Stalingrad

Varese, 15th December, 2004. Black Bean is proud to announce the signing of a pan-European publishing deal for "Stalingrad" on the PC format. The deal was signed with the Moscow based publisher 1C Company. "Stalingrad" is being developed by DTF Games and uses a modified version of the game engine used in the successful game "Blitzkrieg", which was noted for the realism of its combat scenes. The battle for Stalingrad was fought out during the harsh Russian winter between 19th August 1942 and 2nd February 1943, and is generally considered to be one of the turning points of World War II.

"The developers have gained access to a wealth of historical documents and have made great use of these to ensure an accurate reconstruction of the city and the events of the battle", said Davide Bordegoni, Product Manager. "The player can choose between two detailed campaigns, taking command of the Wehrmacht as they launch repeated attacks in order to conquer the city, or lead the Red Army in their desperate, but ultimately successful, defence".

"We are delighted with the quality and commercial potential of "Stalingrad", added Marco Minoli, Marketing Manager of Black Bean, "and we are looking forward to a strong partnership with 1C Company moving forward".

"Stalingrad" will be released on PC CD.Rom in March 2005, in English, German, French, Spanish & Italian and will feature extra content both on the CD and in the accompanying booklet.

For further information about the game and Press Materials, please visit www.blackbeangames.com or www.stalingrad-game.com .

"We are very delighted that not only Russian gamers, but people all across Europe will have a chance to play Stalingrad. 1C is really satsified of this deal with Black Bean. We are very happy to work with such an enthusiastic and professional partner", said Nikolay Baryshnikov, International Sales Director at 1C Company. "Stalingrad is the game that provides authentic historical experience and intense gameplay. I'm pretty sure it will appeal to all WW II game fans", Baryshnikov adds.

Black Bean is the games label of Lago Srl, which is part of the Leader Group. Leader SpA has been the leading independent distributor in Italy since it started business in 1984. Leader is based in Gazzada (Varese) which is situated 30 miles north of Milan in northern Italy.

Black Bean philosophy is to focus on a wide range of games genre leveraging on an friendly gameplay, additional contents and fully localised products in order to give the player an immersive and addictive gaming experience.

About 1C Company

1C Company specializes in 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 several internal studios. Internal developments of 1C include Konung Legends of the North, IL-2 Sturmovik, IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles, Aces Expansion Pack 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.