id Software Opens Beta for QUAKE LIVE

Born from the Legendary QUAKE ARENA Multiplayer Shooter Games, a New QUAKE Rocks the Internet with a Totally Free Browser-based Experience

Mesquite, Texas - February 25, 2009 – Today, id Software made the hotly anticipated QUAKE LIVE™ available to the public as an open beta. QUAKE LIVE is a new and innovative browser-based multiplayer game experience that offers players of all skill levels a totally free and easily accessible multiplayer game and social community through a single state-of-the-art web site at www.QUAKElive.com.

"Gamers have been eagerly waiting for months, but the day has arrived where everyone can now come and play QUAKE LIVE," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software, Inc. "We've taken the greatest online deathmatch game of all time and made it even better with skill matching, chat, stats tracking and a ton of other cool stuff.  And we've made it totally free!"

QUAKE LIVE delivers the excitement and energy of first-person multiplayer action to a broader audience than ever before. Not your typical “web game,” QUAKE LIVE offers players a 100% free-to-play premium first person shooter, encompassing more than 30 arenas, five game modes and more than 50 characters - all delivered and accessed through a cutting-edge web site.  Connect with friends, play matches, track the leaderboards and browse through player profiles that include scores, detailed statistics, as well as achievement-based awards and trophies. 

Integrated with IGA Worldwide’s proprietary SDK, QUAKE LIVE offers companies and agencies fresh opportunities to dynamically-target brands to audiences within a broadly accessible version of one of the world’s premiere game franchises, while also offering gamers a totally free premium game, fun events, and a vibrant, active community of other players.

“id Software continues to raise the bar with QUAKE LIVE.  Increasing numbers of mass market consumers are turning to video games as a compelling entertainment choice, and by offering QUAKE as a free-to-play game, id Software made it more accessible than ever to both new users and long-time fans,” said Tim Walsh, executive vice president of  North America, IGA Worldwide.  “We are delighted to partner with id Software on QUAKE LIVE, and utilize IGA’s in-game advertising technology to establish an innovative revenue model for this incredibly popular game that will make it possible for all players to find the best and most challenging games online.”

The QUAKE LIVE Game Experience:

Visit www.QUAKElive.com and play a free, premium multiplayer game in as little as five minutes.  After a minimal registration process and short download is completed, players are immediately transported into a basic tutorial and skill placement match against a computer-controlled opponent.  Once a QUAKE LIVE player account has been created, an intuitive and engaging web site becomes each players’ unified interface for joining online games, practicing privately against computer controlled opponents, finding and communicating with friends, and monitoring match scores, leaderboards, statistics, and awards.  Joining the perfect game is always one click away, as QUAKE LIVE’s skill matching system automatically suggests a selection of matches based on each individual player, using factors like skill, and connection quality.  Players are never burdened with install discs or a broken or outdated game, as patches and additional content are handled through a transparent automatic update process.  Plus, since the game is accessed and delivered entirely through the web, players can login and play from anywhere - with all of their personal game settings, custom controls and friends as close as the nearest web browser.

About QUAKE LIVE Creator, id Software:

QUAKE LIVE is a new game project developed and distributed by acclaimed developer id Software.  From inception to present day, id Software has relentlessly provided technical, design and artistic leadership as an independent game studio and technology provider.  Transcending the games industry, id Software’s iconic brands, including Wolfenstein, DOOM, QUAKE and Enemy Territory have become staples of popular culture for generations of gamers and sold tens of millions of copies worldwide.  More information on id Software is available at www.idsoftware.com.

About IGA Worldwide
IGA Worldwide (http://www.igaworldwide.com) is the world’s leading in-game advertising network. IGA enables advertisers to target millions of highly engaged consumers playing games across a wide range of gaming platforms and genres. IGA Worldwide was selected by Sony Computer Entertainment as the first in-game advertising provider for the PLAYSTATION®3 and is partnered with leading game companies such as Activision, Atari, Codemasters, Electronic Arts, id Software and Valve Software.  The company has delivered campaigns for a broad range of brands such as 20th Century Fox, Gillette, Intel, McDonald’s, Puma, Toyota and Unilever. IGA was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Paris and Berlin.  IGA’s financial backers include GE/NBCU, Intel Capital, Morgenthaler Ventures, Easton Capital, DN Capital, KTB Ventures, Translink Capital, Itochu Technology and Sumitomo/Presidio STX.  

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© 2009 id Software, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.  QUAKE LIVE, QUAKE, and id are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Id Software, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.  All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.