CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS ANNIHILATION CONTENT PACK FOR PLAYSTATION®3 SYSTEM AND WINDOWS PC

New DLC for Global Phenomenon Call of Duty: Black Ops to Launch in 10 Days

Sydney, Australia – July 18, 2011 – – Call of Duty®: Black Ops is T-minus 10 days away from launching its latest content pack on the PlayStation3 entertainment system and Windows PC with the worldwide release of Annihilation, the third DLC for the blockbuster title from Activision and Treyarch.

Call of Duty: Black Ops has shattered sales records and drawn millions of gamers online since its November 2010 launch, with Black Ops fans logging billions of gameplay hours to date. Annihilation features four new multiplayer maps comprised of a Cuban cliff-side golf course, a 1960s American Drive-In theater and much more. Additionally, the fan-favorite Zombies are back in the mythical paradise of Shangri-La, overrun with a new species of zombie and innovative gameplay surprises around every corner.

“With Annihilation, the team at Treyarch and Activision has shown its continued commitment to bringing new and unique content to our fans,” said Treyarch Studio Head, Mark Lamia. “Players are getting four of the best multiplayer maps to date with Hangar 18, Drive-In, Silo and Hazard. They also get a brand new dose of thrills in Shangri-La, our latest Zombies offering, packed with deadly traps and dark secrets buried within the shifting walls of an ancient and mysterious temple.”

Developed by Treyarch and published by Activision Publishing, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), Call of Duty: Black Ops is rated “MA 15+” (Mature Audiences) by the Classification Board. For additional Call of Duty® updates, visit www.callofduty.com/blackops  and also via Twitter @Treyarch.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

THE SECRET WORLD

Imagine if your worst nightmares came to life. Imagine a world where vampires hunt for mortal blood in dingy London nightclubs, where werewolves lurk in the sewers beneath Seoul, and where the undead prey on the living in the shadows of New York City. This is the premise for The Secret World, Funcom’s upcoming massively multiplayer online (MMO) game set in the modern day real world. The Secret World gives players total freedom to play the game their own way boasting a revolutionary progression system with no classes or levels, allowing players to join one of three deadly factions – Illuminati, Dragons and Templars — fighting creatures of myth and legend while controlling the fate of the world from the shadows. Enter an online world where every conspiracy theory, myth and urban legend is true.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Supergiant Games are pleased to present an all-new trailer for the award-winning action RPG for Xbox LIVE Arcade, Bastion.

Offering a glimpse into the lush presentation and unique atmosphere that made Bastion one of E3’s top downloadable games, the trailer brings together more of the vibrant hand-painted 2D artwork and hypnotizing narration that left fans buzzing with anticipation. Bastion launches on July 20 as the first game in Microsoft’s exclusive Summer of Arcade line-up, and will be available for 1200 Microsoft Points.

In Bastion, players to take control of the Kid, a young survivor who wakes to a world that has crumbled around him, and has no one to help him but an old man who believes he holds the key to bringing things back to the way they were. In addition to pitting players against a host of savage creatures using a variety of unconventional weapons, Bastion features stunning high-resolution artwork, a deep original story, and an innovative reactive narration system that responds to players’ actions throughout the adventure.

Bastion will also be available for PC later this year.

For more information about the game, please visit www.supergiantgames.com or follow @SupergiantGames on Twitter.

Uplay Passport to Offer Access to Online Features and Exclusive Content

Sydney, Australia –July 18, 2011 –Today, Ubisoft revealed Uplay Passport, a new program designed to provide players with access to bonus content, exclusive offers, and online multiplayer play. Uplay Passport is an adjunct to Uplay, an in-game service that offers gamers extra value, including a bevy of rewards and community features, just for playing Ubisoft games. The Uplay Passport program will begin in the coming months and will be included in many of Ubisoft’s popular core games.

In each new copy of a Uplay Passport-enhanced game will be a one-time use registration code that, when redeemed, provides access to Uplay Passport content and features. The code can be found on the insert card inside the game box. Gamers can identify Uplay Passport-enhanced games by looking for the logo on the back of the box.

