THQ to bring MMO Dragonica to North America in 2009

September 17, 2008

THQ ANNOUNCES JOINT VENTURE WITH
CHINA ONLINE OPERATOR ICE ENTERTAINMENT TO BRING CASUAL MMO TITLE DRAGONICA TO
NORTH AMERICA IN 2009

New Joint Venture Provides North
American Platform for THQ Online Games

THQ Inc. today announced that it has
formed a joint venture with ICE Entertainment (“ICE”), an operator of online
games located in Shanghai, China, to launch Dragonica, a free-to-play,
micro-transaction-based massively multiplayer online (“MMO”) casual game
scheduled for release in North America in 2009. ICE’s Chief Executive Officer
Sun Tao is the former Chief Technology Officer of The9, a leading operator of
online games including World of Warcraft®. The new joint venture combines ICE’s
online operating experience with THQ’s product development and retail publishing
expertise to create a new platform for online games in the North American
market.

“We are extremely excited to be
working with ICE Entertainment to bring this free-to-play,
micro-transaction-based online game to the robust yet largely untapped market
for online casual gaming in North America,” said Doug Clemmer, president of
THQ’s casual gaming subsidiary. “We are even more pleased to be building a
strong and mutually beneficial relationship, which we hope will lead to
additional opportunities to deliver online gaming content globally.”

“We are looking forward to combining
THQ’s extensive marketing and retail expertise with our advanced technology and
proven online game operating know-how to deliver a great new casual gaming
experience for North American consumers,” said Sun Tao, chief executive officer,
ICE Entertainment. “We also look forward to working with THQ more closely to
develop new games and explore future publishing opportunities in both markets.”

The market opportunity for online
casual gaming in North America is estimated to be $2.2 billion by 2013 (Source:
DFC Intelligence). China’s fast growing online games market was valued at US$1.7
billion in 2007 and reached more than 42 million online gamers. The market is
expected to grow to US$4.2 billion by 2010. (Source: Niko Partners).

About Dragonica

Dragonica is a massively multiplayer
online casual game developed by Barunson Interactive Co, based in Korea.
Dragonica is free-to-play and players may choose to pay for additional content
and features on a micro-transaction basis. Barunson Interactive spent seven
years developing Dragonica, which brings cartoon side-scrolling action online
games to a new peak. The game’s totally 3D rendering design, fresh cartoon
characters and scenery modeling, create a new visual perception of
side-scrolling games. Dragonica skillfully mixes the elements of action and
arcade, and creates various ultimate skills to enhance playability. ICE
currently has the rights to operate the game in China and plans to commence its
closed beta for that market in late 2008.