MX vs. ATV Series To Be Resurrected By Nordic Games

Beloved off-road racing series given new life as key team members reform ahead of 2014 release

London, United Kingdom – December 20, 2013: 2014 promises to be a very happy New Year for fans of extreme racing, as Nordic Games has unveiled its plans to revive the best-selling MX vs. ATV series.

Nordic Games secured the rights to the MX vs. ATV series as part of its agreement to acquire a range of THQ’s intellectual property earlier this year. Now the firm can reveal it has assembled a team of former MX vs. ATV staff along with other, high-profile developers to properly resurrect the franchise. This dedicated team will be taking it to even greater heights while retaining the ingredients that made MX vs. ATV so successful. It’s no coincidence the team is based in Phoenix Arizona where it all began in the mid-90s. Perhaps one can be forgiven for borrowing from the well-worn cliché: the Phoenix has truly risen from the (digital) ashes.

Led by Ken George and comprising of numerous MX vs. ATV staff along with game development veterans including Dave Dwire, Mike Mamula, Brad Bowling, Scott Hofmann, Justin Walsh, David Knudsen, and Chris Gilbert, the new team’s first title will be MX vs. ATV Supercross due for release in the first half of 2014 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac and Linux. As the title suggests, MX vs. ATV Supercross is centered around the popular Supercross sport and has the scope of a downloadable game.

The team is also maintaining the existing MX vs. ATV Alive and MX vs. ATV Reflex code and bringing back as many features as possible including multiplayer on consoles, Motoclub Depot, and more to be announced soon.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be working with Nordic Games because they appreciate the team’s passion and dedication to bring the feel of real motocross racing to MX vs. ATV fans.  Not just the adrenaline rush, but the whole experience from top to bottom.”, says Ken George, Executive Producer of MX vs. ATV Supercross. “A lot of the original team members have been aching to continue their passion: building the most authentic off-road racing games possible. The hiatus is over, and the team is back to work on MX vs. ATV with great new things to come.”

“We’re all devoted fans of the MX vs. ATV games,” adds Reinhard Pollice, Business & Product Development Director at Nordic Games, “so being able to play a part in continuing this brilliant series is a dream come true. We’re absolutely committed to ensuring Ken and his team receive the best support and the freedom to create the games they love making – and we’re confident that the series will continue to grow from strength to strength. Supercross is just the start of our MX vs. ATV plans. 2014 and beyond will prove to be a hell of a ride.”

Further details on MX vs. ATV Supercross will be announced in due time.

Explore the Magical Worlds of Disney’s Beauty & the Beast, Tangled, and Aladdin in the Hidden-Object Adventure “Disney Hidden Worlds”

Disney Interactive Launches New Fully Connected Experience on Facebook, iOS and Android Featuring Iconic Scenes from the Beloved Films of Walt Disney Animation Studios.

The Walt Disney Company has opened the vault for Disney Hidden Worlds, a free-to-play hidden object adventure where players can interact with nostalgic scenes from Beauty & the Beast, Tangled and Aladdin, with many more beloved Disney animated films to come.  Disney Hidden Worlds launches today as a fully connected and synced experience across Facebook, iOS and Android devices.

In Disney Hidden Worlds, nostalgic Disney fans enter a world of imagination where Disney stories come to life. But when imagination goes awry a mysterious Villain is fashioned, bringing darkness and chaos to the created Kingdoms. Crucial objects have gone missing from each story and it is up to the players, along with their guide Chrona, to search iconic Disney scenes for components, craft the missing objects, and restore each character’s “happily ever after.”

Features:

• Interact with magical Kingdoms based on well-known Disney stories like Beauty & the Beast, Tangled and Aladdin, with many more movies to come soon.
• Play through Disney animated film-based hidden-object scenes and spot-the-detail scenes.
• Collect ink and craft objects to help each story progress towards “happily ever after.”
• Help Chrona and the Inklings save the magical Kingdoms from a mysterious villain in this original Disney story.
• Play and sync a single game across Facebook, iOS and Android devices.

