[ October 28, 1999 ] WON.NET GIVES GAMERS FIRST CHANCE TO PLAY HALF-LIFE: OPPOSING FORCE
Twelve first-round winners in Live the Dream Tournament compete over Halloween weekend for place in championship event

BELLEVUE, WA (October 28, 1999) - WON.net™, dedicated to integrating the Internet into games, and Sierra Studios™ today announced the 12 Round One winners in the Half-Life®: Opposing Force® Live the Dream Tournament being hosted by WON.net and Clan World Network (http://www.clannetwork.com/). Round One winners will spar again over Halloween weekend for a chance to participate in the live championship event held at Club-i in San Francisco, Calif. on November 10, 1999. Championship players will compete using Half-Life: Opposing Force (a.k.a. Op For), developed by Gearbox Software. This will be the first time consumers will play this entirely new episode for Half-Life®, the action-packed thriller from Valve that has won over 45 Game of the Year awards.

"This contest offers Half-Life fans a cool way to get involved with the launch of Opposing Force," says Scott Fasser, product manager at WON.net. "We think this is a great opportunity for fans to test their skills playing a totally new game for the very first time."

The 12 Round One winners competing over Halloween weekend use the following screen names: K*Doc, LMS 007, !gnoleb, tommyd {PSU}, J.E.D.I. Bigbull, One Eye Rooster, Voltron, DFA Recognize, DFA Mystical, DFA Max Xevious, DFA Fenixx and _Genyosha_.

In related news, WON.net plans to launch a new website supporting Op For. The new site, which will goes live today, can be found on WON.net at www.won.net/channels/action/half-life/opfor/. WON.net, who provides the multiplayer tools and technologies for Op For's Internet gameplay, is supporting this anticipated release through broad community services such as user-created home pages, tournaments, demos/downloads, previews and more.

Half-Life: Opposing Force includes over 12 new multiplayer levels created by 3D action industry All Stars. Op For also features an expansive new single player episode where players return to the Black Mesa Research Facility from the exciting new perspective of a soldier sent in to eliminate Gordon Freeman. The title, which is being developed by Gearbox Software, is on schedule to ship in November.

About the Tournament
The Live the Dream tournament takes place in three rounds. The first round of tournament play, which had over 400 players and was completed on October 24, consisted of 16-player free-for-all (single player elimination) style matches played on Valve's Half-Life Bootcamp map. The top 12 players in Round One will compete in Round Two over Halloween weekend, October 29 through October 31. The four top players from Round Two will then advance to the Championship Tournament.

The Championship Tournament will take place during a live event on November 10, 1999 at Club-i in San Francisco, Calif. Championship players will compete using Half-Life: Opposing Force. This tournament will be the first time Op For is seen and played by consumers. Game Dive will broadcast the championship round live over the Internet at www.gamedive.com.

Prizes for Round Two winners who advance to the championship tournament include airfare to San Francisco, hotel accommodations provided by Renaissance Stanford Court Hotel and $200 spending money for the purpose of participating in the championship round. Prizes for the championship round include $1000 and a WON.net jacket (retail value $200) for first place, $500 and a WON.net jacket for second place and a WON.net jacket for third and fourth place winners.

Additional information and tournament rules can be found online at http://www.won.net/community/tournaments/half-life.

Founded in 1996, Valve develops entertainment software. Half-Life is Valve's debut title. Since its release in November, 1998, Half-Life has won more than 45 game of the year awards from publications that include PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World, and CNET's Gamecenter. Valve's upcoming title, Team Fortress™ 2: Brotherhood of Arms™ recently won the E3 Game Critics' Award for Best Action Game and Best Online Game. More information about Valve is available through the company's web site at www.valvesoftware.com.

Founded in January 1999, Gearbox Software is a team of veteran 3D game developers collected in Dallas, Texas. The Gearbox crew is made up of artists, designers, and programmers who joined forces to form their own development house after stints at a variety of companies, including 3D Realms, Microprose and Ritual. Half-Life®: Opposing Force® is scheduled to be the first offering from this talented new studio.

Founded in 1996, Valve develops entertainment software. Half-Life is Valve's debut title. Since its release in November, 1998, Half-Life has won over 45 game of the year awards from publications that include PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World, and CNET's Gamecenter. Valve's upcoming title, Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms recently won the E3 Game Critics' Award for Best Action Game and Best Online Game. More information about Valve is available through the company's web site at www.valvesoftware.com.

Sierra On-Line, Inc. http://www.sierra.com/ is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, a global leader in interactive content, and is one of the world's largest publishers of education, entertainment and home productivity software. Its divisions, Blizzard®, Coktel, Knowledge Adventure®, Sierra™ and WON.net™ are famous for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles. Havas has operations in the US and in Europe and is a subsidiary of the French publishing house Havas, part of Vivendi Communications.

