Season Pass, fifth playable character class and four substantial, story-driven add-on campaigns fuel popular shooter-looter’s market mayhem

Join the conversation on Twitter by using the hash tag #BL2Mayhem 

Sydney, Australia – 7^th November 2012 – There are more guns, more mayhem and more gamers on Pandora than ever before, and they’ve brought friends. 2K and Gearbox Software announced today that, to date, more than 5 million units of Borderlands 2 have been sold-in to retailers worldwide, making it one of the most popular video games of the year. With the recent release of the all-new Mechromancer character class, the Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty add-on campaign, and three new add-on campaigns scheduled to release throughout the coming months, the shooting and looting mayhem continues to gain momentum.

A sequel to the 2009 breakout hit, Borderlands 2 released on 20^th September to critical acclaim across the globe and currently has an average Metacritic score of 90*.

“We’re thrilled with the momentum of Borderlands 2 and it’s really a testament to all the hard work that the team at 2K and Gearbox put in to make this a must play game,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “The Borderlands series has never been more popular, and with continued support through substantial add-on campaigns, Borderlands 2 has cemented itself as one of the industry’s mega franchises.”

A fifth playable character class, Gaige, the Mechromancer, was released earlier this month and is free for members of the Premiere Club who pre-ordered Borderlands 2 from participating retailers. For those who are not members of the Premiere Club, Gaige is available for purchase separately for $15.95 (800 Microsoft points). Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty, the first add-on campaign content for Borderlands 2, was also released earlier this month and can be downloaded now by anyone who has purchased a Season Pass, or can be purchased individually for $15.95 (800 Microsoft points).

The Borderlands 2 Season Pass includes $63.80 of add-on content and is available for $39.95 (PlayStation®Network) / 2400 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE) / $39.95 (PC). Once purchased, the Borderlands 2 Season Pass enables gamers to download all of the announced add-on content campaigns for free as they become commercially available on the PlayStation®Network, Xbox LIVE and PC. All four add-on content campaigns are scheduled to be available by June 2013.

“The overwhelmingly positive response to Borderlands 2 from our fans has been incredible,” said Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software. “Players have embraced Borderlands 2 as their next hobby with over 50 million interactions with Claptrap in the central town of Sanctuary and 12,000 real world years’ worth of time spent shooting and looting their way through Pandora! We are just getting started and have incredible momentum to improve and add to the game all the way through the holiday season and beyond. We can’t wait to show everyone what more we have in store for Borderlands 2.”

“The Borderlands franchise has redefined cooperative online gaming and the original game’s ability to engage users years after its 2009 launch has been a guiding light for the rest of the industry,” said Jesse Divnich, VP of Insights & Analysis at research firm EEDAR. “Borderlands, has been able to achieve attach rates north of 25% when the industry average is 14% and we anticipate that downloadable expansion packs for Borderlands 2 will generate similar attachment rates.”

Borderlands® Legends, a new mobile gaming experience, extends the critically acclaimed and award-winning Borderlands universe and is available via the iTunes App Store for AUD$5.49/NZ$6.49 on iPhone and iPod touch, and AU$7.49/NZ$9.99 on iPad. Borderlands Legends is designed specifically for mobile devices and combines two popular genres, action-RPG and strategy, to create addictive, top down tactical gameplay.

Borderlands 2 is rated M for Mature by the ESRB and is available now on Xbox 360, PS3™ and Windows PC. For the latest Borderlands 2 news and information, please visit the game’s official website. Also check out Borderlands 2 on Facebook.

2K Games is a division of 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).

All trademarks and copyrights contained herein are the property of their respective holders.

*According to Metacritic scores for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC as of October 30, 2012.

Sydney, Australia, November 7^th, 2012 

Deep Silver announces release dates and pre-order details for Dead Island Riptide

Deep Silver today announced the upcoming release of Dead Island Riptide, the next exciting title in the multi-million selling Dead Island franchise, as well as providing details for the exclusive pre-order editions of the game.

