Disney and Hipster Whale Officially Launch Disney Crossy Road Game for Mobile Devices

Based on the Massively Successful Crossy Road Game, Featuring 9 Unique Disney and Pixar Worlds

MELBOURNE, AUST., April 8, 2016 – Disney and Hipster Whale today launched Disney Crossy Road for mobile devices, an 8-bit endless arcade hopper that challenges players to cross the road with their favourite Disney figurines for as long as they can. Based on the original Crossy Road game from Australian studio Hipster Whale, which has been downloaded more than 120 million times to date, Disney Crossy Road lets players hop through nine different Disney and Pixar-themed 8-bit worlds including: Toy Story, Zootopia, The Lion King, The Haunted Mansion, Tangled and more.

In Disney Crossy Road, players tap and swipe their way to a record-setting number of steps while dodging unexpected obstacles. Players can collect more than 100 Disney and Pixar figurines along the way, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Buzz Lightyear, Rapunzel, Mufasa, Sadness, Wreck-It Ralph, Madame Leota, and many other favourites.

“Disney Crossy Road brings together some of Disney’s most popular characters with one of the world’s most popular mobile games,” said Chris Heatherly, SVP & GM, Disney Interactive Games, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media. “We’ve worked closely with the team at Hipster Whale to come up with some fun new twists on the original game to make it uniquely Disney Crossy Road.”

Each of the nine Disney and Pixar worlds in Disney Crossy Road have themed gameplay challenges and mechanics that are built to reflect their unique world, as well as 8-bit versions of hit Disney and Pixar tunes like “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” and “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”. For example:

• The Haunted Mansion: As players cross through the interior of The Haunted Mansion, they’ll experience authentic sound effects and audio from the Disneyland Park attraction. Along with trying to cross the road for as long as possible, players will be challenged to find candelabras throughout the world to keep it from going dark and avoid armor that will get in their way.
• Inside Out: Players will find themselves in Riley’s Long Term Memory, where they are challenged to collect ‘Memory Spheres’ and drop them into ‘Memory Collectors’ to earn extra points as they play. They’ll hop across clouds, while avoiding falling into the pit of old memories. If players take too long, they will be sucked up by a memory collector tube.
• Wreck-It Ralph: While hopping through Walt Disney Animation Studio’s Wreck-It Ralph’s world of Sugar Rush, players can collect candy to earn extra points and increase their hop multiplier. If players use a rare of epic figurine, they’ll discover cherries on the map that will supercharge them, allowing them to interact with obstacles for extra points. If players take too long, they’ll be swooped away by a Candy Cybug.

Disney Crossy Road is now available for free with in-app purchases on the App Store, Google Play Store, Windows Store and Amazon Appstore.

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About Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media

Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media (DCPI) is the business segment of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) that brings our Company’s stories and characters to life through innovative and engaging physical products and digital experiences across more than 100 categories, from toys and t-shirts, to apps, books and console games. DCPI comprises two main lines of business: Disney Consumer Products (DCP), and Disney Interactive (DI). The combined segment is home to world class teams of app and game developers, licensing and retail experts, a leading retail business (Disney Store), artists and storytellers, and technologists who inspire imaginations around the world.

About Hipster Whale

Hipster Whale is an Australian studio founded in 2014 by Matthew Hall and Andrew Sum. Crossy Road, the worldwide smash hit with over 120 million downloads was the duo’s first game together.  The quirky “endless arcade hopper” was awarded an Apple Design Award in 2015.

LAUNCH TRAILER CELEBRATES BAFTA-NOMINATED RACING GAME’S CONSOLE RELEASE

Sydney, 8^th April 2016 – Codemasters have today announced that the BAFTA-nominated DiRT Rally® is now available to buy for PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One. The launch trailer for the game is also available to now watch at https://youtu.be/cT3YpKkcWAc

From today, console players are welcomed into the vibrant DiRT Rally community and invited to join the hundreds of thousands of players on PC who road tested the game over 80 million miles during the game’s Steam Early Access programme.

DiRT Rally is the most authentic and thrilling rally game ever made. It perfectly captures that white knuckle feeling of racing on the edge as you hurtle along dangerous roads at breakneck speed, knowing that one crash could irreparably harm your stage time.

Every stage tests you differently, as you race on the edge of control across snow, ice, tarmac and dirt and tackle a variety of weather types. As the car suffers attrition and stages string together, your dedicated rally team tries to keep you competitive and each rally becomes a marathon-like test of concentration and skill.

DiRT Rally includes officially licensed FIA World Rallycross content, allowing you to experience the breathless, high-speed thrills of some of the world’s fastest off-road cars as you trade paint with other drivers at some of the series’ best-loved circuits, in both single-player and high-intensity multiplayer races.