WON.net™(http://www.won.net), dedicated to integrating the Internet into gaming, is one of the largest aggregators of Internet enabled games, with over 40 live and playable choices, including 22 free online-only games from seven major developers. Some of the site's highlights include YOU DON'T KNOW JACK® the netshow, HOYLE® card and board games, Homeworld, Half-Life™, TRIBES™, Starsiege™, Red Baron® 3D, Wordox, The Cypher, Acrophobia and SpiritWars™. WON.net also features daily game news from the industry leading site Imagine Games Network (http://www.ign.com) and strategy guides from leading publisher Prima Publishing. WON.net also develops proprietary technology tools for games including WONswap™ (http://wonswap.won.net), the easiest way to download and install user-created content; Game Detector™, offering players the easiest way to find and join a server-based game on the web; and GameSearch.net (http://www.won.net/search), the best, most complete internet search engine focused solely on games. WON.net is an autonomous business unit incorporated within Havas Interactive, the largest publisher of consumer PC software in the world.

[ October 15, 1999 ] SIERRA ANNOUNCES HALF-LIFE®: OP FOR LEVEL DESIGN WINNERS
Three Aspiring Level Designers' Work to be Included in Opposing Force™

Bellevue, WA (October 15, 1999) - Sierra Studios™, Gearbox Software and Valve are proud to announce the three winning Team Fortress™ Classic levels to be included in Half-Life: Opposing Force, an entirely new episode for the Game of the Year. The designers of the three winning levels are: Mackey McCandlish, Erik Doescher and Preston Glenn.

"We were overwhelmed by the number of level submissions we received for this contest," Randy Pitchford, co-founder and lead designer at Gearbox said. "There are some really talented designers out and we're glad we can give them this much-deserved recognition."

Along with having their maps included in Opposing Force, the three winners will each receive a prize of $1,000. The rest of the map submissions will be posted on Won.net™ for free download.

About the winners:

Mackey McCandlish: Mackey's map entitled "Alpine" contains unique "Alamo" style gameplay where one team must defend their base against an attacking team. Avatar, or Mackey as he is known to family members, has enjoyed designing levels since the halcyon days of DOOM®. Since then he has devoted much of his time not only to crafting levels, but also dabbling in programming, modeling, skinning and texturing. To further this end, he has spent the past 2 years studying at the Savannah College of Art & Design, where he currently resides. During off-hours he practices Shorin Ryu karate and tries to master Starcraft™ Brood War™.

Erik Doescher: Erik's map entitled "BTUBE" has a creative layout and strong play mechanics. By day, Erik is a freelance illustrator for DC Comics and a teacher at the School of Visual Arts. At night he plays in a TFC clan called AoW, and goes by the name of AoW|McCoy. Erik is new to level design. 'The Blood Tube' is his first map, and started out as his tutorial for Worldcraft™.

Preston Glenn: Preston's map entitled "Openfire" is cleanly executed and contains very solid gameplay. Better known as Hexadecimal to those who can spell it, Preston has been interested in art, games, and architectural design for as long as he can remember. It was only natural for level design to become a very important part of his life. Not limiting himself to level design alone, he has also worked in modeling, texturing, and any other forms of expression he can get his hands on.

In addition to the winning Team Fortress Classic map submissions, Half-Life: Opposing Force (a.k.a. Op For) will feature one dozen new multiplayer levels created by 3-D action industry All Stars. Op For also features an expansive new single player episode were players return to the Black Mesa Research Facility from the exciting new perspective of a soldier sent in to eliminate Gordon Freeman. The title, which is being developed by Gearbox Software, is on schedule to ship this fall.

Founded in January 1999, Gearbox Software is a team of veteran 3D game developers collected in Dallas, Texas. The Gearbox crew is made up of artists, designers, and programmers who joined forces to form their own development house after stints at a variety of companies, including 3D Realms, Microprose and Ritual. Half-Life: Opposing Force is scheduled to be the first offering from this talented new studio.

Founded in 1996, Valve develops entertainment software. Half-Life is Valve's debut title. Since its release in November, 1998, Half-Life has won more than 45 game of the year awards from publications that include PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World, and CNET's Gamecenter. Valve's upcoming title, Team Fortress™ 2: Brotherhood of Arms™ recently won the E3 Game Critics' Award for Best Action Game and Best Online Game. More information about Valve is available through the company's web site at www.valvesoftware.com.

Sierra On-Line, Inc. is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, a global leader in interactive content, and is one of the world's largest publishers of education, entertainment and home productivity software. Its divisions, Blizzard®, Coktel, Knowledge Adventure®, Sierra™ and WON.net™ are famous for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles. Havas has operations in the US and in Europe and is a subsidiary of the French publishing house Havas, part of Vivendi Communications.

[ October 13, 1999 ] HALF-LIFE NAMED BEST PC GAME OF ALL TIME
Story-Driven Thriller from Valve and Sierra Studios Tops PC Gamer's All-Time List

Bellevue, WA (October 13, 1999) - Half-Life, the blockbuster debut game developed by Valve Software and published by Sierra Studios, was named "Best PC Game Ever" in the November 1999 issue of PC Gamer, the world's best-selling PC games magazine. The other top five games in the "50 Best Games Ever" include Civilization II, Quake I & II, StarCraft, and System Shock 1 & 2.

