VANGUARD: SAGA OF HEROES FINDS A NEW HOME
Sigil Games Online and Sony Online Entertainment In Talks To Co-Publish Sigil's Ground-Breaking New Game
May 5, 2006 - Carlsbad & San Diego, CA - Sigil Games
Online and Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE), a global
leader in the online games industry, today announced that
Sigil is working with Microsoft Game Studios on an
arrangement to acquire the rights to its highly anticipated
massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, Vanguard: Saga of
Heroes. These efforts have resulted in a tentative agreement
for Vanguard to be co-published by both Sigil Games Online
and SOE. All three companies will be showing the game at the
upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) as they work
closely together for a successful transition. Vanguard: Saga
of Heroes is scheduled to launch this winter.
"As the development process is ongoing and constantly
shifting, it became clear that MGS and Sigil had varying
visions and direction for the title's development," said Brad
McQuaid, CEO of Sigil Games Online. "In the best interest of
Vanguard, it was decided that we would buy back the
publishing rights from Microsoft."
As co-publisher of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, Sigil assumes
greater control of marketing and PR, while maintaining
responsibility for game development, community relations,
media relations, customer support, and quality assurance.
Under the terms of the agreement, SOE will provide
distribution, marketing, hosting and back-end support --
including billing and technical support -- for the game.
Additionally, SOE is tentatively planning on adding Vanguard,
upon its release, to SOE's Station Access subscription
plan. Station Access allows players to enjoy all of SOE's MMO
titles for one low monthly price.
"We are very excited to be working with so many old friends
at Sigil," said John Smedley, president, Sony Online
Entertainment. "Vanguard looks beautiful and has an
incredibly rich game world. It's the type of game that will
appeal directly to SOE's hundreds of thousands of players and
should fit in perfectly with the current line-up of games
available in Station Access."
"This decision was made mutually by Sigil and Microsoft, in
the best interest of the long-term goals for the title," said
Phil Spencer, General Manager at Microsoft Game Studios. "As
a key Windows development partner, we will continue to work
with Sigil to ensure Vanguard's ongoing success."
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is the next generation of massively
multiplayer online games. The journey takes place in the
fantasy setting of Telon, a vast and ancient world of magic,
intrigue and adventure. Facing the challenges of a war torn
world, the diverse people here struggle to rebuild their once
great civilizations. A fragile alliance has been struck, with
the lands set upon by invading forces, the races must band
together to survive.
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is currently in a closed beta phase.
The game will remain available via Fileplanet for existing
beta testers during the transition to SOE. New information
will be sent out to testers as the changeover occurs.
For more information about Vanguard: Saga of Heroes please
visit http://www.vanguardsoh.com.