MEDIA ALERT: FEBRUARY 23, 2000

OFFICIAL CRIMSON SKIES WEB SITE GOES LIVE

Microsoft today announced that the official Web site for Crimson Skies, the highly anticipated action flight game developed by Microsoft and Zipper Interactive, is now live at http://www.microsoft.com/games/crimsonskies/.  Shipping in the summer of 2000, Crimson Skies plunges gamers into a world of aerial piracy and daredevil adventures set during the golden age of aviation.

The official Crimson Skies site offers gamers a wealth of information, including a detailed features list, story background, a multitude of screen shots, and concept art. The site also offers downloadable audio clips and AVIs from the game, as well as a behind the scenes interview with John Howard, the lead designer for Crimson Skies.

To view the official Web site for Crimson Skies, go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/games/crimsonskies/

In Crimson Skies, the planes are faster, the engines are bigger, and the guns are more powerful. In this alternate history, the year is 1937 and the United States is fractured into squabbling nation-states brought about by the weight of the Great Depression, regional prohibition, and mounting isolationism. Giant Zeppelins crisscross the skies carrying both passengers and cargo, and airborne bandits are a constant threat. It is a time of gun ship diplomacy and airship piracy, as dastardly villains, beautiful air-privateers and valiant militia forces battle for control of the skies over North America.

The transcontinental railroad and the budding highway system are in shambles due to the constant border wars of the hostile nation-states of North America. In an effort to maintain commerce and trade, flight becomes the vital lifeline connecting allied countries. America has fallen in love with the airplane, not the automobile, resulting in an explosion of unusual and exotic hot rods of the sky.

The creative team of FASA Interactive, acquired in 1999 by Microsoft and led by Jordan Weisman (one of the creators of the BattleTech universe), John Howard and Dave McCoy, is providing the vision and design expertise for the Crimson Skies PC game. Zipper Interactive, the development team behind "MechWarrior 3," is leading the day-to-day development of the new game.

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