DiRT Rally also features online league support and daily, weekly and monthly challenges that allow players to test themselves against the best drivers in the world and claim bragging rights as well as in-game currency.

From today, console and PC players will be able to enjoy substantial new additions to the game. New Classic Mini and Super 1600 series will introduce the thrills of rallycross racing from the start of the game and 21 advanced rally driving video guides will help gamers maximise their rallying performance. Players will be able to drive the vintage full gravel surface at Pikes Peak for the first time in the game and three of Colin McRae’s most iconic liveries will enable them to relive the exploits of a legendary rally champion.

The DiRT team have also added seven extra cars to the game:

• Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak
• Renault 5 Turbo
• Renault Alpine A110
• Opel Corsa Super 1600
• Peugeot  207 S1600
• Renault Clio S1600
• Mini Classic Rallycross

“We’re delighted to be able to welcome PS4 and Xbox One players to the DiRT Rally community” said Paul Coleman, Chief Games Designer “We’ve been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm for the game our fans have shown us ever since we first revealed it and today marks the realisation of our vision to bring the game to as many players as possible. Welcome on board and we hope you enjoy playing as much as we’ve enjoyed making it!”

DiRT Rally is now available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam.

ECONOMIC REAL TIME STRATEGY GAME OFFWORLD TRADING COMPANY TO BE RELEASED ON APRIL 28

Plymouth, MI. – April 7, 2016 – Stardock and Mohawk Games have announced April 28, 2016 as the release date for Offworld Trading Company, the economic strategy game from Civilization IV lead designer Soren Johnson. Set in a future where humans have begun to colonize on Mars, the player will take on the role as an investor trying to control the Martian market and drive all of the competition out of business and back to Earth.

“Offworld Trading Company is a new direction for real-time strategy, where money is both your deadliest weapon and your toughest defense,” said Johnson. “After all of the lucrative resource mining on the asteroid belt is claimed by mega-corporations, savvy business hopefuls turn to Mars to stake their claim to the red planet and build an economic engine capable of out-producing the competition.”

The real-time, player-driven market is the foundation of the game, allowing players to buy and sell resources and materials – even the food and water that the colonists need to survive. Players will need to build up enough capital to gain access to the lucrative offworld markets so that they can buy out their rivals and claim the Martian economy for themselves. But this battle isn’t limited to the board room. Players also have access to a black market that allows them to employ some more underhanded methods for victory, such as hiring pirate raiders or hackers to disrupt production or sending a covert electromagnetic pulse to an opponent’s base.

“All of the feedback we’ve received from fans during our development process has been great,” Johnson said. “We used it to refine and polish this game. We’re really excited to share it with everyone.”

Offworld Trading Company is currently available in Early Access on Steam or through Stardock. The full version with all of its intended features will be released on April 28, 2016.

For more information about Offworld Trading Company, please visit www.offworldgame.com.

Screenshots

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About Stardock

Stardock is a developer and publisher of PC games and desktop software founded in 1991 by nationally recognized technology expert Brad Wardell. Located in Plymouth, Michigan, Stardock is a powerful leader in the video gaming and software development world.  Its PC games include Sins of a Solar Empire, the critically acclaimed Galactic Civilizations series, and the highly anticipated upcoming Ashes of the Singularity. Stardock puts the user experience first through software that enriches the Windows experience for everyone from casual computer users to highly technical professionals. Products offered by Stardock include Start8, Start10, Fences, WindowBlinds, Multiplicity, and more at www.stardock.com.

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REVAMPED WINTER IS COMING IN ENDLESS LEGEND SHIFTERS EXPANSION, AVAILABLE NOW ON STEAM

Amplitude Extends the Legend: Explore the Allayi Faction, Visit The Altar of Auriga, and Chill in an Enhanced Winter

Paris, France – April 7, 2016 – Critically-acclaimed developer Amplitude Studios announced today the newest expansion for its award-winning 4X strategy game Endless Legend is available now on Steam PC with 25% off, while the entire Endless series is also discounted to celebrate the release (up to 80% discount). Following four expansions since PC launch in summer 2014, Amplitude Studios today unleashed another content package to continue the 4X strategy game that game critics have called a reinvention of the 4X genre. Endless Legend Shifters introduces the new Allayi Faction, a civilization with an intrinsic relationship to planet Auriga, an enhanced winter that carries significant repercussions, and a new building called the Altar of Auriga, among other things.

