THE GRAND TOURNAMENT^™ COMES TO HEARTHSTONE^®: HEROES OF WARCRAFT^™ THIS AUGUST

Starting next week, prepare for battle by pre-purchasing a bundle of 50 card packs at a special one-time price of $64.99 AUD and receive a unique themed card back 

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA—July 23, 2015—Excitement is in the air as brave champions hailing from the icy reaches of Northrend to the deserts of southern Kalimdor ready their lances for battle. This can mean only one thing—The Grand Tournament™ is soon to begin! Let it be known throughout the land that the upcoming expansion to Blizzard Entertainment’s Hearthstone®: Heroes of Warcraft™ will bring knightly combatants together from all over to prove their martial prowess. All told, The Grand Tournament will welcome 132 noble cards to the (round) table as well as introduce an all-new keyword—Inspire.
The Grand Tournament transports brave Hearthstone duellists to the frigid continent of Northrend, where the heroes of the Argent Crusade once held a tournament to coax out Azeroth’s greatest fighters—and prepare them to battle the undead legions at the icy heart of the realm. The Lich King’s evil has been vanquished, but that doesn’t mean the jousting has to stop . . . the competitive atmosphere’s just a lot more playful (and a bit warmer) than it used to be.

When rallying new recruits to their cause, players will notice that some of these knights possess an all-new keyword—Inspire. Minions with the Inspire keyword have a special ability that can only be activated by using the Hero’s Power. This means that Hero Powers now play an even greater role in strategy, as they can be used to inspire some minions to reach their full potential in battle by calling reinforcements, restoring health, and much more! Players will want to use these minions wisely to give their play the perfect boost!

Coming this August to PC, Windows, iOS, and Android^™ tablets, and mobile phones, The Grand Tournament card packs will be winnable in Hearthstone’s Arena mode and purchasable with in-game gold or real money at the same prices as Hearthstone’s other card packs. Starting next week, anyone ready for battle can pre-purchase The Grand Tournament card packs in a special 50-pack bundle, on any platform, for a one-time price of $64.99 AUD (one purchase per account) up until release. Doing so will reward them handsomely with a triumphant new card back . . . and the unbridled joy that can only come from opening dozens of card packs when the Grand Tournament begins.

To read up on all things related to The Grand Tournament, visit thegrandtourney.com

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft^® and the Warcraft^®, StarCraft^®, and Diablo^® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes nineteen #1 games* and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net^®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.
*Sales and/or downloads, based on internal company records and reports from key distribution partners.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements:

Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about pricing, preorder dates, release dates, and features of Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft and The Grand Tournament expansion, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

Deep Silver FISHLABS signs deal with OKAM Studio

Argentinian games developer OKAM Studio has teamed up with German mobile games publisher Deep Silver FISHALBS to develop a yet-to-be-announced mobile game.

Hamburg, Germany – July 22nd, 2015 – OKAM Studio and Deep Silver FISHLABS signed a deal for the development and publishing of a new games title for smartphones and tablets. While the veteran Latin-American studio will be in charge of said app’s development process, the Hamburg-based publisher will take over all respective promotion and marketing efforts on local as well as global scale. In addition, Deep Silver FISHLABS will support Toneworx Studios – who are also located in Hamburg, Germany – in the sound recordings for the yet-to-be-announced title, too.

For Deep Silver FISHLABS this cooperation does already mark the fourth conclusion of contract in 2015 after their successful cooperations with international top studios Animation Arts, ISBIT Games and Chimera Entertainment. The multi-award-winning OKAM Studio is well-known for its illustrious portfolio of mobile games bestsellers such as Ultimo Carnaval and Anthill, both of which have been realized with OKAM Studio’s proprietary Godot engine. Soon Deep Silver FISHLABS will announce even more cooperations resulting from their ambitious undertakings in the new-found business segment of 3rd party publishing.

“OKAM Studio has not only convinced us with its top-notch portfolio of hit titles for all relevant platforms”, says Andreas Stecher, Director of Business Development and Sales at Deep Silver FISHLABS, “But also with a pitch for a fantastic game that has the potential to become an instant genre classic and leave a lasting impression with its target audience. The production of our first mutual project started a couple of weeks ago and so far the cooperation with our colleagues from Buenos Aires worked like an absolute charm. We are eager to reveal more of said project soon.”

Title, genre and ETA of the first conjoint mobile game of OKAM Studio and Deep Silver FISHLABS will be communicated via an upcoming press release

In XO, Battlestar Galactica meets The Lost Fleet via FTL!

Can you help humanity survive an unbeatable enemy in this stylish space-based strategy game XO?

LONDON, July 22 2015: Humanity is on the brink of extinction, under threat from an enemy possessed of overwhelming force, and time is running out. Only you, a lone starship captain, has a chance to save the remnants of civilization and escape to safety – but how will you choose who to save, or when to fight?

That’s the starting point for XO, a stylish and deep new space-based strategy game designed by Portland, Oregon-based Jumpdrive Studios – influenced by legendary sci-fi experiences including Battlestar Galactica, The Lost Fleet and FTL.

The project launched on Kickstarter on Monday, July 20 seeking an initial total of USD 40,000 to complete development, and is the latest campaign to be supported by Square Enix Collective. The last five projects supported by the initiative have all been successful, with developers raising over USD 600,000 in the process.

Kickstarter link: http://j.mp/XOkck

With an immediately recognisable visual style and a soundtrack provided by the incredible Jim Guthrie (Sword and Sworcery, Indie Game: The Movie), we’re pretty sure that indie gamers the world over will like what they’re seeing.

“We’ve received a tremendous amount of support from the indie community so far,” said Corey Warning of Jumpdrive Studios. “I think we initially struck a chord with the game’s visual style, and once we started diving into the political system, people started to get really excited.

“We’ve teamed up with one of my favorite composers Jim Guthrie – who I very much admire.  His work on Sword & Sworcery and Indie Game: The Movie is what inspired me to start making games with my friends in the first place, which set me on my path into the games industry.”

The Jumpdrive Studios team (like all developers supported through crowdfunding by Square Enix), passed the Collective Team Assessment process last week; this means that we have examined the capabilities of the team and believe they possess the expertise and tools needed to create the game they are describing.

Square Enix Collective is a platform that aims to help independent developers find an audience for their projects, by enabling them to tap into our community and media resources. Projects which gamers support through the initial Feedback phase may be offered continued support through crowdfunding too; but developers are free to choose whether to accept, and always retain IP and complete creative control over their projects.

For more information on Square Enix Collective, or if you wish to talk to any of the developers featured on the Feedback platform or supported through funding, please contact your local PR rep or directly via Phil Elliott: [email protected]

Square Enix Collective website: collective.square-enix.com
Follow @SQEX Collective on Twitter®: twitter.com/sqexcollective