FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thousands Invited to Beta-Test Empire Earth
Pre-Order Program Gives Gamers Opportunity to Preview this Holiday's Hottest Real-Times Strategy Game

BELLEVUE, WA (August 1, 2001) - Sierra and Stainless Steel Studios, Inc. today announced that thousands of gamers will have the opportunity to participate in the public beta test for Empire Earth(tm), their upcoming real-time strategy (RTS) game due to be released this Fall.

The beta test program will focus on multiplayer play balancing and load testing to ensure the best possible launch for the ambitious RTS that will take gamers beyond the ages.

To ensure entry into the beta program, interested testers need only pre-order Empire Earth at their local Best Buy, CompUSA, Electronics Boutique, or GameStop, Software Etc.& Babbages retail store. Beginning on or around September 1st, each store will be stocked with special pre-order copies of the beta version of Empire Earth and instructions on how to participate in the program.

Sierra is also currently taking entries for a select group of beta testers online at http://empireearthbeta.sierra.com/.  Enrollment via online application will be based on a variety of criteria, including system specs and skill in documenting suggestions and communicating them clearly. Those who are not chosen by Sierra from their online application can still guarantee access into the beta program by pre-ordering the game at the local retail stores listed above.

All beta testers will get a pre-release version of the game, and have access to a private message board to communicate directly with the developers at Stainless Steel Studios, Inc.

More information about Empire Earth and the beta test program can be found at http://www.empireearth.com/.

About Empire Earth From Prehistory to the Nano Age of the 22nd Century, Empire Earth serves up gaming on an epic scale. Empire Earth is an epic real-time strategy (RTS) game that covers 500,000 years of human history, from the discovery of fire to the laser battles of the future. Each player takes control of a fledgling civilization and strives to forge the greatest of all empires. Rick Goodman, Lead Designer of the acclaimed game Age of Empires(r), catapults the RTS genre into a bold new era.

About Stainless Steel Studios, Inc. Stainless Steel Studios, Inc. headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is a game design and development organization. Founded in 1998 by Rick Goodman, lead designer of Microsoft's Age of Empires, SSSI will produce advanced real-time strategy titles for the new millennium. Goodman was the winner of the 1998 Computer Game Developer Conference's "Annual Achievement Award for Game Design and Development."

About Sierra Sierra On-Line, Inc. http://www.sierra.com, a studio of Vivendi Universal Publishing and part of its Games division, is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is renowned for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles that represent a wide variety of computer entertainment on both next generation console and PC platforms.

About Vivendi Universal Publishing Vivendi Universal Publishing is a world leader in mass-market multimedia communications. The Company has 22,000 employees and 300 brands in 40 countries and aims to become the unchallenged leader in each of its operating sectors - Games, Education, Literature, Health and Information. VU Publishing had 2000 pro-forma revenues of 3.6 billion euros. A leading publisher of online and PC and Console-based interactive content, the Company's portfolio of entertainment software brands includes Blizzard Entertainment, Flipside.com, Sierra and Universal Interactive Studios. Interactive entertainment is one of parent company Vivendi Universal's key content areas, along with movies, music and other publishing activities.

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