Watch the EL Shifters release trailer on YouTube HERE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC6y1a592Cg

The Allayi: Carrying a fundamental relationship with the Pearls of Auriga, The Allayi is a mercurial, magical tribe that’s dedicated itself to defending planet Auriga from others. The Allayi shift with the seasons from friendly neighbors to enraged thieves and, in the right hands, can become extraordinary opponents.

Enhanced Winter: Shifters features an enhanced winter, with a new resource to collect around the map during winter called the Pearls of Auriga. These give players the opportunity to influence the effects of winter, to help gain advantages and hinder enemies. Winter will be a whole new experience for players with the possibility of lakes and seas freezing over to allow passage of troops.

Altar of Auriga: Factions can spend their pearls to acquire blessings on the Altar of Auriga, a new building where blessings can be bought instantly by spending pearls. Blessings are unique and can help earn players defensive towers to protect their territory, unique districts and city improvements, pearl stockpiles and pearl item sets. The Allayi has exclusive blessings enabling them to shift. 

“We’ve collected great feedback thanks to the community that participated in the closed Beta and that helped us polish the Allayi faction,” said Romain de Waubert de Genlis, Creative Director at Amplitude Studios. “Players are in for an entirely new experience with the enhanced winter, as they will be able to master the elements thanks to new game mechanics.”

Endless Legend Shifters is available now on Steam for $12.99/$9,99/€12,99 with 25% off, while the entire Endless series is also discounted to celebrate the release (up to 80% discount). 

Known for its deep, engaging, and gorgeous 4X strategy games, Amplitude Studios won the venerable 2013 Golden Cube and Community Choice Unity Awards for Endless Space and the 2015 Best 3D Visual Experience for Endless Legend. For more on Endless Legend, visit Amplitude Studios on its Website (www.amplitude-studios.com), like it on Facebook, and follow it on Twitter.

Telltale Publishing bringing the hit survival game ‘7 Days to Die’ to PlayStation® 4 and Xbox One® in June 2016

Telltale Publishing continues its goal of bringing genre-defining games to new audiences

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., and Dallas, TX, Apr. 7th, 2016 — Telltale Publishing today announced a new partnership to bring the hit survival horde crafting game ‘7 Days to Die’, to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, for the first time in June, as a digital, and a retail product in collaboration with the Dallas-based independent developer, The Fun Pimps.

Set in a brutally unforgiving post-apocalyptic world overrun by the undead, 7 Days to Die is an open-world survival game that is a unique combination of first person shooter, survival horror, tower defense, and role-playing games. It presents combat, crafting, looting, mining, exploration, and character growth, in a way that has seen a rapturous response from fans worldwide, generating hundreds of thousands of hours of community content on YouTube and other streaming video platforms.

ROCKET LEAGUE DEVELOPER TEAMS UP WITH POPULAR iD TECH SUMMER CAMPS

Leading Summer STEM Program to Incorporate Rocket League Competitions at Over 130 Campuses in 30 U.S. States

SAN DIEGO, CA – April 7, 2016 – Independent video game developer and publisher, Psyonix, and iD Tech, the leading educational STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) summer program, unveiled today plans to incorporate the eSports sensation Rocket League into more than 130 summer camps across 30 states in the U.S.

Throughout the summer, more than 50,000 students ages 6-18 will attend iD Tech STEM programs on prestigious campuses such as Stanford, UC San Diego, Rice, Caltech, Yale, and Princeton, and many others nationwide. They’ll design video games, learn programming, code apps, build robots, solve engineering challenges, model in 3D, and create hands-on tech projects. Rocket League was selected as the primary pre-teens (ages 10-12) game for iD Tech Camps competitions. This smash sports-action hit will also be used by all iD Tech students during non-instructional time, at night, during weekends, and for those participating in the Ultimate Gaming Weekends.

“Our task force team unanimously chose Rocket League because it’s challenging and entertaining with that fun, eSports feel,” said Pete Ingram-Cauchi, CEO, iD Tech. “Having an E-rated game is also a big selling point because it’s age appropriate and fun for all kids.”

“We were immediately excited by the prospect of being included in the popular iD Tech programs,” said Jeremy Dunham, Vice President, Psyonix. “We believe in their vision and we love their programs, but we also know that Rocket League’s accessibility will give sports fans and non-sports fans alike the chance to compete in a game that’s unique and different than anything else.”

In addition to Rocket League, iD Tech incorporates a number of popular games such as Minecraft, Torchlight II, Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and others.

Founded in 1999 by Alexa Ingram-Cauchi and her mother, Kathryn Ingram, iD Tech lets students discover their passions, develop new tech skills, complete a tech project, and gain a competitive advantage. It prepares students for the booming technical job market, delivering innovative, hands-on STEM courses in a fun summer camp environment. Students learn in small class sizes with only eight students per instructor for more personalized learning. Additionally, they build key 21st century skills like problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and innovation. Balanced fun is also important so campers can spend time competing in gaming tournaments and playing popular games like Rocket League.

