Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Goes Gold

WARCRAFT* III: REIGN OF CHAOS* GOES GOLD
— STREET DATE ANNOUNCED

Blizzard prepares for the biggest
worldwide launch in PC gaming history on July 3, 2002

IRVINE, Calif. – JUNE 13, 2002 – Blizzard
Entertainment®, a studio of the games division of Vivendi Universal Publishing,
announced today that Warcraft* III: Reign of Chaos*, the eagerly awaited sequel
to the company’s #1-selling series of games*, has gone gold. With
record-breaking initial orders of 4.5 million copies, the game will be available
at retail outlets worldwide in multiple languages beginning on July 3, 2002.

"We’re very excited to announce that
development of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos has been completed and that gamer
and retail demand will make this the largest launch in gaming history," said
Mike Morhaime, Blizzard Entertainment president and co-founder. "When we set out
to create the next installment of the Warcraft series, we wanted to design
something both unique and fun to play. We’re extremely proud of the game we’ve
created and we believe gamers will be very pleased when they see what we have in
store for them."

In Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, players
revisit the war-torn world of Azeroth a generation after the end of the Second
War between the Orcs and the Humans. The fragile peace that had since settled
over the land is now on the verge of being shattered, for a dark power has
returned after thousands of years to carry out its nefarious plans. Two new
races – the Undead Scourge and the Night Elves – emerge to join the fray, as
players follow a single epic storyline through four successive campaigns.
Players can also take the battle into their own hands in an enhanced multiplayer
mode, playable on local area networks and exclusively over the Internet on
Battle.net®, the largest online service of its kind in the world.

A focus on concentrated battles between
groups of mighty warriors brings an exciting new blend of action to the
franchise. In the single-player game, players follow the adventures of Legendary
Heroes, who grow more formidable with experience. As the game progresses, these
Heroes are able to learn spells and special abilities and acquire powerful magic
items. Heroes advance even faster in multiplayer games, adding to the intensity
of strategic combat between rival powers. Expanded multiplayer options include
the ability to share units and resources with allies and to compete anonymously
against other players of similar skill levels. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos also
includes the most powerful and full-featured World Editor ever released for a
Blizzard game. The World Editor puts the same tools used by Blizzard’s designers
into the hands of players, enabling them to create 3D maps and unique missions,
with scripts for units, spells, and action-packed events. Players will also be
able to produce their own in-game cinematics, using flexible camera controls and
incorporating .mp3-based sound files.

Since its debut in 1994, the #1-selling
Warcraft series has won industry acclaim and has shattered sales records
worldwide with over 5 million copies sold*. In 1995, Blizzard followed the
well-received Warcraft: Orcs and Humans(tm) with the critically acclaimed
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness(tm), which won multiple Game of the Year awards
and is still considered by many critics to be one of the best games ever made.

*Based on units shipped