Title Of The Sixth Game In The Settlers Series Officially Confirmed: The Settlers® - Rise Of An Empire

London, United Kingdom, 25 April 2007 - Ubisoft, one of the world's leading producers, publishers and distributors of interactive entertainment, today officially announced that The Settlers® - Rise Of An Empire, Blue Byte's sixth game in this popular strategic simulation series, will be released in September 2007.

In this game, the player builds lively, bustling towns in a medieval world. Everything is visible, lovingly animated and realistic. Each settler has his or her own daily routine, with a range of different actions and behaviours that can be observed by the player at all times. This enables him to get the best out of his Settlers, build up a flourishing economy, tend to his settlers' needs, and protect his empire against danger from the outside. By expanding his empire, the player can aspire to becoming a legendary king or queen.

The most popular features of the predecessors in the series have been retained, and many of the fans desires and wishes were incorporated into the new game to create a very special Settlers atmosphere. The result is a realistic medieval world, captured in intricate detail. The game features an immersive, yet transparent economic system based on the resources, wares and goods produced by the settlers in their various trades and occupations.

Top features:

A very special Settlers atmosphere in a lively medieval game world!

- The primary objective of the game is to create large, lively medieval towns.

- The settlers interact with each other in a completely natural way and have wants and needs of their own.

- Female settlers appear for the first time in the series: Men and women fall in love with each other and marry.

- The lively, detailed game world is rich in animal and plant life.

- The settlers' busy life is presented in lovingly rendered animations that show what is going on in a transparent way.

- The world is divided into four climatic zones with changes of season and weather which influence expansion and resource gathering.

The best Settlers game of all time, featuring the best from previous games and lots of gameplay innovations!

- The game's instant accessibility and gentle learning curve ensure long-lasting fun; even in advanced game missions, new features are introduced.

- All interventions by the player are reflected in the behaviour of his subjects and made transparent through the animations in the game world.

- Starting with a small settlement, the player builds up flourishing towns, maintains trade relations, and claims land and villages. This requires diplomatic skills.

- Mining, gathering resources, and food production result from wise planning and the various occupations of the settlers.

- Goods transport is optimized through skilful road planning.

- Upgrading buildings step-by-step improves the effectiveness of the economy and towns.

- By hiring travelling entertainers and organizing fairs, the player acts as a matchmaker by enabling male and female settlers to get to know each other.

- The player can build walls to protect his towns from enemy attacks. In military actions, the player must prove that he has built up his empire in such a way that it can defend itself effectively.

- Missions featuring noble knights with various skills accompany the player through the epic storyline penned by Jeff Grubb.

- Included in the game: dynamic single player campaign, freeplay mode with a multitude of maps, numerous multiplayer options via LAN and Internet, and a map editor.

For more information please go to: http://www.thesettlers.com/uk/home.php

To download or view the trailer please click on the following links:

- download it:

ftp://ftp.ubi.com/emea/settlers_riseofanempire/video/settlers_riseofanempire_trailer.zip

http://media.ubi.com/emea/settlers_riseofanempire/video/settlers_riseofanempire_trailer.zip

- stream it (Youtube):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc1zGi-FsyU

About Ubisoft:

Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide. The company has grown steadily through its strong and diversified lineup of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 21 countries and distributes its products in more than 50 countries around the globe. Ubisoft generated revenue of 547 million Euros for the 2005/2006 fiscal year and is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge PC and video game titles to consumers. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com

About the Ubisoft studio Blue Byte:

Blue Byte is one of the pioneers of the German gaming industry. The company was founded in 1988 and has since then focussed on the development of entertainment software. Blue Byte created two of the most famous series in the history of PC games in Germany: The Settlers® series and the Battle Isle saga. The Settlers - a highly acclaimed strategic simulation game - sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. In the summer of 2003, the series celebrated its 10th anniversary. Today, Blue Byte is a 100% subsidiary of Ubisoft and, as a development studio, produces the current games in the series The Settlers®. For more information, please visit www.bluebyte.de