"PC Gamer's annual Best 50 Games Ever listing has always been notoriously difficult to compile, but Half-Life emerged as the clear winner this year. There was little disagreement among the editorial team that the game's incredible fusing of action and story has forever changed the face of PC action gaming," said Gary Whitta, editor in chief of PC Gamer magazine. "…Aside from its revolutionary significance it (Half-Life) is, quite simply, the most addictive and fun PC game I have ever played. Hundreds of games vie for a place on our coveted list every year, but only 50 can make the grade - and only one can top them all."

Half-Life has been a huge critical and commercial success since its release. It is the most honored game of the year, having won over forty-five 1999 Game of the Year awards from leading publications around the world. Half-Life also won seven Spotlight Awards earlier this year, including Best of Show. The Spotlight awards are especially significant because winners are chosen by fellow game developers and announced at the annual Game Developers Conference.

To date, Half-Life has sold more than one million copies worldwide. During the month of July-almost eight months after release--Half-Life: Game of the Year Edition was in the number one spot on PC Data's best seller list by both units and dollars. Valve's second game, Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms, which is slated for release next year, was given the E3 Game Critics' Award for Best Action Game and Best Online Game at the electronic entertainment industry tradeshow E3 in July 1999

Later this year, Sierra Studios, Valve, and Gearbox Software will release Half-Life: Opposing Force, which is an entirely new episode that runs on top of the Half-Life engine.

Founded in 1996, Valve develops entertainment software. Half-Life is Valve's debut title. Since its release in November, 1998, Half-Life has won over 45 game of the year awards from publications that include PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World, and CNET's Gamecenter. Valve's upcoming title, Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms recently won the E3 Game Critics' Award for Best Action Game and Best Online Game. More information about Valve is available through the company's web site at www.valvesoftware.com.

Sierra On-Line, Inc. http://www.sierra.com/ is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, a global leader in interactive content, and is one of the world's largest publishers of education, entertainment and home productivity software. Its divisions, Blizzard®, Coktel, Knowledge Adventure®, Sierra™ and WON.net™ are famous for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles. Havas has operations in the US and in Europe and is a subsidiary of the French publishing house Havas, part of Vivendi Communications.

[ September 10, 1999 ] -MORE ALL-STARS ANNOUNCED FOR HALF-LIFE: OPPOSING FORCE

BELLEVUE, WA (September 10, 1999) -- Sierra Studios, Gearbox Software and Valve are proud to announce four additional members of the industry "All-Star" team designing the multiplayer portion of the upcoming PC title, Half-Life(tm): Opposing Force(tm), the entirely new episode for the Game of the Year.

The four veteran designers announced today are: Richard "Zdim" Carlson, David "Kevlar" Kelvin, Marin "Kandyman" Gazzari, and Eric Reuter. They join theteam along with Richard "Levelord(tm)" Gray, who announced his participation earlier this summer.

"Gearbox is obviously very excited to be working with such an amazing team of talented designers on Op For," says Randy Pitchford, co-founder and leadgame designer at Gearbox. "It also adds a degree of suspense as we are waiting just as anxiously as everyone else to see what kind of amazing maps they put together for us to play."

About the All-Stars:

Richard "Zdim" Carlson
Growing from being one of the most respected amateur designers of the Doom and Heretic era, Carlson defined unique black and white sections of IonStorm's upcoming epic RPG Anachronox. He then contributed to John Romero's Daikatana before making the move to Looking Glass Studios where he is apivotal designer for the upcoming Thief 2.

David "Kevlar" Kelvin
Aside from being a very visible member of the early 3D level design community, Kelvin was a member of Team Evolve creating several missions for theQuake II Zaero pack. He spent a short time at Monolith contributing maps for Blood II and Shogo before joining Legend Entertainment where he has shippedUnreal: Return to NaPali and is currently working on Wheel of Time.

Marin "Kandyman" Gazzari
Austrian Marin Gazzari is probably the most respected deathmatch level designer of the era. His simple yet perfectly flowing designs have been the setting forcountless tournament and clan matches. Although he is probably best known for his work with Quake's ZerStoerer pack, his "kndy" series of deathmatchmaps are among the most played maps ever created.

Eric Reuter
One of the most accomplished designers of the Opposing Force "All Stars," Eric is currently the lead level builder of Unreal PlayStation which will offer acompletely new single player episode. Eric was a designer with the original Unreal team after working with 3dRealms on Shadow Warrior. Eric became a professional designer after his early level work for Doom found itsway into the SAM'S published books "Tricks of the Doom Programming Gurus" and "3D Game Alchemy."

