the invention of gunpowder and will deliver 12 challenging and decidedly different scenarios created by the development team at Firaxis Games, as well as members of the Civilization Fan Community. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword will also include ten new civilizations, 16 new leaders, five new wonders, and a variety of new units that will offer even more fun and exciting ways for players to expand their civilization's power as they strive for world domination.
"Civilization IV has been an overwhelming critical and commercial success, so it makes sense for Firaxis Games to create the biggest, most ambitious expansion pack for one of the deepest PC games ever created," said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. "Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword delivers more scenarios, civilizations, units, concepts, leaders and a host of other features."
"Civilization is close to our hearts here at Firaxis and we're excited to up the ante on the series once again with what we consider to be our best expansion pack ever," said Steve Martin, president of Firaxis Games. "Fan requests and a constant stream of new ideas motivate our team to continue delivering more and better gameplay for our premier series. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword is a must-have expansion for every Civ® fan."
Key features include:
Expanded Epic Game: Firaxis Games delivers a massive increase in new units, buildings, and technologies to the epic game with additional focus on the late-game time periods. New Game Scenarios: The expansion will deliver 12 new scenarios, many containing themes never before included in the Civilization series, custom designed by the team at Firaxis and select members of the Civ Fan Community. New Civilizations: The expansion pack includes ten new civilizations, such as Portugal, Babylon and Netherlands and their associated unique units and buildings. More Civilization Leaders: Sixteen new leaders including leaders for the ten new civilizations, as well as additional leaders for existing civilizations. Corporations: A new gameplay feature that allows players to create corporations and spread them throughout the world. Each corporation provides benefits in exchange for certain resources. Espionage: Now available much earlier in the game, this expanded feature offers players many new ways to spy on opponents, stir citizen unrest and defend their government's secrets. Events: New random events such as natural disasters, pleas for help, or demands from their citizens will challenge players to overcome obstacles in order for their civilizations to prosper. New Wonders: Five new wonders await discovery including the Statue of Zeus, Cristo Redentor, Shwedagon Paya, the Mausoleum of Maussollos, and the Moai Statues. Expanded Space Victory: Winning the race to Alpha Centauri will now require more strategic planning and tactical decision making. Apostolic Palace: The United Nations will become available earlier in the game, providing a way for players to win a diplomatic victory earlier. New resolutions will also be added which will expand the available diplomatic options. Advanced Starts: A major fan request, this new feature will enable players to "buy" components of a custom-tailored empire and begin play in the later part of the game, allowing them to experience many of the new features of the expansion pack in a shorter amount of time. Enhanced AI: The AI has received many enhancements, making it tougher to beat on the higher difficulty levels. The ways in which the AI will attempt to achieve victory have also been expanded. Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword will require the full version of Sid Meier's Civilization IV and will be released for PC in July 2007. For more information please visit http://www.civilization.com/.About Sid Meier's Civilization® Franchise
Created by industry legend Sid Meier in 1991, Civilization instantly set the standard and defined a new genre of empire-building strategy games. An addictive blend of building, exploration, discovery and conquest, the original Civilization is still recognized as one of the greatest games of all time, and Civilization IV was named 2005's PC Game of the Year.
About Firaxis
Firaxis Games is one of the world's premier game development studios, and home of legendary designer Sid Meier. Firaxis has developed some of the most successful and award-winning computer and video games on the market today including; 2005 PC Game of the Year - Sid Meier's Civilization IV, the expansion Civilization IV: Warlords, the blockbuster Sid Meier's Civilization III series, Sid Meier's Pirates! (PC, Xbox® and PSP®), Sid Meier's SimGolf® and Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon®. Firaxis legacy titles include the Sid Meier's Civil War Series! (Gettysburg!, Antietam!, and South Mountain), and the Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri® series. In 2005, Firaxis Games was acquired by Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., joining its 2K publishing label. The company will release Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword in July 2007.
About Take-Two Interactive Software
Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games for the PC, PlayStation® game console, PlayStation®2 and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Xbox® and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft, Wii, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo DS and Game Boy® Advance. The Company publishes and develops products through its wholly owned labels Rockstar Games, 2K and 2K Sports, and Global Star Software; and distributes software, hardware and accessories in North America through its Jack of All Games subsidiary. Take-Two's common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more corporate and product information please visit our website at www.take2games.com.
All trademarks and copyrights contained herein are the property of their respective holders.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward-looking statements made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The statements contained herein which are not historical facts are considered forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of our management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to them. The Company has no obligation to update such forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary significantly from these forward-looking statements based on a variety of factors. These risks and uncertainties include the matters relating to the Special Committee's investigation of the Company's stock option grants and the restatement of our consolidated financial statements. The investigation and conclusions of the Special Committee may result in claims and proceedings relating to such matters, including previously disclosed shareholder and derivative litigation and actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission and/or other governmental agencies and negative tax or other implications for the Company resulting from any accounting adjustments or other factors. In addition, there can be no assurance that the actions taken or to be taken by the Company as described herein will ensure the continued listing of the Company's common stock on NASDAQ. Other important factors are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006 in the section entitled "Risk Factors".