Codemasters wins publishing rights to groundbreaking sci-fi RTS title Perimeter from 1C Company and K-D LAB.

Tuesday 2 December, 2004 (2pm UK time) – Codemasters has strengthened its relationship with 1C Company, the leading Russian game publishing company already working on Wartime Command, by securing the global* publishing rights to Perimeter – the much anticipated science fiction PC title, which is set to break new ground in RTS gaming.

Perimeter, created by Russian developer K-D LAB and due to launch spring 2004, is an original RTS game with a rich science fiction backdrop. The title has already attracted development acclaim for bringing unique gameplay strategies to the genre that will make players rethink their RTS gaming tactics. Perimeter also delivers stunning visual environments, thanks to a graphics engine that renders over 1 million polygons per second.

Says Gary Rowe, Codemasters’ Head of Acquisitions: “We’re extremely pleased to further our ties with 1C Company. Perimeter brings fresh and innovative tactics to RTS gaming, something the genre currently is lacking and players are crying out for. This, coupled with an original science-fiction theme makes Perimeter a key PC title for Codemasters in 2004.”

Perimeter’s back story centres on various civilisations that have abandoned a dying Earth, each in search of a new home world. Gameplay sees players commanding these civilisations as they travel between planets, gathering energy resources to continue this epic explorative journey.

Gameplay is built on territory seizure, where players must terraform diverse landscapes in order to extract vital energy supplies. Energy reserves are required to power the player’s structures, units and perimeter force field.

So, for the first time in RTS gaming, the landscape is a tactical participant in combat and base development and not just a static background, as players and indigenous natural forces fight to change the physical structure of the game world.

The energy drawn from a planet’s surface enables players to build devices to collect further energy reserves, expand and defend their territory with a wide variety of units and structures, and ultimately have enough energy to activate a portal to transport them to a new world, one step closer to a new Earth, before other civilisations beat them to it.

The perimeter of the title is a huge domed impenetrable force field players can activate, for as long as their energy reserves last, when their captured land and structures come under attack from hostile aggressors. This conflict arises as players battle to draw as much energy as possible from the planet surface. The use of the protective force field adds a new strategic element to gameplay.

Perimeter also allows players to instantly transform their units into different units, if enough energy is available. The game begins with three basic types: “soldiers”, “officers”, and “technicians”. These can be morphed together in various combinations to create more powerful or specialised units, giving the player powerful tactical opportunities to adapt combat units to a particular situation.

Presenting an imaginative and fresh setting for RTS gaming with innovative play tactics in both single-player and online/LAN multiplayer games, Perimeter will be published by Codemasters in spring 2004 for PC CD. See the video and sign up for new world colonization online at www.codemasters.co.uk/perimeter 

*Global distribution excluding countries of the former USSR countries

KEY GAMEPLAY FEATURES: o Brings fresh and innovative gameplay tactics to the RTS genre. o Terraform planet surfaces to draw energy, changing the environment and map. o Force field tactics – create an impenetrable shield to protect against enemy attacks. o Transforming units – instantly morph units on the battlefield to more specialised types. o Incredible visuals with an engine that renders over 1 million polygons per second. o Engaging science fiction plot.

ABOUT CODEMASTERS Codemasters is a leading developer and publisher of best-selling interactive entertainment products for a global audience on current and future gaming platforms and channels. Established in 1986, the company’s dominant brands include Colin McRae Rally, TOCA, LMA Manager, and Operation Flashpoint. The company is headquartered in Southam, Warwickshire UK and maintains European operations in Germany, France, Spain, and Benelux. The company has its US headquarters in New York and maintains an online gaming facility in Oakhurst, CA. More information about the company and its products is available online at http://www.codemasters.com 

ABOUT 1C COMPANY 1C Company specialises in the distribution, publishing and development of interactive entertainment products and business software. Founded in 1991 1C has become the leading Russian company publishing and distributing computer games in the former USSR. 1C Company is widely acknowledged as a game developer and has two internal studios. Internal development projects include Konung Legends of the North, IL-2 Sturmovik, IL-2 Sturmovik: The Forgotten Battles and Wartime Command. 1C Company works as a publisher and producer with over 20 leading Russian independent development studios and has produced over 50 projects for PC, Xbox and PS2. More information about the company is available at http://int.games.1c.ru

More information on Wartime Command is available from Codemasters’ website at www.codemasters.co.uk/wartimecommand  

ABOUT K-D LAB COMPANY K-D LAB was founded in 1995 by a group of game enthusiasts that have worked together since 1992. In 1997 a logic game called “Biprolex+” was released and in 1998, K-D LAB released its first big project “Vangers: One for the Road”, published worldwide by Interactive Magic. The game was considered as one of the most extraordinary and interesting games on the market. Also in 1998, the artificial-life-simulation “Mobl” project was awarded Grand Prize at the Enix Game Contest II, a worldwide contest of the most original games held in Japan. In 2001 “Moonshine Runners”, a unique arcade racing game was released. It was one of nine finalists at the Independent Games Festival at GDC 2000. K-D LAB’s long-term business partner is the largest Russian distributor and publisher, 1C Company. K-D LAB is located in Kaliningrad near the Baltic Sea, the most western city of the Russian Federation. More information about the company is available at http://www.kdlab.com 

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