Half-Life: Opposing Force (a.k.a. Op For) will feature over one dozen new multiplayer levels created by 3-D action industry All Stars. Op For also features anexpansive new single player episode were players return to the Black Mesa Research Facility from the exciting new perspective of a soldier to eliminate a new breed of fierce aliens. The title, which is being developedby Gearbox Software, is on schedule to ship this fall.

Sierra On-Line, Inc. is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is comprised of five brands: Sierra Attractions, SierraHome, Sierra Sports, Sierra Studios, and Dynamix, a Sierra Company. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, whose holdings also include Knowledge Adventure, Blizzard Entertainment and WON.net.

[ August 30, 1999 ] HALF-LIFE®: GAME OF THE YEAR EDITION VAULTS TO NUMBER #1
Team Fortress™ Classic Tops Charts as Most Popular Online Action Game

Bellevue, WA (August 30, 1999) - Sierra Studios and Valve Software announced today that their PC game Half-Life is once again topping industry tracker PC Data's charts as the #1 game. Both companies reported today that the total sales of the recently released Half-Life Game of the Year Edition™ combined with the original version, have propelled the franchise to the coveted #1 PC Data slot by revenue for the week of July 25th. Since its release in November of 1998, Half-Life has won more than 40 Game of the Year honors and has sold over one million units worldwide.

As a result of the exceptionally high sales numbers for the Game of the Year edition, there has been a rise in the number of people playing Team Fortress Classic (TFC), which is included inside the special edition box. TFC is a team-based multiplayer game, and runs on top of the Half-Life engine technology. Currently the #1 action game played on the Internet*, TFC enables players to experience heart-pounding action in a collaborative squad-based game experience.

"We've more than surpassed our goal to reach a broader audience with the 'Game of the Year' edition for Half-Life. It's also gratifying to see online usage numbers for Half-Life and TFC continue to climb," said Dave Grenewetzki, president of Sierra On-Line.

"It's wonderful to see Half-Life's continued success in the retail channel," said Gabe Newell, Valve co-founder and managing director. "We're also very grateful to the Half-Life and TFC online player community for their ongoing support."

"Half-Life is a bona fide hit franchise," said Gary Bale, vice president - merchandising for CompUSA, one of the nation's leading software retailers. "The new packaging, which highlights Half-Life's critical success, is drawing a more mainstream audience. We expect Half-Life:Game of the Year Edition to continue as a big seller through the upcoming holiday season."

Founded in 1996, Valve develops entertainment software. Half-Life is Valve's debut title. Since its release in November, 1998, Half-Life has won more than 40 game of the year awards from publications that include PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World, and Cnet's Gamecenter. Team Fortress Classic is a team-based action game, previously released over the Internet, that runs on top of the Half-Life technology. The company released the Half-Life Software Development Kit in May 1999. Valve's upcoming title, Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms recently won the E3 Game Critics' Award for Best Action Game and Best Online Game. More information about Valve is available through the company's web site at www.valvesoftware.com.

Sierra On-Line, Inc. is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra, a division of Havas Interactive, is comprised of a family of brands: Sierra Attractions™, Sierra Home™, Sierra Sports™, Sierra Studios™, and Dynamix™, a Sierra Company. Havas Interactive holdings also include Knowledge Adventure®, Blizzard Entertainment® and WON.net™.

*According to the leader board on www.theclq.com

[July 19, 1999] Sierra Studios^TM, Valve Software^TM and Won.net^TM invite gamers to take part in the first-ever Half-Life^TM Mod Expo '99

WHAT: Half-Life Mod Expo '99 - an event designed to showcase a variety of user-made MODs for Half-Life, the PC CD-ROM named Game of the Year by more than 40 publications worldwide. The inaugural event is open to the public and will be held at Club-i, one of San Francisco's hottest cyber café locations. A total of seven Half-Life MODs will be shown at the event, including:

• Action Half-Life, a multiplayer MOD that brings the excitement of Hong Kong action films to Half-Life
• Counterstrike, a military simulation MOD that pits a hostage rescue team against terrorists.
• Science & Industry, a multiplayer MOD where the key to success lies in your team's ability to discover new weapon technologies
• Kanonball, a rugby-style sports game set in beautifully rendered futuristic arenas
• Chemical Existence, a challenging single-player game where the hero fights gangs, mutants, and evil corporations
• Gunman, a total conversion of Half-Life's single player game that blends science fiction with elements from the Old West
• USS Darkstar, a single-player action adventure set in a starship in deep space

WHEN: Thursday, July 29th 10:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
(Members of the press with press credentials are invited to attend beginning at 8 o'clock p.m. - please RSVP to one of the contact names below.)

WHERE: Club-i
850 Folsom Street
San Francisco, California
415-777-CLUB

CONTACTS:
Genevieve Ostergard
Sierra Studios
gostergard@sierra.com
949-362-2643

Michelle Stephens
WON.net
Michelle.stephens@won.net
425-649-9800 x5189

[June 25, 1999] - Sierra Studios™ and Valve™ announce Half-Life™ Game of the year edition, including Team Fortress Classic

Sierra Studios and Valve Software announced today that the Half-Life Game of the Year Edition™ will ship to retailers beginning June 30. Since its release in November of 1998, Half-Life has won more than 40 Game of the Year honors and has sold through more than one million units worldwide. The new Half-Life Game of the Year Edition will be backed by major retail promotions in North America and around the world.

