December 4, 2002

Assemble Your Troops at the Official Rise of Nations Site

Microsoft Game Studios today announced that the official Rise of Nations site is now live at http://www.microsoft.com/games/riseofnations/.  Visitors to the newly launched site will be able to learn about the game's features and view screenshots of this ground-breaking real-time strategy (RTS) game. The official site also features information about the nations, units, technology and ages that will be available in Rise of Nations. Budding webmasters can download the Rise of Nations Fan Site Kit, which has everything they'll need to create a top-notch Rise of Nations site.

Rise of Nations combines the epic scope of traditional turn-based strategy games with the fast-paced action of RTS games. The game allows players to create new cities, improve their city infrastructure and expand national borders. Players have the option to win through military might using everything from slingshots to cannons to stealth bombers, corner the market on key commodities, and wheel and deal with a wide variety of Nations. Unlike other historical RTS games, Rise of Nations allows gamers to quickly play through eight historical epochs of time from the Ancient Age to the Information age, covering 6,000 years of history. This latest title from Big Huge Games Inc. founder Brian Reynolds (designer of Civilization 2 and Alpha Centauri*) is scheduled for U.S. release in spring 2003.

Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the PC, Xbox video game system and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse game portfolios for the PC (http://www.microsoft.com/games/), including such franchises as Age of Empires, Flight Simulator and Zoo Tycoon; Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/), including such franchises as Halo, Project Gotham Racing and NFL Fever; and Zone.com (http://www.zone.com/), the official games channel for the MSN network and home to such hits as Bejeweled and OutSmart.

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* Although actually designed by Brian Reynolds, the games "Civilization II" and "Alpha Centauri" were originally marketed under the "Sid Meier" brand, e.g., as Sid Meier's "Civilization II" and Sid Meier's "Alpha Centauri." CIVILIZATION is a registered trademark of Infogrames. ALPHA CENTAURI is a registered trademark of Firaxis Games. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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