SHANGHAI, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Giant Interactive Group Inc. ("Giant" or "the Company"), a leading Chinese online game developer and operator, today announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement with Mail.Ru Inc. ("Mail.Ru"), a leading internet portal and online game publisher in Russia, to operate Allods Online, a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role playing game ("MMORPG") developed by Astrum Nival, LLC ("Astrum Nival"), a studio owned by Mail.Ru, in mainland China.
Allods Online is an award winning, free-to-play MMORPG based on the popular Allods series of PC games known internationally as Rage of Mages. The game is set in a unique universe of epic light fantasy with a captivating storyline and variable playing modes, including player-versus-player and player-versus-environment combat. Offering a traditional fantasy MMORPG experience with a new science fiction twist, Allods Online boasts exceptional levels of detail, state of the art graphics, and a rich and diverse cast of characters and environments.
Launched commercially in the Russian-speaking market and registration start for closed beta in Europe and US, Allods Online uniquely blends European art style and game design with the innovative free-to-play business model that is predominant in Asia. With a development budget of $12 million, it is the best-funded Russian game development project ever. Allods Online was acknowledged as the Best Game 2009 and Best Online Game 2008 by expert juries at the Russian Game Development Conference (KRI), where it also received the Audience Choice Award 2008. Over the coming months, Giant will localize and tailor the game to Chinese gamers'' preferences in advance of expected commercial launch in late 2010.
Mr. Yuzhu Shi, Giant''s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased to work with Mail.Ru and the Astrum Nival team once again, and are very excited to bring the award winning Allods Online to the Chinese market. With its visually stunning graphics, engaging storyline and exciting gameplay, Allods Online has attracted a fervent following in Russia. By leveraging our robust development talent, extensive game operations platform and strong sales and marketing capabilities, we believe Giant will be well positioned to help build Allods Online into a hit game in China."
Mr. Dmitry Grishin, Mail.Ru''s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "China is an important market as we continue to build our online game business. As a leading online game company in China, Giant is the ideal partner to operate our flagship game Allods Online in this key region. With a large and growing player base in Russia, and current closed beta testing in Europe and US, we are excited by this opportunity to further expand the Allods Online footprint across China."
About Mail.Ru
Mail.Ru is the foremost Russian Internet portal, serving the entertainment and communication needs of the global Russian-speaking community with a comprehensive array of more than 40 services. Among these are the largest Russian free e-mail service, popular instant messenger Mail.Ru Agent, national social network My Mir@Mail.Ru, search engine Poisk@Mail.Ru, and hosting for photos, videos and blogs. With over 50 percent market share and more than 40 titles to satisfy a full range of individual preferences, Mail.Ru Games is the leading Russian online gaming publisher. Its extensive portfolio includes internally developed hits like Allods Online (created by Astrum Nival) and Legend: Legacy of the Dragons as well as successful international licenses such as ZT Online, Perfect World II, Silkroad Online, Cross Fire and Lord of the Rings Online. Mail.Ru''s eight Russian offices are in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Samara and Kazan. The company also has international locations in Kyiv, Ukraine and Hamburg, Germany. Additional information is available at http://www.mail.ru/ .
About Giant
Giant Interactive Group Inc. is a leading online game developer and operator in China in terms of market share according to iResearch Consulting Group, an independent Chinese research center, and focuses on massively multiplayer online role playing games. Currently, Giant operates multiple games, including ZT Online, ZT Online Green Edition, Giant Online, and My Sweetie. Giant has six additional online games that it intends to launch, including King of Kings III, ZT Online II, Dragon Soul, The Golden Land, XT Online, and Empire of Sports. Giant has built a nationwide distribution network to sell the prepaid game cards and game points required to play its games, which as of September 30, 2009 consisted of over 290 distributors, and reached over 116,500 retail outlets, including internet cafes, software stores, supermarkets, bookstores, newspaper stands, and convenience stores located throughout China. For more information, please visit Giant Interactive Group on the web at http://www.ga-me.com/ .
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this release contain "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements and among others, include anticipated benefits of launch of Allods Online in China. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent only our belief regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition and other circumstances may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause our actual results to differ from what we currently anticipate may include uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal and regulatory environments and volatility in the markets we operate in, our ability to respond to competition, our ability to adjust to the current global economic crisis, our need to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, our limited operating history and unproven long-term potential of our online game business model. For additional information on these and other important factors that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, see "Risk Factors" beginning on page 8 of our annual report for fiscal year 2008. Any projections in this release are based on limited information currently available to us, which is subject to change. Although such projections and the factors influencing them will likely change, we undertake no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release. Such information speaks only as of the date of this release.
For more information, please contact: Investor Contact: Rich Chiang, IR Manager Giant Interactive Group Inc. Tel: +86-21-6451-1258 Investor Relations (HK): Ruby Yim, Managing Director Taylor Rafferty Tel: +852-3196-3712 Investor Relations (US): Mahmoud Siddig, Director Taylor Rafferty Tel: +1-212-889-4350 Media Contact: Michael Henson, Director Taylor Rafferty Tel: +1-212-889-4350
Giant Interactive Group Inc.
CONTACT: Investors, Rich Chiang, IR Manager of Giant Interactive Group
Inc., +86-21-6451-1258; or Investor Relations (HK), Ruby Yim, Managing
Director of Taylor Rafferty, +852-3196-3712; or Investor Relations (US),
Mahmoud Siddig, Director of Taylor Rafferty, +1-212-889-4350; or Media Contact,
Michael Henson, Director of Taylor Rafferty, +1-212-889-4350
Web site: http://www.ga-me.com/