Already one of the most anticipated titles of 2013, fans will finally be able to take on the zombie hordes once again when Dead Island Riptide is released on April 25, in Australia & New Zealand.

Dead Island Riptide will be released for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and for Windows PC. 

About Dead Island Riptide: 

Having survived the ordeals of the zombie infestation on the once beautiful island resort of Banoi, our group of survivors thought they had finally found a safe place to escape from this terrifying nightmare. But they were wrong. Shortly after the battle-hardened team had landed their helicopter on a military ship, a furious storm hits and havoc quickly spreads on board. Suddenly they find themselves struggling for their lives again with all hope drowning in the rising waves.

With invigorating new elements infused into a proven mix, Dead Island Riptide will reanimate the zombie terror in the original game. A monsoon has hit the once beautiful archipelago and heavy rainstorms have laid waste to large areas of the islands. The city of Henderson and jungle areas on the island of Palanai were flooded leaving boats as the only remaining way of transportation. Dynamic weather conditions will force the team members to adapt to changing visibility conditions.

A fifth character will join the team, with an all-new and unique skillset. The combined skills of the group will be sorely needed, since terrible, new and unknown zombie mutations have emerged all over the island.

In a new hub defense missions the coop teamplay skills of the survivors will be tested to the limit – they need to strategically place traps, fences and turrets to fend off oncoming Zombie onslaughts and to protect the humans in these sanctuaries.

New communication features in coop mode also allow players to enjoy an even more intense and strategic teamplay experience.

“Death comes to Henderson”

Deep Silver reveals more information about Dead Island Riptide

Deep Silver today also revealed more details about the fifth character and one of the locations in Dead Island Riptide, the next installment in the series.

John Morgan is the new, fifth playable character in Dead Island Riptide, that can join the team in addition to the protagonists from the original game. For years he has trained himself – and become a master – in hand-to-hand combat. His career in the US Navy has not taken off as he originally had envisioned, so he spends his time as a cook on a military ship. Little does he know that soon he will have to bring his skills into practice when the ship nears the island of Palanai…

The town of Henderson is one of the new locations in Dead Island Riptide. Henderson is situated on the island of Palanai in the once beautiful Banoi archipelago. Palanai caters to ultra-wealthy yacht owners and eco-tourists looking to stay nearby to the island’s untouched jungle. Palanai’s center is the luxurious town of Henderson that has grown into a Mediterranean-looking port town.

After a monsoon has laid waste the Banoi archipelago the city lies partially flooded and its abandoned buildings are quickly falling into disrepair. The team of heroes will have to find high ground in order to steer clear of the waters, where unknown threats lurk beneath the deceptively calm surface.

For more information, visit one of the following official Dead Island sites:

Official Website: www.deadisland.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/deadislandgame

Youtube: www.youtube.com/deadislandgame

Twitter: twitter.com/deadislandgame

Sydney, Australia — Nov. 6, 2012 – Thank you Battlefield fans! DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) studio, today announced fans can download a free* PC copy of Battlefield 1942™ exclusively on www.Origin.com/demos, in celebration of the ten year anniversary of the Battlefield series and Battlefield 3™ Premium surpassing 2 million members worldwide since its debut in June.

A companion to the award-winning Battlefield 3 and the free Battlelog™ social network, Battlefield 3 Premium delivers new game changing content with five themed digital expansion packs that introduce a massive amount of gameplay including 20 new maps, new weapons and vehicles, four new game modes and more for a one-time fee of $69.99 for PC, and $79.99 for Xbox 360® & PlayStation®3 (New Zealand pricing; $109.99 for PC, and $119.99 for Xbox 360® & PlayStation®3). With over 5.2 million active Battlefield 3 players a month, fans are actively looking for new original content to extend the life of the game and they’re finding it in Battlefield 3 Premium.

