Strategy First and Akella team up to develop Disciples III for world markets.
The great Nevendaar saga returns!
Moscow, Russian Federation. April 14, 2006.
Software publisher Strategy First Inc., a wholly owned
subsidiary of Silverstar Holdings, Ltd. (Nasdaq: SSTR), and
Akella, a major game publisher and developer based in Russia,
are pleased to announce the signing of a cooperative deal for
the development and worldwide publication of Disciples III:
Renaissance, the next game in Strategy First's famous
Disciples franchise.
"It is a great pleasure to be working on this project with
Akella. The team brings immense talent to the table and both
Akella and their .dat studio partner have everything it takes
to give this project the world-class polish we wanted for the
Disciples franchise," said Richard Therrien, VP Product
Developments for Strategy First.
"We're glad to work in cooperation with Strategy First. We
have gathered unique and talented developers and game-artists
to work on the project. Akella and .dat intend to create the
most exciting game in the series. While keeping the
foundation of Disciples and Disciples II, we will introduce
new features in order to provide gamers with more interesting
gameplay and realistic graphics," said Dmitry Arkhipov, VP of
Development of Akella.
About Disciples III: Renaissance
Disciples III: Renaissance is the sequel to Disciples II:
Dark Prophecy; the award winning Heroic Fantasy Strategy/Role
Playing game. The player takes on the role of the Lord of one
of the fantastic races of Nevendaar in their enduring
struggle to establish the reign of their respective god over
the world. Ripe with surprises and turn-arounds, the story of
the world of Nevendaar is played against a somber backdrop
and shows a unique as well as stunning style that has players
asking for more.
Advances in game play and the addition of new elements make
Disciples III richer and more interesting. The visual design
follows the ominous style of the Disciples world, but now all
of the game environments and individual units are in stunning
real-time 3D.
Disciples III uses .dat's in-house Virtual Dream engine,
which supports all modern 3D technologies, and will initially
feature 3 playable races: The Empire, The Legions of the
Damned, and the Noble Elves, each with its unique Unit styles
and city representation that will allow city sieges, and
ending with a battle for the main fortress.
About Akella:
Akella was founded in 1993, and since inception Akella has
grown from a team of six people into a multiple-disciplined
company engaged in developing, publishing, and distributing
computer games and multimedia products. At present, Akella
employs more than 200 qualified specialists under the
direction of experienced and professional managers. Akella's
own distribution network has grown fast and covers all the
former USSR territories. Among Akella's shareholders are
Quadriga Capital (EBRD fund) and Intel Capital.
About .dat:
.dat is a Moscow company founded by a talented group who, for
many years, worked at Akella and took a major part in the
development of Sea Dogs, Pirates of the Caribbean, and other
games. They have gathered a team of brilliant designers,
programmers, artists, and modelers and are devoted to
triple-A-class projects.
About Strategy First
Strategy First Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Silverstar
Holdings (Nasdaq: SSTR), is a leading developer and worldwide
publisher of entertainment software for the PC. Founded in
1990, the Company is well known for its proprietary
groundbreaking titles, such as the award winning Disciples
and Jagged Alliance series of games, which are both under
continuing development. Simultaneously, Strategy First
continues to publish many of the industry's major titles,
winning numerous awards for games such as "Kohan: Immortal
Sovereigns," "Steel Beasts," and "Galactic Civilizations."
Recent offerings include top releases such as "S.C.S. -
Dangerous Waters" and "Disney's Aladdin Chess
Adventures." The Company provides a unique alternative for
independent developers seeking to market their games to a
worldwide audience. www.strategyfirst.com
About Silverstar Holdings
Silverstar Holdings Ltd. is a publicly traded company,
focusing on acquiring controlling positions in high growth
fee-based electronic game businesses that stand to benefit
from the economies of scale generated by Internet and other
technology related platforms. It currently owns Strategy
First Inc., a leading developer and worldwide publisher of
entertainment software for the PC, as well as a stake in
Magnolia Broadband, a fab-less semiconductor company and
innovator of radio frequency (RF) solutions for the cellular
industry. www.silverstarholdings.com
The statements which are not historical facts contained in
this press release are forward looking statements that
involve certain risks and uncertainties, including but not
limited to risks associated with the uncertainty of future
financial results, additional financing requirements,
development of new products, regulatory approval processes,
the impact of competitive products or pricing, technological
changes, the effect of economic conditions and other
uncertainties detailed in the company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.