Players can head over to https://apps.facebook.com/disneyhiddenworlds and dive into the magical moments of Disney Hidden Worlds today. The game can also be downloaded for iOS devices at http://bit.ly/1cExHhd and for Android at http://bit.ly/1gtvatB

BATMAN ARRIVES ON THE APP STORE IN EPIC NEW INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC NOVEL

‘BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS – A DC² MULTIVERSE GRAPHIC NOVEL’

Groundbreaking Storytelling Experience Created by DC Entertainment and Madefire Based on

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s New Game BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS

Blockbuster Digital First Comic INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US Also Re-mastered for Madefire Platform with new Motion and Sound Elements

Sydney, Australia. – December 20, 2013 – DC Entertainment, the most prolific digital comic book publisher, and cutting edge digital studio Madefire unveil a new partnership today that will take digital comics to the next level of interactivity through a new app, BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS – A DC² MULTIVERSE GRAPHIC NOVEL. The new iOS app is the first DC² MultiVerse title featuring a multi-path reading experience. The graphic novel tells the prequel story to the recently released game from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS.

BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS – A DC² MULTIVERSE GRAPHIC NOVEL immerses readers into the world of Batman through dynamic artwork and action sounds integrated with a full soundtrack. The graphic novel is divided into eight chapters available for individual purchase or as an entire series. A new chapter will arrive every two weeks and each will offer dozens of possible story outcomes, with multiple story branches. Some choices will successfully lead to Batman’s next mission and carry through to the following week’s episode. Other choices could have deadly consequences. Readers who complete the series will be rewarded with two skins for the BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS game: Injustice Batman and the exclusive New 52 Metallic Batman. Or, customers can purchase a series pass in advance and be rewarded with both skins upfront.

“DC² MultiVerse is the latest in a series of innovations that demonstrates how we work with digital partners like Madefire to organically enhance comics and the digital storytelling art form,” stated Jim Lee, Co-Publisher, DC Entertainment.  “With the launch of the BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS – A DC² MULTIVERSE GRAPHIC NOVEL app, fans can choose the destiny of their characters – and follow both Batman or his rogues gallery of Super-Villains, all within an immersive reading experience tied to the actual game through prequel storylines and an exclusive skin.”

“We have supercomputers in our pockets – we should expect more than just scanned in print,” stated Ben Wolstenholme, Madefire CEO. “It is immense to have DC Entertainment bring Batman and Superman onto the Madefire platform.”

As part of its new partnership with Madefire, DC Entertainment’s blockbuster Digital First title INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US has been re-mastered and features new, innovative storytelling elements including dynamic artwork and sound effects. The newly re-imagined INJUSTICE comic provides the perfect opportunity for fans to revisit the record breaking series prior to its return in January 2014 with all new chapters written by red hot, up-and-coming scribe, Tom Taylor. INJUSTICE is available for download on the Madefire app as well as on deviantART.com, the largest creative community in the world.

About DC Digital:

In addition to offering its Same-Day-Digital print line-up, DC Entertainment’s unparalleled line-up of Digital First titles includes DC² titles BATMAN ’66, and TEEN TITANS GO!, along with  INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US, ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT, SMALLVILLE, the BEYOND series, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, BATMAN: LI’L GOTHAM, and SCRIBBLENAUTS UNMASKED: A CRISIS OF IMAGINATION. Additionally, DC Entertainment has the most expansive digital distribution of all comic publishers, including deals with comiXology, Kindle Store, iBookstore, Google Play, Nook Store and now Madefire.

About DC Entertainment: 

DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating its content across Warner Bros. Entertainment and Time Warner.  DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world.  DC Entertainment, in collaboration with Warner Bros. and Time Warner divisions, launched We Can Be Heroes—a giving campaign featuring the iconic Justice League super heroes—to raise awareness and funds to fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.

