The Battle Heats Up: Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack Invades Europe

London 7th July - Grab your friends and polish up your survival skills...you're going to need them. Microsoft Game Studios announced today that the Halo 2^® Multiplayer Map Pack is available in stores across Europe from tomorrow, Friday 8th July for a suggested retail price of £14,99. The Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack is the first true expansion pack for a console game, featuring nine new innovative and intense multiplayer maps that will add hours of fresh, adrenalin-pumping Halo 2 combat. The Map Pack also includes an auto update that improves multiplayer experiences by implementing cheating countermeasures and tweaks to the weapons to further balance Halo 2's arsenal. The retail Map Pack also includes all prior Live updates to save gamers time and to ensure the best possible multiplayer experience for offline players as well.

Gamers who buy the package will also get special content that no true Halo 2 fan will want to miss: an animated bonus feature that showcases unseen side events during the Old Mombasa mission of Halo 2, and a behind-the-scenes documentary that takes gamers inside Bungie Studios, where they'll see interviews with designers and get insight into what inspired the new maps.

The maps breathe new life into Halo 2's award-winning game-play, and they encompass a variety of environments that will appeal to every type of multiplayer gamer. Set in a Forerunner environment on Delta Halo, Containment is a massive, icy outdoor area suitable for vehicle combat and large team-objective games. Warlock, a small- to midsized indoor arena set in ancient Forerunner ruins, offers ample opportunities for a variety of game types. Located in the streets of Old Mombasa near the wreckage of a downed Covenant Scarab, Turf is a midsize urban combat environment with narrow streets, dark alleyways and heavily defended buildings. Sanctuary is a medium-sized symmetrical environment in the sunlit remains of an ancient Forerunner temple. Gemini is a smaller map set high in space above the lights of High Charity. Relic is a medium-sized map set on a beach littered with wreckage from a dropship. Featuring narrow passageways and a constantly moving conveyor belt, Elongation provides a challenging environment ideal for a variety of game types. Terminal is a large map that is great for team-objective games, and it is filled with hazards including an active monorail that players can move across. Backwash is set within the valley of a large swamp covered with a thick mist. Rainfall and sound effects help evoke the feel of a highly organic eco-system.

Halo 2 is one of the highest-rated and top-selling video games of all time, with more than 6.8 million copies sold worldwide since November 2004. As Xbox LiveTM continues to redefine online gaming, Halo 2 features superior online multiplayer capabilities, evidenced by the fact that Xbox Live gamers have logged a record-breaking 300+ million hours playing Halo 2 since its launch. To date, more than two million unique users have played Halo 2 online on Xbox Live.

Bungie was founded in 1991 with two goals: to develop games that combine brilliant technology, beautiful art, intelligent stories and deep game-play, and then sell enough of those games to achieve the real goal of total world domination. Over the past 10 years it produced games like the "Marathon Trilogy" and the first two "Myth" games, hailed as classics by critics and gamers around the world. "Halo 2," its latest game, has achieved phenomenal success on the Microsoft Xbox video game system. More information on Bungie can be found at http://www.bungie.net/.

Xbox (http://www.xbox.com) is the video game system from Microsoft that brings people together for the most exhilarating game and entertainment experiences. Xbox delivers an expansive collection of breakthrough games, powerful hardware and the unified Xbox Live online service. The tag line, "It's good to play together," captures the spirit of Xbox as the social hub of the new digital entertainment lifestyle. Xbox is now available in the UK for an estimated street price of £99.99.

A new frontier in imagination and extraordinary interaction, no one else offers the richness of online game-play found on Xbox Live. The world's only unified global online console games service, Xbox Live is continuously innovating to provide members with unparalleled experiences. This unique service unites gamers together in a dynamic community where they can experience the best online games, exclusive programming and continuous downloadable content. Xbox Live launched in the United States in November 2002 and is available in 24 countries. Please visit http://www.xbox.com/live for more information.

Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the Xbox^® video game system and Windows and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse games for Windows (http://www.microsoft.com/games/), including such franchises as "Age of Empires^®," "Flight Simulator" and "Zoo Tycoon^®"; Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/), including such franchises as "Halo^®," "Project Gotham Racing^®" and Zone.com (http://www.zone.com/), the official games channel for the MSN^® network and home to such hits as "Bejeweled" and "OutSmart^TM."

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

For more information, please contact:

Marie-Claire Suter

UK PR Manager - Xbox & PC Games

Tel: +44 (0) 118 909 4599

Email: i-maries@microsoft.com