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Bethesda Softworks Announces Deal to Publish Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth

First-Person Horror Game for PC and Xbox Based on Renowned Author’s Famous ‘Cthulhu Mythos’

May 7, 2003 (Rockville, MD) - Bethesda Softworks® today announced that it will publish Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth™, a first-person horror game for PC and the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft. Developed by Headfirst Productions, Call of Cthulhu is a mix of horror, investigation, puzzle solving, exploration, and combat as you are faced with the seemingly impossible task of battling evil incarnate.

Call of Cthulhu combines intense action and adventure elements that require keen investigative skills to overcome. Other than fighting, you have the ability to interact freely with characters and the gaming environment. To increase the sense of immersion, there is no interface or ‘HUD’ on screen at any time during normal gameplay, making you feel as if you are really part of the game world.

“We chose to work with Bethesda because they understood what makes Call of Cthulhu a game worth getting excited about,” said Mike Woodroffe, president of Headfirst Productions. “It’s a game that will feel very comfortable to anyone who’s played first-person shooter or horror-based games, while at the same time it does a lot of new and innovative things that make the experience more intense.”

Set during the 1920s, Call of Cthulhu is based on the Cthulhu Mythos of HP Lovecraft, an American writer of fantasy and horror and is produced in conjunction with the developers of the Call of Cthulhu pen and paper RPG, Chaosium Inc. Lovecraft’s stories tell of unthinkable evil, psychic possession, and mythical worlds and his work has profoundly influenced numerous fantasy and science fiction writers, including Stephen King and Anne Rice.

“With Call of Cthulhu, Headfirst has taken the soul-crushing horror of Lovecraft's universe and turned it into a thrilling game experience,” said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. “Our success with games like Morrowind demonstrates that gamers are ready for experiences that push the boundaries and try things that nobody else has done, and Call of Cthulhu definitely fits that description.”

The technology powering Call of Cthulhu has provided Headfirst with the means to present an incredibly detailed and accurate depiction of the sights and sounds of this unique 1920’s New England setting. A diverse range of cutting edge special effects is utilized to ensure both unprecedented levels of realism and an exact portrayal of your mental degradation.

Call of Cthulhu is scheduled for release in early 2004 and will be on display at E3 this year.

About Bethesda Softworks

Headquartered in Rockville, MD, Bethesda Softworks LLC is a developer and publisher of entertainment software and has published numerous award-winning titles, including The Elder Scrolls® series, the Terminator series, and will publish Pirates of the Caribbean in June for Xbox and PC. Its full product line spans the sports, racing, RPG, strategy and action genres. For more information on Bethesda Softworks’ products, visit www.bethsoft.com.

About Headfirst Productions

Headfirst Productions is an independent computer games development company based near Birmingham, England. The company was founded in 1997 as a developer of top quality games for the PC, Playstation®2, Xbox™, GameCube, and GBA. For more information on Headfirst, visit www.headfirst.co.uk.

About Xbox

Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/) is Microsoft's future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in the continents of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (c) 2003 Bethesda Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax Media Inc. Distributed under license from Headfirst Productions Ltd. (UK). Call of Cthulhu is a registered trademark of Chaosium Inc. The Elder Scrolls, Morrowind, Bethesda Softworks, ZeniMax and their logos are registered trademarks of ZeniMax Media Inc. Xbox and Microsoft are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. Other product and company names referenced herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. All rights reserved.