The special packaging highlights the Game of the Year honors Half-Life has won from top tier gaming publications, including PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World, and CNET’s Gamecenter. In addition to Half-Life, the Game of the Year Edition includes new multiplayer content, as well as the hugely popular team-based multiplayer game, Team Fortress Classic (TFC), which runs on top of the Half-Life engine technology.

“Half-Life became a phenomenon because of its unique blend of intense action and provocative storytelling,” said Dave Grenewetzki, president of Sierra On-Line. “Rarely has the gaming community and gaming press rallied so strongly around a single title. Our goal with this special Game of the Year Edition is to help spread the word about Half-Life’s critical success to a much broader audience.”

“The Internet gaming community has been a big supporter of Half-Life and TFC from the beginning,” said Gabe Newell, managing director of Valve. “We're very grateful for their support, and hope that by including TFC in the Game of the Year edition of Half-Life, we'll be bringing even more gamers into that community.”

“We love the new Game of the Year packaging,” said Bob McKenzie, divisional merchandizing manager for national software chain Babbage’s, Etc. “Half-Life has already been a huge success for us. With the new box and continued great word-of-mouth, we expect Half-Life to stay at the top of the charts throughout 1999.”

Founded in 1996, Valve develops entertainment software. Half-Life, released in November, 1998, is Valve’s debut title. Team Fortress Classic is a team-based action game, previously released over the Internet, that runs on top of the Half-Life technology. Valve’s upcoming title, Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms recently won the E3 Game Critics’ Award for Best Action Game and Best Online Game. More information about Valve is available through the company’s web site at www.valvesoftware.com.

Sierra On-Line, Inc. is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra, a division of Havas Interactive, is comprised of a family of brands: Sierra Attractions™, SierraHome™, Sierra Sports™, Sierra Studios™, and Dynamix™, a Sierra Company. Havas Interactive holdings also include Knowledge Adventure®, Blizzard Entertainment® and WON.net™.

[June 15, 1999] - All-new Team Fortress 2 web site now online

Sierra Studios and Valve Software announced today at 2 o’clock P.M. PDT the launch of a brand-new Web site dedicated to the upcoming multiplayer game, Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms. The site is live and can be found at the following URL: www.team-fortress2.com. It hosts new screenshots from Valve’s recent award-winning E3 demo, and new information about the game.

Team Fortress 2 puts players in a realistic combat environment where communication and teamwork make the difference between victory and defeat. With 12 unique player classes, beginning and advanced training missions and a real-time voice communication system, Team Fortress 2 takes online gaming into the realm of social, role-based entertainment.

Founded in 1996, Valve develops game software. Based in Kirkland, Washington, the company consists of more than 25 leading artists, game designers and programmers. Valve’s first game, Half-Life, was awarded “Game of the Year” by over 40 publications worldwide. In 1997 Valve acquired TF Software PTY Ltd., the Australian developers of Team Fortress and Valve’s most recent release, Team Fortress Classic. More information about Valve is available through the company’s web site at www.valvesoftware.com.

Sierra Studios is a member of the Sierra family. Sierra Studios’ games include Caesar III, Half-Life, King’s Quest®: Mask of Eternity, Return to Krondor and the upcoming games Homeworld®, Gabriel Knight III and Pharaoh. More information can be found at www.sierrastudios.com.

Sierra On-Line, Inc. is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is comprised of a family of brands: Sierra Attractions™, SierraHome™, Sierra Sports™, Sierra Studios™, and Dynamix™, a Sierra Company. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, whose holdings also include Knowledge Adventure™, Blizzard Entertainment® and WON.net™.

[May 14, 1999] - Half-Life Wins Top AIAS 1999 PC Honors

Half-Life, the 3D action thriller created by Valve LLC and published by Sierra Studios, claimed high honors Thursday night at the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement (IA) Awards ceremony, earning Best PC Game and Action Game of the Year.

"We're very honored," said Gabe Newell, co-founder and managing director, Valve. "Half-Life was our first title and much of the credit for its success goes to the Half-Life fans, who supported us and gave us great feedback early on."

The IA awards are sponsored by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, which was established to advance and recognize outstanding achievement in the interactive arts.

Half-Life, which was launched last November, has already won more than 40 Game of the Year awards worldwide. Last month it won seven Spotlight Awards at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, California including Best of Show, the People's Choice Award, and Best PC Game. Half-Life was also the top revenue generating PC title during the holiday season, and Sierra Studios estimates that it will have sold more than one million retail units worldwide by the end of May.