Winner or nominee of more than 100 game of the year awards, Rocket League is one of the most critically-acclaimed games of 2015. Boasting a community of more than 13 million players, Rocket League is a high-powered hybrid of arcade-style soccer and vehicular mayhem that offers easy-to-understand controls and fluid, physics-driven competition. Available digitally on Xbox One, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC via Steam, Rocket League includes more than 100 billion possible customization combinations, a fully-featured offline season mode, multiple game types, casual and competitive online matches, and special “Mutators” that let you change the rules entirely.

To learn more about Rocket League, please visit www.RocketLeagueGame.com, “Like” it on Facebook, and follow it on Twitter @RocketLeague for all the latest developer updates and news.

For more info about iD Tech, please visit www.iDTech.com.

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ABOUT PSYONIX

Based in San Diego, CA, Psyonix is a critically-acclaimed independent video game developer and leading experts in Unreal Engine technology. For more than a decade, the studio has been a driving force behind some of the most successful games in the industry, including Gears of War, Mass Effect 3, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Bulletstorm, Unreal Tournament III, Unreal Tournament 2004, Nosgoth, and the award-winning Sports-Action hit, Rocket League.
For more information, visit www.psyonix.com.
ABOUT iD TECH

iD Tech is the leader in summer STEM education programs for students ages 6-18, with over 235,000 students who have attended iD Tech since 1999. Students design video games, solve engineering challenges, learn programming, code apps, build robots, model in 3D, and more. Programs are held at over 130 prestigious campuses nationwide, including Stanford, Rice, Caltech, Yale, Princeton, and many others. In addition to iD Tech Camps, there are 4 other iD Tech summer STEM programs held nationwide: Alexa Café (weeklong, all-girls, ages 10-15), iD Tech Mini (weeklong, co-ed, half-day options, ages 6-9) as well as teen academies iD Programming Academy and iD Game Design & Development Academy (2-week, pre-college, co-ed, ages 13-18).
To learn more, visit iDTech.com.

AVALON LORDS: DAWN RISES ARRIVING ON PC THIS MONTH

Indie Developer Animus Interactive Signs Publishing Deal with Reverb Triple XP

Twain Harte, CA – April 7, 2016 – Reverb Triple XP, the indie publishing initiative of Reverb Communications, and developer Animus Interactive have combined forces for the release of the medieval real time strategy game, Avalon Lords: Dawn Rises. Arriving on April 28 for Windows PC via Steam’s Early Access program, Avalon Lords: Dawn Rises features massive single and multiplayer battles set in a realistic medieval world where players develop their kingdoms through both plow and sword – building cities, raising armies and battling their foes. Reverb Triple XP will provide Animus Interactive with all aspects of marketing, PR and production support.

PAX East 2016 attendees will have an opportunity to play the game and meet with representatives from Animus Interactive’s development team. Avalon Lords: Dawn Rises will be shown in booth #10219 during the expo.

Avalon Lords: Dawn Rises is a medieval real time strategy game set in the land of Spero and features a single-player campaign and multiplayer combat. In the single-player campaign, players start as a minor lord of the city of Avon, one of Spero’s five city states. Lord Lutherian has sent the player out to form a new city in a strategic and desirable part of the realm to defeat anyone seeking to claim those lands for themselves. Along the way players will meet a rising leader who seeks to unite the warring Lords under one order – The Order of Dawn.

For fans of multiplayer combat, Avalon Lords: Dawn Rises supports up to six players in all out team versus team and one versus all combat. Players will build cities and armies in Conflict Mode for an expansive military campaign of conquest.

In Battle Mode, competitors can jump straight into the action as they skirmish with friends, taking their armies into the fight for world domination.

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ABOUT ANIMUS INTERACTIVE

Animus Interactive is an independent games company based in Cliffside Park, New Jersey with staff from all over the world to create a game that will revolutionize the RTS genre. Our team includes AAA developers, talented artists and writers, and a dedicated community team.

ABOUT REVERB TRIPLE XP

Reverb Triple XP provides a spectrum of services customized to focus on the publishing and marketing needs of indie game developers. Triple XP titles stand out with excellent gameplay, creative design, and that elusive fun factor. A cornerstone of the program is that the developer retains creative control and ownership of its intellectual property while receiving a custom solution tailored to their exact needs. Reverb Communications has over twelve years of experience in public relations and marketing. Reverb Triple XP builds on that foundation by pairing it with production and distribution services.