OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
(May 18, 1999) The following press release was passed along to us by a representative of Firaxis today; it is the "official notification" that CivIII will soon be under development. We reproduce it, entitled "Hasbro Interactive and FIRAXIS Games Announce Partnership to Create 'Sid Meier's Civilization III' CD-ROM Game; Original Civilization Team is Reunited to Develop New Strategy Game", below:

LOS ANGELES -- May 17, 1999 -- At a press conference conducted at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), two of the entertainment software industry's biggest players, powerhouse publisher Hasbro Interactive and legendary game developer FIRAXIS Games announced a strategic partnership to bring the next generation of Civilization(R) strategy games to life in Sid Meier's Civilization III CD-ROM.

The conference reunited industry legend Sid Meier and his FIRAXIS Games partners, President and CEO Jeff Briggs, and Vice President of Software Development Brian Reynolds with their long-time friend and former MicroProse colleague Tony Parks, now Vice President of Research and Development at Hasbro Interactive. The event marked the coming together of the original team that worked on the groundbreaking Sid Meier's Civilization and Sid Meier's Civilization II interactive games - touted by many as two of the best games ever created in the history of the entertainment software industry.
"To be partnered with FIRAXIS Games and legendary designer Sid Meier on this exciting project is truly a crowning moment for Hasbro Interactive," said Tom Dusenberry, Hasbro Interactive president. "We have had our eyes on the Civilization franchise for some time and we are thrilled that we can bring together all the critical people behind this great game to make some more industry magic."
"We look forward to working with such a talented publisher as Hasbro Interactive," said Jeff Briggs, FIRAXIS Games president and CEO. "The Civilization franchise has played such an important role in all of our lives and careers. It is very fitting that we join together to work on the next generation of this great game."

The magic began in 1991 when legendary Game Designer Sid Meier created what was soon to become one of the greatest entertainment works of all time, Sid Meier's Civilization strategy game for the personal computer. With limited technology, Meier empowered players of all ages to create their own civilizations throughout history and conquer the world! Simple graphics and intellectually stimulating game play added up to FUN! Sid Meier's Civilization received countless awards including a Computer Gaming World magazine's Hall of Fame induction and Best Game of All-Time honor to the Software Publishers Association Best Consumer Entertainment Program of the Year.
In 1996, history repeated itself with the creation of Sid Meier's Civilization II. With Meier serving as the visionary and Brian Reynolds leading the development work, another star was born. Civilization II was also an award-winning masterpiece receiving such accolades as PC Gamer's Game of the Year and Editor's choice awards to inclusion in Next Generation magazine's list of the Best Games of all Time.

In 1999, the partnership of Hasbro Interactive and FIRAXIS Games looks to break some more industry records with the development of Sid Meier's Civilization III. FIRAXIS Games will begin development on the title in the coming months.