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MEDIA ALERT: AUGUST 3, 2000

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CRIMSON SKIES BETA SIGN-UP STARTS TOMORROW

Microsoft today announced that at an undisclosed time on Friday, August 4, gamers will be able to sign up for the chance to win a preview beta copy of Crimson Skies at http://www.microsoft.com/games/crimsonskies/ , or any of the over 15 participating sites around the Web. Crimson Skies combines the heart-pumping action of air combat with the swashbuckling feel of an Errol Flynn adventure movie.

A select group of gamers will win exclusive beta copies for this highly anticipated game. Would-be air pirates will want to check the sites frequently, as the forms will be posted at an unspecified time. The official Crimson Skies site will also list all of the participating sites hosting the sign-up form. Ten lucky winners will be chosen from each participating site, along with 50 winners randomly selected from all entries.

Beta winners will have the chance to experience the daring adventures of Nathan Zachary and his band of air pirates months before the game hits store shelves. Crimson Skies beta winners will receive:

* A copy of the Crimson Skies beta and manual

* Access to the Zone.com beta lobby for multiplayer mayhem

* Access to a private message board to provide feedback on the game

* Exclusive private chat with with John Howard, the game's designer, to discuss gameplay tips and tricks

In Crimson Skies players fly fast and low in a game reminiscent of a classic Hollywood tale, where dastardly enemies menace, evil plots abound, and a bevy of femme fatales awaits. As the handsome and daring air pirate Nathan Zachary, players take to skies filled with treacherous privateers, tricked-out fighter planes and giant aircraft-carrier zeppelins. Amid an ever-changing political landscape, Zachary and his notorious band of air pirates, the Fortune Hunters, have become the free agents in a fight for control of the skies.

The game transports players to an alternate-reality 1937. The United States has been struck by the crushing blows of the Great Depression, the Great War and Prohibition, resulting in mounting isolationism. The once-budding road and railway system has been destroyed, leaving the skies as the only means of transport and commerce. Militias in the North, South, East and West have formed rival independent nations in a fight for air supremacy. It is an era where swing may be king but pilots rule, a world where the guns are bigger, the planes faster and the adventures more daring -- the world of Crimson Skies.

Crimson Skies will be available at retail locations throughout North America in September. For more information on the game, visit:

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

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