Sydney, Australia – “Halo 4” may mark the awakening of an ancient evil, but it was fans across Australia who stayed awake to be amongst the first to get their copy of the game as it went on sale at the stroke of midnight.

“Halo 4” is the newest game to launch in the blockbuster Halo series, a franchise that has sold more than 46 million games worldwide and has surpassed $3 billion.  Hailed as “breathtaking, heart-breaking and awe-inspiring,”¹ “Halo 4″ has broken all Microsoft Australia pre-order records to date. Additionally, Halo 4 has garnered universal acclaim as one of the top-rated video games of 2012, according to Metacritic.²

Around the globe, more than 10,000 retail locations in more than 40 countries opened their stores at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 6 to welcome throngs of fans who have eagerly waited more than five years for the next blockbuster instalment of the iconic franchise.

In Australia, more than 250 EB Games and JB Hifi stores remained open until after midnight to celebrate the return of The Master Chief and sell die-hard Spartans their copy of the highly anticipated “Halo 4”.

“The Master Chief is back and we have never seen fans more excited,” said Kimberley Francis, Interactive Entertainment Lead, Microsoft, Australia. “Halo is a part of our pop culture and “Halo 4” will take the Halo franchise to the next level and set the stage for the next decade of Halo.”

Niall “UndueBasher647” Frew, was one of hundreds of people who attended EB Games Campbelltown last night to count down to midnight and was the first Australian to purchase “Halo 4”. Commenting on the experience, he said: “Halo has been my whole life, I feel fantastic! I have been waiting to play Halo 4 for a long time.”

To coincide with the launch of the game today, Microsoft will also activate a Capture the Poster, real-world scavenger hunt for the Xbox online community to claim a rare, signed “Halo 4” artwork, used as billboards in the ”Halo 4” outdoor advertising campaign. It’s the first time in Australia that people have the chance to win billboard advertisements. There will be 400 Australian-exclusive posters signed by Josh Holmes, Creative Director of “Halo 4”, 343 Industries, scattered around Sydney and Melbourne for people to claim.

Xbox Australia Facebook fans will be granted exclusive access to a real-time map revealing the location of claimed posters and clues to those that are still available to aid their hunt.

“These posters are rare and will be in high demand – it will be interesting to see what lengths people will go to be the first to claim their poster and just how quickly they go!” said Kimberley.

Available in stores from today and poised to be the biggest entertainment premiere so far this year, “Halo 4” is expected to break all previous day-one entertainment sales records in 2012, cementing its status as the must-have blockbuster of the year.

Australian fans can ‘like’ the Xbox Australia Facebook page to be part of the scavenger hunt. facebook.com/xboxaustralia.

Facts about the Halo Franchise

• The “Halo” franchise has surpassed $3 billion
• More than 46 million “Halo” games have been sold worldwide
• More than 5 billion hours of “Halo” gameplay have been logged by players while connected to Xbox LIVE.
• Players have accumulated more than 235,182 years in “Halo” playtime.
• The collective time players spent playing “Halo” is more than that required to travel across the Milky Way galaxy and back at the speed of light.
• “Halo 3” (2007) became the biggest entertainment launch in history by generating $170 million in 24 hours in the U.S., surpassing the $125 million day-one record set by “Halo 2” (2004).
• “Halo: Reach” (2010) generated more than $200 million in the U.S. and Europe in 24 hours, eclipsing all previous entertainment launches in 2010.
• More than 9 million copies of the “Halo” series of books, comics and strategy guides have been sold. Nine of the 11 novels are New York Times bestsellers
• “Halo 4” has garnered universal acclaim as one of the top-rated video games of 2012, according to Metacritic.
• Since the launch of “Halo 3,” players have generated more than 120 million pieces of user-generated content from within the game.
• Over 7.5 million Halo action figures have sold since 2005

The standard edition of “Halo 4” will be available for AUD $89.95RRP, and the Limited Edition, which includes an extended 90-minute version of the live-action digital series “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” and additional bonus content, will be available for AUD $129.95RRP.