"Half-Life is one of those rare games that transcends genres," said Dave Grenewetzki, president of Sierra On-Line. "By combining intense action with great storytelling, Valve established a new creative bar for the industry. Half-Life has also been a major success around the world, which is mainly due to the great word-of-mouth it received early on from the core gaming community." Valve and Sierra Studios will be releasing Valve's second major title, Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms, later this year.

Founded in 1996, Valve develops entertainment software. Based in Kirkland, Wash., the company consists of more than 30 leading artists, game designers and programmers. More information about Valve is available at www.valvesoftware.com. More information about Half-Life is available at www.gameoftheyear.com.

Sierra On-Line, Inc. is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is comprised of a family of brands: Sierra Attractions, Sierra Home, Sierra Sports, Sierra Studios, and Dynamix, a Sierra Company. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, whose holdings also include Knowledge Adventure, Blizzard Entertainment and WON.net.

[April 9, 1999] - Half-Life Primary Server Program Offers Free Trip to Valve

In an effort to thank those who joined Half-Life’s Primary Server Program (PSP), Sierra Studios and Valve will be giving away a free trip to Valve to one lucky PSP member. To be selected, these members must be registered participants of the PSP and have their server up and running this Saturday. The 100 chosen at random will be sent a Team Fortress Classic T-shirt. Then next Saturday, April 17, Sierra Studios and Valve will check these servers again and select one of the hosts at random to come to Kirkland, WA and spend the day at Valve.

Those who are not currently enrolled but would like to participate must complete the short questionnaire and download the server software from CNET’s Gamecenter.com.

Founded in 1996, Valve develops game software. Based in Kirkland, Washington, the company consists of more than 25 leading artists, game designers and programmers. TF Software PTY Ltd., the developers of Team Fortress, was an Australian developer of games software acquired by Valve in 1997. More information about Valve is available through the company's web site at www.valvesoftware.com.

Sierra Studios is a member of the Sierra family. Sierra Studios’ games include Caesar III, Lords of Magic: Special Edition, Half-Life, King’s Quest: Mask of Eternity, Return to Krondor and the upcoming games Homeworld, Gabriel Knight III, Pharaoh and Civil War 3. More information can be found at www.sierrastudios.com.

Sierra On-Line, Inc. is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is comprised of a family of brands: Sierra Attractions, Sierra Home, Sierra Sports, Sierra Studios, and Dynamix, a Sierra Company. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, whose holdings also include Knowledge Adventure, Davidson & Associates and Blizzard Entertainment.

[April 6, 1999] - Team Fortress Classic Now Available for Half-Life

Valve Software and Sierra Studios are proud to announce the launch of Team Fortress Classic (TFC), the free add-on for Half-Life that combines thrilling team-based gameplay with Half-Life's leading edge technology.

In Team Fortress Classic, you play one of nine classes -- such as medic, soldier, or engineer - and then join your teammates online or over a LAN to battle against enemy teams. Each class has unique weapons, items, abilities, and style of play.

Team Fortress Classic features innovative scenarios, such as “Hunted,” where players are divided into teams of bodyguards and assassins, “CanalZone,” a territory control game, and “Push,” which is best described as soccer with machine guns. There are also traditional multiplayer scenarios such as capture the flag.

Team Fortress Classic is part of the 1.0.0.9 release of Half-Life. In addition to TFC, the 1.0.0.9 release improves performance with 3D accelerators, makes more efficient use of network bandwidth, and includes a “MOD” browser that allows gamers to browse, download, and join custom-made games to run on top of Half-Life.

The 18MB release will be launched on Wednesday, April 7 at 9 A.M. Pacific Standard Time. Half-Life owners may install the update by using the automatic update feature within Half-Life, by using Sierra Utilities, or by conventional download. All websites are encouraged to co-host this download.

Released separately, Valve is also making available a Linux dedicated server for Half-Life, and the final version of the Half-Life software development kit (SDK). The SDK allows for the development of additional single-player and multiplayer add-ons for Half-Life. For a list of the over 100 Half-Life add-ons in development, see www.contaminated.net/wavelength/tclist.htm.

For more information on Team Fortress Classic, please visit www.teamfortressclassic.com. And for more information on Half-Life, visit www.gameoftheyear.com.

Half-Life is a first person 3D game that combines the visceral action of legendary games such as Doom with a rich story line in the tradition of Stephen King. This best-selling PC CD-ROM has been named Game of the Year 1998 by over 30 publications including PC Gamer and Computer Gaming World.

Founded in 1996, Valve develops game software. Based in Kirkland, Washington, the company consists of more than 25 leading artists, game designers and programmers. TF Software PTY Ltd., the developers of Team Fortress, was an Australian developer of games software acquired by Valve in 1997. More information about Valve is available through the company's web site at www.valvesoftware.com.

Sierra Studios is a member of the Sierra family. Sierra Studios’ games include Caesar III, Lords of Magic: Special Edition, Half-Life, King’s Quest: Mask of Eternity, Return to Krondor and the upcoming games Homeworld, Gabriel Knight III, Pharaoh and Civil War 3. More information can be found at www.sierrastudios.com.

