Award-Winning PC Strategy Game Empire Earth II To Expand Empire With Add-On In February 2006

READING (October 20, 2005) - Sierra^® Entertainment and Mad Doc^® Software, LLC are developing the first expansion pack for their best-selling strategy game, Empire Earth^® II, scheduled for release in Spring 2006. Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy will build on the success of Empire Earth II, which received numerous Editor's Choice Awards and was anointed "The new king of real-time strategy gaming" by PC Gamer Magazine (US).

Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy will return gamers to the front lines of the greatest battles in history with new civilizations at their command, new campaigns and a host of new features that make this year's best strategy game more addicting than ever. Bold victories on far-off battlefields, from wintry Russian plains to scorching African deserts, will establish the player's undisputable reputation as the world's greatest leader - past, present and future.

"We were thrilled with Empire Earth II, with its reception from the fans and press, with its innovations, and with its take on the series," notes Dr. Ian Davis, CEO of Mad Doc. "Yet there's always something more you want to do, always some way to make a great game even better. We were aching to add the Fealty and Tug-of-War Modes, and I think fans are going to have a lot of fun with these. Those, and the other features we've put into play here, really make the Empire Earth II experience complete."

New Features in Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy include:

• Two new modes, including Fealty Mode, where players on the ropes can declare "fealty," to become a permanent ally or vassal to another player; and Tug-of-War Mode, where multiple battles are fought across three, five, or seven maps with ultimate victory coming from defeating a foe on their home map

• Three new globe-spanning campaigns will allow gamers to relive more of mankind's most legendary moments, from the time of the Pharaohs to the reign of Napoleon

• Ten new combat units, including Zulu Warriors, Russian Howitzers, and Rafale Stealth fighters, with which to conquer the world's most powerful foes

• Upgrades from regular units to powerful Heroes in victory

• The ability to conquer, assimilate or ally with Native Tribes

• New persistent units that will remain and retain upgrades across multiple scenarios

• New strategies to master in new game modes, with advanced units and additional civilizations

• A new editor that allows the player to create unique custom civilizations

• A streamlined and improved multiplayer matchmaking interface

Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy will arrive February 2006. The game has been rated 'T for Teen' by the ESRB.

For more information about the Empire Earth series, including the award-winning Empire Earth II and Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy, please visit www.empireearth2.com.

About the Empire Earth Series

Empire Earth is the historical real-time strategy series where players lead an empire on an epic conquest through all of human history and beyond. The series has sold more than 2 million copies for the PC since its introduction in 2001. In October 2005 the series will make its debut on mobile phones with the release of Empire Earth Mobile.

About Mad Doc^® Software, LLC

Mad Doc^® Software, LLC (www.maddocsoftware.com) consists of game industry veterans with experience in every aspect of game development and an unmatched expertise in Artificial Intelligence. An emerging force in the industry, Mad Doc was founded in 1999 by Dr. Ian Davis with the goal of developing AAA titles that expand the game playing experience and broaden the market through creative use of new Networking, Graphics, and AI technologies (Empire Earth II uses Mad Doc's Mad3D^TM Game Engine and MadAI^TM technologies). Collectively, Massachusetts-based Mad Doc team members are responsible for over eight million units in the game market worldwide, earning the acclaim of players, critics, and publishers alike.

About Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games)

Vivendi Universal Games (www.vugames.com) is a global developer, publisher and distributor of multi-platform interactive entertainment. The company is a leader in the subscription-based massively multi-player online (MMO) games category, and also holds leading positions in the PC, console and handheld games markets. Its development studios and publishing labels include Blizzard Entertainment^®, Radical Entertainment^TM, Sierra^® Entertainment, Massive Entertainment^TM and Swordfish Studios. VU Games' library of over 700 titles features owned intellectual properties including Warcraft^®, StarCraft^®, Diablo^® and World of Warcraft^TM from Blizzard Entertainment; Crash Bandicoot^®, Spyro The Dragon^®, Empire Earth^®, Leisure Suit Larry^TM, Ground Control^® and Tribes^®. VU Games also maintains strategic relationships with industry leading content partners, including Universal Music Group, NBC Universal and Twentieth Century Fox and Ludlum Entertainment.