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Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark

Award-Winning “Neverwinter Nights”(TM) Universe Expands With New Campaign, Epic Levels, Prestige Classes, Creatures, Spells and More

Atari (Nasdaq:ATAR) and BioWare Corp., under license from Hasbro, Inc., are set to expand the award-winning “Neverwinter Nights”(TM), the best-selling, fantasy roleplaying game based in the “Forgotten Realms”(R) world from Wizards of the Coast’s classic “Dungeons & Dragons”(R) game. Following the release of the first official expansion pack, “Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide”(TM) in June, “Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark”(TM) pits players in a battle to save the embattled city of Waterdeep from an ancient evil buried deep within the earth and stone of Undermountain. “Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark” is scheduled for release this November.

“By combining classic elements of a traditional pen and paper gaming experience with the action and excitement of an interactive adventure, `Neverwinter Nights’ has changed the very nature of roleplaying games,” said Steve Allison, vice president of marketing for Atari, Inc.’s Los Angeles studio. “`Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark’ will expand on those great gameplay elements with an extensive new single-player campaign and a host of exciting new options allowing players to create their own adventures with the Neverwinter Nights Aurora Toolset.”

“Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark” will include a new 20-hour single-player campaign, designed for high-level characters and set amidst the famous city of Waterdeep and the foreboding Underdark from the D&D(R) game’s “Forgotten Realms” campaign setting. “Hordes of the Underdark” will significantly expand upon the “Neverwinter Nights” universe, most notably with the addition of Epic Level gameplay. Based upon the rules published by Wizards of the Coast in the D&D game supplement, “Epic Level Handbook”(TM), Epic Levels will be available for characters who have reached level 20, allowing them to advance as far as level 40.

In addition, “Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark” will introduce several new prestige classes, including the Shifter, a druidic class specializing in shape shifting; dozens of new feats, such as Epic Reputation, Craft Weapon and Armor Skin; a multitude of new weapons and spells, many designed solely for epic level characters; challenging new creatures pulled straight out of the Underdark, including Mind Flayers, Beholders and Driders; several new character voice sets for even greater character customization; and 17 new epic soundtracks from composer Jeremy Soule.

“`Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark’ will expand on the already massive `Neverwinter Nights’ franchise by adding a number of features requested by the extensive fan community,” said Dr. Greg Zeschuk, BioWare Corp. joint CEO and Co-Executive Producer of “Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark.” “The inclusion of Epic Levels alone should open up great new ways for people to play the game and create their own high-level adventures, further extending the value of their original game purchase,” added Ray Muzyka, BioWare Corp. joint CEO and Co-Executive Producer.

“Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark” will equip module makers with two new tilesets and additional content for the Neverwinter Nights Aurora Toolset, the groundbreaking software included with the full game that allows players to create their own universes, quests and storylines. The two new tilesets will be based around the new campaign and will include exciting new features specific to certain denizens of the Underdark itself.

“Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark” is scheduled for release in November 2003. Additional information about “Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark” can be found online at www.bioware.com.

About BioWare

BioWare Corp. is an electronic entertainment company that develops computer and console games. BioWare’s developers are currently hard at work on “Star Wars:(R) Knights of the Old Republic”(TM) (to be published by LucasArts) for the PC. Development continues on the “Neverwinter Nights”(TM) expansion pack (to be published by Atari) — “Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark”(TM) planned for a fall 2003 release. Two currently untitled projects, one an Xbox title (to be published by Microsoft), the other a PC title (no publisher yet announced), both featuring original BioWare intellectual properties, are also in development. “Star Wars:(R) Knights of the Old Republic”(TM), released July 18, 2003 for the Xbox is currently enjoying critical praise and great commercial success with its opening weekend launch ending with Microsoft proclaiming the title as the fastest selling Xbox game in history. Previously published projects include: the award winning “Neverwinter Nights”(TM), the genre-defining “Baldur’s Gate”(TM) role playing game series for the PC, “MDK(TM)2” for Dreamcast and PC, “MDK(TM)2: Armageddon” for PlayStation(R)2 and “Shattered Steel”(TM). BioWare information can be found online at www.bioware.com.

About Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on the method of playing trading card games (TCGs) and produces one of the world’s best-selling TCGs, “Magic: The Gathering”(R), as well as the celebrated “Dungeons & Dragons”(R) roleplaying game. Publisher of adventure games, family card and board games, and electronic media products, Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world’s premier book publishers of fantasy series fiction whose novels have made numerous appearances on The New York Times best-seller list and have sold millions of copies worldwide. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast website at http://wizards.com.

About Hasbro, Inc.

Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) is a worldwide leader in children’s and family leisure time entertainment products and services, including the design, manufacture and marketing of games and toys ranging from traditional to high-tech. Both internationally and in the U.S., its PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, and WIZARDS OF THE COAST brands and products provide the highest quality and most recognizable play experiences in the world.

About Atari

New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company’s 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining games such as “Driver”(TM), “Enter the Matrix”(TM), “Neverwinter Nights”(TM), “Stuntman”(TM), “Test Drive”(R), “Unreal(R) Tournament 2003,” and “Unreal(R) Championship”; and mass-market and children’s games such as “Backyard Sports”(TM), “Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues”(TM) and “Dora the Explorer”(TM), “Civilization”(R), “Dragon Ball Z”(R) and “RollerCoaster Tycoon”(R). Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext 5257), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit http://www.atari.com.

“Neverwinter Nights,” “Shadows of Undrentide,” “Hordes of the Underdark,” “Epic Level Handbook,” “Forgotten Realms,” “Dungeons & Dragons,” D&D and “Magic: The Gathering” are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the United States and other countries. (C) 2003 Wizards.

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