About Madefire

Founded in 2011 by Ben Wolstenholme, Liam Sharp and Eugene Walden, Madefire provides artists and writers a publishing solution for iOS and web reading allowing them to build their stories in an exciting new format called Motion Books. Madefire has signed with top publishers in the comics and graphic novel industry to create Motion Books with their top IP, including DC Comics, Dark Horse, IDW, Top Cow, Boom, and iTV Studios America. Madefire is backed by Toni Schneider at True Ventures, The CEO of Automattic makers of WordPress, with angel investors including Sina Tamaddon, former Senior Vice President of Applications for Apple Inc–both of whom are on Madefire’s Board of Advisors. The Advisory Board also includes industry leaders Mike McCue, CEO and Founder of Flipboard, Dave Gibbons, co-creator of Watchmen, the bestselling graphic novel of all time, and Bill Sienkiewicz, widely recognized as one of the greatest innovators of sequential art. For more information go to madefire.com.

About BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS Game

Published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developed by WB Games Montréal, BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS is based on DC Comics’ core Batman license and introduces an original prequel storyline set several years before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, the first two critically acclaimed games of the franchise. Taking place before the rise of Gotham City’s most dangerous criminals, the game showcases a young, unrefined Batman as he faces the defining moment of his early career and sets his path to becoming the Dark Knight. As the story unfolds, players will meet many important characters for the first time and forge key relationships.  The game is available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii U™ system and Windows PC.

BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS software © 2013 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc

FORGET THE HUMANS! PLAY AS THE ALIENS WITH NEW HORIZON UPDATE

New Customization Updates and Wallpaper Highlight Latest Improvements In L3O’s 4X Game

Haarlem, The Netherlands – December 19, 2013 – L3O Interactive and Iceberg Interactive’s upcoming 4X space-strategy game Horizon (PC) is currently in the late Beta stages of its Early Access program on Steam, where its active community has helped the game make giant strides forward over the past months. Today’s update focuses on large-scale changes suggested by the community such as race customization and a classic 4X gameplay mode, both of which add depth and replayability to the already expansive title.

Horizon stands out from the 4X crowd with its focus on the dawn of space ventures of mankind, as it expands past its own solar system and confronts powerful, ancient races bent on shaping the future for younger ones.

Major feature updates include:

• Ability to fully customize your race with race templates and unique abilities
• Don’t want to only play as Humans? You can now play Classic Mode and select one of seven additional races for a different experience (includes 84 new ship models and other assets)
• Design a Starbase before building it
• New Terraforming mechanic enables players to transform planets to become more hospitable to their race. Added ability to clean and restore toxic planets
• Improved race starting colony placements on galaxy generation and more distinct colors
• New displays for Explored Planets, Game Options, Racial Stats and Bonuses
• Updated help screens with tooltips for new players

“We always planned to have full race customization in Horizon, but we’re now also taking the next step by providing gamers the option to play as one of seven other unique races in the game,” said developer L3O CEO Raffi Parsekhian. “Of course, we will appreciate all feedback on the new update and encourage all players to give their opinion and advice on the official forum. Over the next weeks we will also be getting busy with language integrations, achievements and random events, working hard towards Horizon’s final launch next year.”

To read more about the new changes and for the full Changelog, please visit the official Horizon forum: forum.horizongame.com

Horizon is currently in an advanced Beta stage and publisher Iceberg Interactive is eying an early Q1 2014 launch. Gamers already interested in playing the game before its official launch can purchase and play the game for an Early Access price of $24.99 on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/236130. During the Steam Wintersale the game is available at a 25% discount.

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ABOUT L3O INTERACTIVE

L3O Interactive is an independent Canadian video game developer located in Toronto, Ontario. L3O was founded on the principle to make classic hardcore games with innovative and more immersive gameplay elements. The studio is currently focused on completing its first commercial project Horizon, a grand space 4X game which strives to bring a new experience to strategy and sci-fi gamers!

ABOUT ICEBERG INTERACTIVE

Iceberg Interactive is an independent video game publisher founded in 2009 by an international group of games industry veterans and is located in Haarlem, The Netherlands. While keeping its roots in the European retail games market, Iceberg has rapidly increased its focus towards the global digital games market, by building strong direct relationships with dozens of Game Portals. Staffed with avid gamers, Iceberg works closely with an international assembly of game developers, both midsize and indie. With a distinct focus on the strategy, action, simulation and adventure game genres, the company has garnered attention with acclaimed releases including Killing Floor, Wings of Prey, APB Reloaded and Endless Space among its 70+ game arsenal – with more promising games in the pipeline.