Customers who’ve acquired a pre-owned game can purchase a new Uplay Passport online for $9.99* and automatically unlock the game’s online content and features. Starting with the upcoming DRIVER® San Francisco release, games featuring the new Uplay Passport will offer gamers exclusive bonus content plus access to online features.

* US Pricing, Australian pricing to be confirmed this week

‘This is a disturbingly credible and darkly noir post-cyberpunk tale.’ Australian Bookseller & Publisher, July 2011

Critically acclaimed author Kim Westwood returns in August with her second novel, The Courier’s New Bicycle. Join Salisbury Forth on twenty adrenaline-fuelled days as a courier of contraband in the alleyways of inner Melbourne — a city of fuel rationing, rolling power outages and curfews.

Life is stressful, post-pandemic. A vaccine dispensed Australia-wide is causing mass infertility, and the government has banned all remedies except prayer. While the pious gather under the streetlights at dusk, vigilantes prowl for transgressors. When someone starts trading tainted hormones on the boss’s patch, Salisbury must find who’s trying to destroy the business before everything goes belly up …

About the Author:

In 2002, Westwood’s story The Oracle won an Aurealis Award. Since then her stories have been chosen for Year’s Best anthologies in Australia and the US, and for ABC radio broadcast. She is the recipient of a prestigious Varuna Writer’s Fellowship for her first novel, The Daughters of Moab.

Westwood developed her distinctive visual sensibility while working as a theatre performer and deviser. Darkly poetic, her stories have a preoccupation with humanity’s capacity for destruction and its equal instinct for survival. Most are set in a near-future Australia. Of this she says: ‘My imagination has a chemical reaction to living on Terra Australis and responds strongly to its particular properties.’

PROTOTYPE 2 Fan Video #2: “The Power Of Tendrils”

In this month’s official PROTOTYPE 2 Video, Radical Entertainment shares a few early details on one of the biggest new shape-shifting powers being introduced to the PROTOTYPE universe. Acquired from an unknown pathogen of infected origin somewhere in New York Zero [NYZ], Sgt. James Heller’s Tendril power allows him to devastate areas of NYZ on a massive scale, lifting and tearing apart cars and military vehicles, and ensnaring large infected beasts in semi-sentient Tendril webs. With both tactical and purely offensive abilities built into the Tendril power set, this new feature represents a giant leap forward in Radical’s proprietary Titanium 2 engine technology, and brings a new level of power and combat control to players in 2012.

Be sure to check out www.facebook.com/prototype for all of the latest news, screenshots and updates directly from the team at Radical Entertainment.

Rise of Nightmares receives Australian classification 

SYDNEY, 15^TH July 2011 – SEGA® Australia Pty Ltd is pleased to announce the successful classification of Rise of Nightmares to be released in Australia in September 2011 exclusively on Kinect™ for Xbox 360®. 

The Classification Operations Branch of Australia has awarded a MA 15+ strong horror violence, blood and gore classification rating for Rise of Nightmares. After taking the necessary steps to be submitted for classification and providing a demonstration to the board, SEGA Australia’s Managing Director Darren Macbeth is pleased with the outcome, “Rise of Nightmares offers a truly mature experience for the Kinect and SEGA are excited to be at the forefront of delivering a fresh alternative to the older Kinect audience”.

Rise of Nightmares offers a spine-tingling horror experience which uses the innovative new controls of the Kinect to give players the ultimate fright. Using their whole body the player will experience fear and tension as never before in this first person horror adventure.

Rise of Nightmares will be available on Kinect for Xbox 360 in September in Australia. For more information about Rise of Nightmares please go to www.riseofnightmares.com .

When delving into the depths of Azeroth’s darkest dungeons, it always helps to have some friends at your side… now you’re able to issue a call to arms no matter what realm they play on. We’re pleased to announce the new Real ID Party feature is now available for testing! This new feature will allow World of Warcraft players to invite their real-life Real ID friends of the same faction to a party regardless of the realm they play on, and then queue up for a 5-player regular or Heroic dungeon.

