iGames Goes on a Mission with Massive 3-Month Counter-Strike™: SourceTM Competition, Presented by Verizon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, January 13, 2006 - iGames, the world's leading game center organization, today announced the addition of Counter-Strike: Source to its popular Game Nights, which will include a variety of events from local LAN parties to a massive nationwide 3-month ladder program destined to go down as the most intense ladder competition ever held at game centers.

Presented by Verizon, and co-sponsored by NVIDIA^® Corporation, Intel^® and Valve^®, the ladder is open to everyone and will consist of team matches held every Tuesday night from January through March at 100 iGames member centers across North America. It will feature intense multiplayer action with thousands of gamers competing in teams of five for top prizes, including copies of Valve's Day of Defeat^®: Source, Intel processors, NVIDIA graphics processors (GPUS) and other surprises from partner sponsors. Each week there will be new prizes, as well as special raffles of Valve hats, strategy books, T-shirts, posters, and limited-edition postcards for all attendees.

As with most iGames ladders, the competition will unfold in three phases. Phase one, January 10 & 17, will be the pre-season, allowing gamers of all levels to engage in preliminary competitions for two weeks before the hardcore action begins. Phase two will begin on January 24, the official start of the ladder. Competition will then expand to 5-v-5 non-stop gameplay hosted on Verizon Game Network servers. Phase three, March 21 & 28, will be the climax, as the best players frag it out to see who will take home the best prizes-and the glory.

In addition to the players expected to compete in the ladder, thousands more are expected to come to the Game Night for evenings of fun play and to cheer on their friends. Those interested in taking part in the Game Night activities at their local game center are strongly recommended to register as soon as possible at their nearest participating iGames center, as slots have already begun to fill up. To register or simply find out how their favorite players are doing in the competition, gamers and spectators are encouraged to check the special Game Night/Ladder mini-site accessible online from the iGames events menu.

"Counter-Strike has consistently ranked as one of the most popular series among our gamers, some of whom are among of the best CS players in the world," said Mark Nielsen, Executive Director of iGames. "We are excited to have Valve's direct participation in these events, as well as the first-time participation in our ladders of Verizon, who will be showcasing the Verizon Game Network. This combination promises a very exciting ladder, and perhaps the beginning of a longer-term Counter-Strike: Source Game Night at all our participating game centers."

Verizon is promoting its Verizon Game Network (VGN) through a series of promotions, including the Counter-Strike: Source Game Night series, the Cyberathlete Professional League and the Cyberathlete Amateur League. "Look around-- this is where a broadband company should be-- helping gamers build communities where they want, with the benefits of Verizon's network," said Jason Henderson, Verizon's Games Product Manager. "VGN gives you Gamespot content, all the latest patches, and keeps track of your games. We want to get a copy of the VGN client under the mouse of every hard-core gamer in the universe."

The VGN platform lets gamers play on dedicated, customized Verizon servers or drop in on public servers. It also lets players launch their own game servers -- co-located on Verizon's network and optimized for game traffic -- for their friends and communities. As part of the company's deal with iGames, players will have the opportunity to try VGN at LAN Centers around the country. The client can be found online at http://verizon.gamespot.com.

Blending single elimination, team-based gameplay with the notion of an economy to produce an online action experience of incredible depth and realism, Counter-Strike is the most played action game in the world. With Counter-Strike: Source, the now legendary game has been given a complete overhaul, with graphic enhancements such as higher polygon models, shadows and reflective water, which all add dimension to the new characters, items, and environments. In addition to those made famous in the original, Counter-Strike: Source contains all new maps and player models.

Developed by Valve, Counter-Strike: Source is available at retail outlets around the world and via Steam. For more information, please visit www.steampowered.com.

For a complete list of iGames game centers hosting the competition as well as details on other upcoming iGames events, including signup information, visit www.igames.org or contact iGames' Events Team at events@igames.org.

About iGames

iGames, Inc. offers a wide range of services to help independent and franchised game centers. iGames' mission is to promote and develop the growth of the game center industry. Its services unite game centers with the goal of establishing them as the driving force enabling the interactive entertainment industry to become the number one form of entertainment around the world. iGames has established strong relationships with industry leaders to provide a wide variety of products, services and programs to member game centers and gamers including software licensing, hardware discounts, exclusive game premiers, tournaments, and leagues. Today the company counts well over 500 centers and 1.2 million gamers, initiating and co-organizing more than 200 events a year. To learn more about iGames, go to www.igames.org.

About Valve Software

Valve is an entertainment software and technology company founded in 1996 and based in Bellevue, Washington. The company's portfolio of entertainment titles includes Half-Life^®, Counter-Strike^TM, Day of Defeat^®, and Team Fortress^®. Valve's portfolio of titles accounts for over 18 million retail units sold worldwide, and over 88% of the PC online action market. In addition, Valve is a developer of leading-edge technologies, such as the Source game engine and Steam, a broadband platform for the delivery and management of digital content. For more information, please visit www.valvesoftware.com.

Valve, Source, Steam, Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat and Team Fortress are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation.

Press Contact:

Bill Lessard

iGames

(914) 476-6089

wlessard@igames.org