VIVENDI UNIVERSAL GAMES AND INXILE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCE NORTH AMERICAN DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT

VU Games to Distribute inXile entertainment's Games in North America

LOS ANGELES/NEWPORT BEACH, CA - (October 16, 2003) - Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) and inXile entertainment today announced a North America distribution deal, commencing with inXile's first game in 2004 (known as The Bard's Tale outside of the U.S., final name in the U.S. pending trademark proceedings). Under terms of the contract, VU Games will distribute inXile's new original computer role-playing game (RPG) on multiple console platforms and the PC.

"The Bard's Tale is considered one of the great original RPGs, and we believe inXile is in a strong position to deliver a compelling modern-day game that will please fans of the classic original game, while cultivating an entirely new fan base," said Philip W. O'Neil, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for VU Games. "By pairing the latest technologies with great content and characters, The Bard's Tale is poised to become a hit with gamers."

"I'm pleased to be working with Vivendi Universal Games on our very first project at inXile," said Brian Fargo, founder and CEO of inXile entertainment. "VU Games has excellent distribution capabilities and a proven track record for delivering successful launches."

The original release of The Bard's Tale was produced by Brian Fargo and debuted in 1985 on the Apple II computer. Following its launch, the title quickly achieved both commercial success and critical acclaim. The original game and two sequels sold more than one million units worldwide combined and later spawned a series of books. The upcoming inXile game will be a truly innovative action-RPG experience with witty dialogue, stunning graphics and non-linear gameplay.

About inXile

Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, inXile entertainment was founded in 2002 by industry veteran Brian Fargo, who turned one of the first small game developers from the early 1980s into one of the top 5 PC game publishers of the 1990s. Development focus is on producing Role-Playing Games (RPGs) from a legacy of creating and releasing iconoclastic RPGs to market like Wasteland, Dragon Wars, Fallout, Neuromancer, and Baldur's Gate. For more information, visit www.inxile-entertainment.com 

About Vivendi Universal Games

Headquartered in New York, Vivendi Universal Games (www.vugames.com) is a global leader in multi-platform interactive entertainment. A leading publisher of PC, console and online-based interactive content, Vivendi Universal Games' portfolio of development studios includes Black Label Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Coktel, Knowledge Adventure, NDA Productions, Sierra Entertainment and Universal Interactive. Through its Partner Publishing Group, Vivendi Universal Games also co-publishes and/or distributes interactive products for a number of strategic partners, including Bits Software, Crave Entertainment, Fox Interactive, Majesco, Mythic Entertainment and Simon & Schuster, among others.

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