For the full post and FAQ, head to the World of Warcraft Community Site.

Online Service for the Call of Duty Community Opens Worldwide!

Xbox 360® Beta on Call of DutyÒ: Black Ops

Santa Monica, CA – July 15, 2011 – Call of Duty® Elite beta is live. The pre-release of this innovative new digital community platform, built expressly for the 30-million strong Call of Duty® fanbase, begins its staged launch today on Xbox 360® and Xbox LIVE utilizing Call of Duty®: Black Ops.  The beta will be activated in phases for feature testing, with limited invitations rolling out in the coming weeks.

Call of Duty Elite will officially debut this fall as an integral part of Activision Publishing, Inc.’s hotly anticipated release, Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3, on November 8^th. The 2.8 million Call of Duty gamers who have already registered to participate will now have the opportunity to connect, compete and improve in this evolution of the Call of Duty multi-player experience.

“Call of Duty Elite is all about connecting our amazing fans around the globe in ways never before possible and we are excited to get their feedback so they can help us further develop, tune and test the service, as we head into our launch in November with Modern Warfare 3,” says Chacko Sonny, Studio Head, Beachhead Studio. “A public beta with the massive Call of Duty community is the best way to generate the scale we need for end-to-end testing.  While Call of Duty Elite will continue to evolve post-launch, we want to deliver the most polished, complete and rigorously tested service possible on day one.  We’re looking to get as many participants in the beta as possible, so we ask that fans stay patient as we ramp up in the coming weeks.”

Call of Duty Elite will super charge the Call of Duty experience in three key ways:

Connect: Call of Duty Elite gives players unprecedented control over their multiplayer experience. This is a true social gaming platform. Players can compete against friends, gamers of similar skill levels or interests, join groups and clans, and play in organized competitions. They can also track the performance, progress and activity of their personal network, both in the game itself as well as via custom mobile apps for iPhone, iPad and Android smart phones, tablets and on the web.

Compete: Call of Duty Elite hosts events and competitions for players of all skill levels on a regular basis; both in-game and real-world prizes will be awarded across the Call of Duty Elite player roster when the service goes live on November 8^th.

Improve: Call of Duty Elite is ground zero for anyone who wants to improve their in-game skills. It dynamically tracks player statistics and performance down to the finest detail. It can show gamers how they compare to their friends or other players community-wide. The user-friendly tools and data will give gamers the insights they need to up their kill/death ratio in no time.

The Call of Duty Elite beta will test select features and functionality, including stat tracking, the use of custom player groups, competitive events and video sharing.  A major upgrade of new features will come to Call of Duty Elite at its official launch this November.

When it launches, Call of Duty Elite will offer fans an unrivaled experience by providing “always-on,” universal communication between the service and the game. Players will be able to access the service anywhere, anytime via mobile, tablet, web or inside the console game itself.  As they do, they will see how Call of Duty Elite brings their Call of Duty experience to life like never before.  Schedule a match with friends on the fly, change a weapon load-out or research a new gameplay strategy from your desk at work, the train ride home, or anywhere else, and have it ready and waiting for you in-game when you get home and play. 

Call of Duty Elite will also offer members exclusive, all-new entertainment programs created by top Hollywood talent, exclusively for the Call of Duty community. More information on this content to come soon.

Premium members of Call of Duty Elite will also receive all downloadable content for the new blockbuster title Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.  From all-new maps to themed content, if it’s downloadable content, Call of Duty Elite members will get it.

Plus, when the new service rolls-out with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, players will be able to enjoy a level of unprecedented clan support.  With a focus on competition, imagine players finally being able to create their own personal experience just like a fantasy football or baseball league in Call of Duty that includes anyone and everyone from close friends to new contacts, who simply share similar gaming abilities.

To register for the beta, go to www.callofduty.com/elite.  For additional Call of Duty Elite updates and information, including the PlayStation® 3 beta launch to follow at a later date, visit www.facebook.com/callofdutyelite, and also via Twitter @CallofDutyElite. 

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.