[February 12, 1999] - Half-Life demo premieres today on PC Gamer Online

Sierra Studios, Valve Software, and PC Gamer Online will launch Half-Life: Uplink, the official public demo for the worldwide smash hit game, Half-Life, today at noon at www.pcgamer.com.

In the March issue of PC Gamer, the world's best-selling PC games magazine, the editors of the magazine name Half-Life “Game of the Year” - a prestigious endorsement to first-time game developers, Valve Software.

Half-Life, Valve’s debut title, was released late in November 1998. For the month of December in the United States, Half-Life generated more revenue than any other PC game.* PC Gamer, the world's best-selling PC Games magazine, named Half-Life the “Game of the Year” in its March, 1999 issue.

“We’re very psyched to do this exclusive with Sierra Studios and Valve,” said Matt Firme, Publisher of PC Gamer. “We’ve been incredibly impressed with Valve for a long time now, and apparently the admiration is mutual. This exclusive demo will provide our hundreds of thousands of readers ample proof of Half-Life’s championship status.”

“Half-Life: Uplink is a free never-before-seen Half-Life mini-mission,” said Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve. “In creating the demo, we wanted to give new players an experience that captures the essence of what makes Half-Life the Game of the Year, plus provide current Half-Life players with exciting, all-new content.”

Founded in 1996, Valve LLC develops game software. Based in Kirkland, Washington, the company consists of more than 25 leading artists, game designers and programmers. TF Software PTY Ltd., the developers of Team Fortress, was an Australian developer of games software acquired by Valve in 1997. More information about Valve is available through the company's web site at www.valvesoftware.com.

PC Gamer, the market-leading magazine of PC gaming, is a three-tiered environment consisting of the magazine, web site (http://www.pcgamer.com), and monthly CD-ROM cover disc. It is published monthly by Imagine Media, America's fastest growing media company.

Sierra On-Line, Inc. is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is comprised of six brands: Sierra Attractions, Sierra FX, Sierra Home, Sierra Sports, Sierra Studios, and Dynamix, a Sierra Company. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, whose holdings also include Knowledge Adventure, Davidson & Associates and Blizzard Entertainment.

More information on Sierra Studios can be found at www.sierrastudios.com.

*Per PC Data. Ranking does not include Barbie’s Digital Camera, which shipped with hardware.

[January 25, 1999] - Sierra Studios launches Team Fortress 2 web site

Sierra Studios and Valve Software announced today the launch of the all-new Web site dedicated to their upcoming multiplayer game, Team Fortress 2. The site is live and can be found at www.sierrastudios.com/games/teamfortress. It hosts all new screenshots, updates and information on Team Fortress 2, due to ship this summer.

With nine new classes of players, 20 unique maps spread out over four vast campaigns and more than a dozen sophisticated weapons, Team Fortress 2 using Half-Life technology is destined to change the way online multiplayer games are played. Playing in teams gives a real-life combat feel to the player due to the fact that when the player first logs on for a game, he/she will be recruited immediately by a team.

Founded in 1996, Valve develops game software. Based in Kirkland, Washington, the company consists of more than 25 leading artists, game designers and programmers. TF Software PTY Ltd., the developers of Team Fortress, was an Australian developer of games software acquired by Valve in 1997. More information about Valve is available through the company's web site at www.valvesoftware.com.

Sierra Studios is a member of the Sierra family. Sierra Studios’ games include Caesar III, Lords of Magic: Special Edition, Half-Life, King’s Quest: Mask of Eternity, Return to Krondor and the upcoming games Homeworld, Gabriel Knight III, Pharaoh and Civil War 3. More information can be found at www.sierrastudios.com.

Sierra On-Line, Inc. is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is comprised of six brands: Sierra Attractions, Sierra FX, Sierra Home, Sierra Sports, Sierra Studios, and Dynamix, a Sierra Company. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, whose holdings also include Knowledge Adventure, Davidson & Associates and Blizzard Entertainment.

[October 20, 1998] - Cendant Software Braces for Biggest Game Launch Ever

Sierra Studios announced today their upcoming 3D action thriller, Half-Life, one of the most anticipated titles of 1998, will be in stores by Thanksgiving weekend. The game will go gold later this month, and retail outlets will start seeing the game in mid-November, just in time for the busiest buying weekend of the year. Pre-orders have given the heads of corporate offices within Cendant Software all indications that Half-Life will be the biggest product launch of 1998 for the company.

“Many of our retail partners are projecting that Half-Life will not only be our company’s biggest release, but it will also be the software industry’s biggest entertainment title of this holiday season,” said Todd Coyle, senior vice president of consumer products for Cendant Software. “The anticipation and pre-order demand for this game is far beyond our best expectations.”

Jack Allewaert, senior vice president of international sales for Cendant Software said, “Half-Life could be the biggest seller ever and has turned into a worldwide event as the expectation is at a fever pitch throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America.”

