Tuesday, August 24 2004

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Global Star Software, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), and Firefly Studios are pleased to announce Stronghold 2, the sequel to the award-winning titles Stronghold and Stronghold: Crusader. The Stronghold franchise has sold over 1.5 million units worldwide.

Due to be released for PC in early 2005, the castle-sim and siege-warfare RTS game Stronghold 2 will bring the series to life in glorious 3D. Stronghold 2 will also offer players a "castle-life" campaign, enhanced multiplayer capability and a new, innovative and exciting single player campaign that will be revealed in the months ahead.

"The first Stronghold game pioneered a genre by combining the elements of simulation games and combat strategy into a single unique experience," said Christoph Hartmann, Senior Vice President of Publishing at Global Star. "Now we are thrilled to bring Stronghold 2 to the market, which will undoubtedly set the standard as Firefly Studios has taken its already highly regarded gameplay and pushed it beyond anyone's expectations with new and innovative features. We are confident that Stronghold 2 will captivate gamers in 2005."

"We decided to steer away from the typical RTS mold when we developed the original Stronghold," said Simon Bradbury, Director at Firefly Studios. "Now, with a 3D engine that can render tens of thousands of animated characters on-screen simultaneously, we can explore the intricacies of castle-life and the machinations of siege-warfare like never before in Stronghold 2. Once again we will take the Stronghold franchise into new and exciting territory."