Merscom to Publish The Ship in North America
The best-dressed killers just came into town
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHAPEL HILL, NC - December 13, 2006 - Merscom announced today it has paired with Outerlight to publish The Ship for the PC in North American retail in Q1 2007. Hailed by PC Gamer UK as "an ingenious murder-mystery that mixes Poirot with The Sims," The Ship is scheduled for release in early 2007 and will retail for $19.99 (USD).
The Ship blends traditional first and third person gameplay with a Sims-style day-to-day needs system including food, sleep and social interaction. An intriguing game featuring exploration, investigation, survival, stealth, and murder, The Ship is set on beautifully crafted decking and highly polished interactive environments.
"The Ship is an extraordinary game," said Lloyd Melnick, Director of Merscom. "This is one of the most exciting and engaging games we've released. We're thrilled about The Ship and expect it to entertain players for days on end."
The crux of The Ship's gameplay is "the Hunt." Each player is given the name of one of the other contestants on-board and must hunt them down and kill them with any weapon they can find, while avoiding being caught by security, or killed by their own hunter. Depending on the game mode, the winner is either the last hunter alive or the one with the most money in his bank account.
In order to be a successful hunter, it will be necessary for players to know their way around all of the liners, each of which has its own secrets. Among such secret features are extra weapons, hidden rooms, passages and tunnels, "extra special" ways of murdering foes, and environmental traps.
"Outerlight are delighted to be working with Merscom to bring our flagship title The Ship to our North American fans, as Merscom have shown a consistent belief in Outerlight and The Ship from the start," said Chris Peck, Managing Director of Outerlight. "Since the game's release on Steam in July, The Ship has had a great response from both gamers and the games press."
For more information on The Ship please visit http://www.theshiponline.com
About Merscom
Merscom is a global publisher of computer and video games, which distributes games through multiple channels, multiple platforms and multiple revenue models. Merscom's channels include retail distribution in the US and Europe, online sale through major portals worldwide and games on Microsoft® Xbox Live® Arcade. Merscom publishes on multiple platforms including PC, console and handheld. Merscom produces entertaining products for gamers of all ages and guarantees all customers a great experience with its "Fun Guarantee." For more information visit www.merscom.com.
About Outerlight
Outerlight are a development studio based in Edinburgh, Scotland, who believe in making original, genre-defining games rather than imitating others. Outerlight focus their efforts on game design and gameplay, rather than technology, using third-party software as the foundation of their games.
The company was founded in March 2003 by Chris Peck, Ailsa Bates and Ed Wilson. Outerlight have a team of 22, and have been working towards the retail release of The Ship, their first commercial product, for the last year and a half. The game is a stand alone product, based on the award winning Valve Source engine, which first saw the light of day as a gameplay demo using Half Life 1 technology, and which was released as a mod in July 2004. The company has ambitious plans for the future and a portfolio of original titles for which they are looking for publishing partners to help bring to the marketplace.
PRESS CONTACT:
Wendy Beasley
wendy@merscom.com
Office + 1 919 918 7741 x 225