Half-Life, developed by Valve Software, was named “Best PC Game” and “Best Action Game” at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo from Unified Gamer’s Online, Best of E3 Show Awards. Recently, the game has been garnering rave preview coverage online for Half-Life: Day One, an abbreviated version of the game developed especially for hardware and peripheral OEMs.

Half-Life combines the visceral action of legendary action games like Doom with great storytelling in the tradition of Stephen King. Action, drama, and adventure are blended with stunning technology to bring to life a frighteningly realistic world where players must think smart to survive.

Throughout the game, both friends and foes behave in sophisticated and unpredictable ways, a result of Half-Life's powerful and innovative artificial intelligence. A strong story line, created by award-winning horror novelist Marc Laidlaw, adds to the intensity. Half-Life also includes a variety of exciting multiplayer scenarios, and an easy-to-use interface that lets players connect to the multiplayer game of their choice in just seconds. The game features support for Open-GL and MMX hardware acceleration and Internet multiplayer support for up to 32 players.

Founded in 1996, Valve develops games software. Based in Kirkland, Washington, the company consists of more than 25 leading artists, game designers, and programmers. More information about Valve is available through the company's web site at www.valvesoftware.com.

Sierra Studios is a member of the Sierra family and a brand division of its parent company Cendant Software. Cendant Software is the leading PC consumer software company and the world’s premier provider of consumer and business services. Cendant operates in three principal segments: Alliance Marketing, Travel and Real Estate Services. Headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, the company has more than 40,000 employees, operates in over 100 countries and makes approximately 100 million customer contacts annually.

[Sept 8, 1998] - Sierra Studios Announces Strategic Partnerships for the OEM Release of Half-Life: Day One

Sierra Studios announced at the ECTS trade show in London, England, that this week it is shipping Half-Life: Day One to several leading hardware manufacturers to include with their products in fourth quarter bundles. Half-Life: Day One is an abridged (250 MB) version of Valve’s eagerly anticipated first-person action game.

Half-Life, which is being developed by Valve, sparked strong interest from a variety of potential OEM partners after being named “Best PC Game” and “Best Action Game” at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo from Unified Gamer’s Online, Best of E3 Show Awards. Half-Life is due to hit store shelves in late October, and is expected to be one of the holiday’s hottest titles.

Half-Life: Day One gives players several hours of the single-player Half-Life experience and was designed exclusively for OEM partnerships. “Companies that make games-related hardware and accessories want their customers to get a great experience right out of the box,” said Scott Lynch, senior vice president, Sierra Studios. “By bundling Half-Life: Day One, OEMs are giving their customers the opportunity to play the hottest action game of the year as soon as they install their new hardware.”

”We’ve made a number of advances with Half-Life that make the 3D action experience much more interesting and unpredictable,” said Gabe Newell, managing director of Valve. “For instance, unlike other action games, Half-Life has a rich, complex plot that requires players to think smart to survive. Half-Life: Day One is essentially the first several hours of the full game. Our goal was to give players a fun experience that takes full advantage of their new hardware, while also drawing them into the Half-Life story. We’re confident that after playing Half-Life: Day One, gamers will want to buy the full version at retail and experience the complete Half-Life adventure.”

The OEM deals will begin Fall 1998 for Half-Life: Day One. Confirmed partners in the program include:

• Diamond Multimedia, bundling Half-Life: Day One with their Monster Sound MX300 sound card worldwide.
• Guillemot International, bundling Half-Life: Day One with their Maxi Gamer Phoenix Voodoo Banshee Board worldwide.
• ThrustMaster, bundling Half-Life: Day One with their Frag Master Joystick

“The reaction to Half-Life: Day One from the OEM marketplace has been overwhelming,” said Dan Elvester director of Cendant OEM. “ The demand for program participation has exceeded expectations as other ‘OEMs’ are accelerating their plans to take advantage of this pre-release edition of Half-Life.”

Half-Life introduces a revolutionary leap in 3D first-person games by combining stunning technology enhancements with genre-breaking gameplay elements. Gamers are given opportunities to wreak havoc--in true action-game fashion--but they are also challenged to explore and strategize; for instance, telling friend from foe is no longer a simple matter of humans vs. monsters. Half-Life's strong story elements, advanced inventory system and story-integrated challenges create an experience never before seen in traditional "run-and-gun" action games. Both Half-Life and Half-Life: Day One feature support for Open-GL and MMX hardware acceleration. The full version of Half-Life also includes Internet multiplayer support for up to 32 players.

Founded in 1996, Valve develops games software. Based in Kirkland, Washington, the company consists of more than 25 leading artists, game designers, and programmers. More information about Valve is available through the company's web site at www.valvesoftware.com.

Sierra Studios is a member of the Sierra family and a brand division of its parent company Cendant Software. Cendant is the world’s premier provider of consumer and business services. Cendant operates in three principal segments: Alliance Marketing, Travel and Real Estate Services. Headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, the company has more than 40,000 employees, operates in over 100 countries and makes approximately 100 million customer contacts annually.