Sid Meier's Alien Crossfire Goes Gold

Expansion Pack for Alpha Centauri to ship October 19, Demo to be available pre-release

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., September 28, 1999 - Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), the world's largest interactive entertainment software company, and FIRAXIS Gamesâ„¢ today announced that Sid Meier's Alien Crossfireâ„¢, the official expansion pack to the critically acclaimed, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauriâ„¢, has gone gold. The massive expansion pack, which features seven new playable factions, several new technologies and secret projects, and a new plot that continues the story of humanity's struggle to colonize a hostile alien world, will begin shipping to stores on October 19. The companies also announced that a demo of the expansion pack would be available before the title's release.


In Alien Crossfire, the original inhabitants of Planet have returned to reclaim their world. The aliens, though, are split in a brutal struggle. They engage in battle over Planet, nearly destroying each other in the process. The survivors jettison to Planet's surface where humanity has been building a new home. Now the humans from Earth are caught in the crossfire. Will they band together to defeat the aliens or will other alliances be formed?

With seven new playable factions, a host of new gameplay additions, and a custom faction editor, Alien Crossfire doubles the gameplay of Alpha Centauri. Players can control and interact with seven new playable factions (five human, two alien) each offering new strategies, tactics and advantages. A new custom faction editor allows you to create your own factions, with customized abilities and diplomatic dialogue. And new technologies, new secret projects, new weapons, new armor types, new base facilities and new native life-forms make Alien Crossfire a must have add-on for every Alpha Centauri fan.

The Alien Crossfire expansion pack will be available at retail and directly from Electronic Arts for an estimated retail price of US$29.95. Alpha Centauri is required to use the Alien Crossfire expansion pack. More information on the game can be found on the World Wide Web located at http://www.aliencrossfire.com. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri is available at an estimated retail price of US$39.99. It can be purchased at retail or directly from Electronic Arts at (800) 245-4525 or through the EA Store located at http://www.eastore.ea.com.

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri shipped to retailers in February and is the creation of FIRAXIS Games, a Baltimore-based development house established by legendary game designers Sid Meier, Brian Reynolds and Jeff Briggs. The game features the perfect balance of exploration, discovery, building and conquest that players have come to expect from a Sid Meier strategy game. The game takes these elements and combines them with a gripping science-fiction story to create the most compelling and addictive strategic gameplay in the industry.

FIRAXIS Games creates fun, intelligent computer games to live in the minds and imaginations of people the world over for generations to come. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, MD, FIRAXIS' first title was the critically acclaimed Sid Meier's Gettysburg!. The company's titles are distributed and marketed by Electronic Arts. For more information on FIRAXIS you can access their web site at http://www.firaxis.com.

Electronic Arts, headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, Electronic Arts posted revenues of more than $1.2 billion for fiscal 1999. The company develops, publishes and distributes software worldwide for personal computers and video game systems. Electronic Arts markets its products under seven brand names: Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS™, Maxis™, ORIGIN™, Bullfrog™ Productions, Westwood Studios™ and Jane's® Combat Simulations. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://www.ea.com.

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