Strategy

[Seems like a good match to me!]

Matrix Games (www.matrixgames.com) and Slitherine Ltd (www.slitherine.com) today announced that they have signed a comprehensive agreement to merge the companies creating the world's largest wargaming specialist publisher. Both Brands have strong identities and core values and these will be maintained to provide maximum enjoyment and added value to all customers.

After the warriors of the Heroic period of the Trojan Wars came the Greek hoplite: a farmer turned soldier trained in the art of phalanx warfare. From 500 BC to 400 BC, the hoplites ruled supreme on the battlefield, fighting in classical Greece’s most memorable conflict. From the battles of Thermopylae to Marathon and Plataea to the Peloponnesian Wars, hoplites decided the course of empires.

HPS Greek Wars brings this era to computer gaming, with a full panoply of scenarios of Greek versus Persian and Greek versus Greek. Greek Wars has over 60 scenarios in which Athenians, Spartans, Persians, and many more clash in battles which still resound today. Scenarios allow players to deploy armies of the era using the full range of classical weapons, from infantry spears to bows and various types of cavalry. Command anything from the famous 300 Spartans to the mass armies of the Persian empire, 100,000 strong.

2K Games and Valve today announced an agreement to power all PC versions of the highly anticipated Sid Meier’s Civilization V with many of Steamworks’ features and offer a special Digital Deluxe Edition via Steam. In addition, customers who pre-order the regular or Digital Deluxe editions of Sid Meier’s Civilization V on Steam will be rewarded with a free map pack when the game launches in fall 2010.

Sid Meier’s Civilization V players will enjoy the benefits of the Steamworks’ features included in all PC versions such as auto-updating, Steam Achievements, downloadable content, multiplayer matchmaking and more.

Sid Meier’s Civilization V Digital Deluxe Edition will expand players’ conquests with the new Babylonian civilization and their ruler, Nebuchadnezzar II (c. 630 – c. 561 B.C.). As King of Babylon, gamers will be able to expand their empire with advanced Babylonian Bowmen to rightfully earn the title of Nebuchadnezzar the Great. Sid Meier’s Civilization V Digital Deluxe Edition will also include an in-depth “Behind the Scenes at Firaxis with Civilization V” video feature, as well as the game’s epic soundtrack.

PAN Vision and Fabrication Games announced today the cooperation for the development of the game World in War that will be available for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Web. World in War is an award winning concept originally developed by Tommy Palm and Jadestone. The game is set in WWII Europe and is a deep strategy game with advanced graphics and a gameplay tailored for the iPhone. World in War is currently slated to ship in Q4 2010.

World in War is an important step in the previously announced, newly founded digital section of PAN Vision games publishing arm that expands the physical business into a variety of digital formats.

“This is a great opportunity and hopefully a start of a long-term relationship between the companies. We are a very pleased to be working with some of the best developers in the industry together with a wonderful IP. PAN truly believes this will be a great game that will find its way to all the strategy fans around the world.” says Mathias Styrström, Business Manager Digital at PAN Vision.

Matrix Games (www.matrixgames.com) and Slitherine Strategies (www.slitherine.com) have released another update for the much vaunted Field of Glory system. The comprehensive 1.2.6 update comes with a fix in multiplayer where players can join battles when they don’t have the required army pack and a fix to possible registration issues in multiplayer. Also included are over a dozen rule tweaks, a new battle for Storm of Arrows owners, and a few fixes for bugs in the DAG and general gameplay.

David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, said “Were happy to work together with Slitherine to provide our customers with regular updates that not only improve the game experience but add new content as well. The Field of Glory system is steadily improving and growing with each new update and expansion!”