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For Immediate Release

BioWare concludes the Child of Bhaal Saga  

         

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – March 1st, 2001 – The highly anticipated expansion to the award-winning role-playing game, Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn, was officially announced today. Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, developed by BioWare and to be published by Black Isle Studios, the role-playing division of Interplay, ends the epic Child of Bhaal saga that began in 1998 when BioWare developed a revolutionary computer role-playing game, Baldur’s Gate. The saga continued through Tales of the Sword Coast and Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn, and concludes with Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. “We’re really happy that fans have embraced Baldur’s Gate,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Joint CEO of BioWare Corp. “In BGII: Throne of Bhaal we will wrap up the epic Bhaal story line. Players can explore a new town and series of dungeons and also continue the main storyline of BGII.”

Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal greatly extends the Baldur’s Gate II experience, with approximately 40 hours of additional adventures. Players will explore the lands of Tethyr as an epic conflict wreaks devastation on a scale never before seen in the Forgotten Realms® campaign world.  To aid the player in these new landscapes, BioWare’s developers have added a host of new Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® game features including: a new character kit, a new NPC who can join the party, new NPC dialog and interaction, over 40 incredibly powerful new spells, and an increased character experience point cap of eight million that will allow characters to reach 40th level. “Throne of Bhaal is our ‘thank you’ to our many fans, giving them something very exciting to close the Child of Bhaal saga,” said Dr. Greg Zeschuk, Joint CEO of BioWare Corp.

“Our development team is working very hard to ensure that this final chapter is the best Baldur’s Gate role playing experience you can have,” said Alan Miranda, Producer for Throne of Bhaal. “The new creatures, characters and villains, in BioWare tradition, will challenge and entertain. This will be the most memorable Baldur’s Gate adventure ever."

Scheduled for completion this summer, Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal is the fourth BioWare Infinity Engine PC title developed by BioWare and published by Black Isle/Interplay.  Other Infinity Engine titles by BioWare include: Baldur’s Gate, Baldur’s Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast, and Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn. The Baldur’s Gate saga has received numerous accolades; Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn has recently been named Role-playing Game of the Year by numerous print and online journalists, and developer BioWare was recently named PC Developer of the Year by leading online site Daily Radar.  Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal is poised to continue in this grand tradition.

About BioWare Corp.

BioWare Corp. is an electronic entertainment company that produces interactive computer and console games.  Our published projects include: Shattered Steel, the genre-defining Baldur’s Gate role playing game series, and MDK2 for Dreamcast and PC. BioWare’s developers are currently hard at work on MDK2:Armageddon for Playstation2, Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, and Neverwinter Nights for PC, Linux, Mac and BeOs – all to be published by Black Isle Studios/Interplay. BioWare developers are also working on an unnamed Star Wars Role Playing Game to be published by LucasArts.  Information about BioWare Corp. can be found at the BioWare website – http://www.bioware.com. BioWare Corp. is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

About Wizards of the Coast.

Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) and the worldwide market share leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, is a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products as well as the owner and operator of one of the nation's largest specialty game retail chains. Producing both the PokemonTM and world's best-selling Magic: The Gathering® trading card games, the company holds an exclusive patent on the play mechanic of trading card games. Publisher of adventure games such as the classic Dungeons & Dragons games, family card and board games and electronic media products, Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world's leading fantasy and science fiction book publishers. Headquartered near Seattle, Washington, Wizards of the Coast has international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, London and Beijing. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's web site and electronic retail store at http://www.wizards.com.

 

For BioWare Information:               

Brad Grier
BioWare Corp.                    780.430.0164  or

Teresa Stevenson
BioWare Corp.
                   780.430.0164
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