Sierra Studios: Relic's Homeworld® Named 1999 Strategy Game of the Year

January 25, 2000 (BELLEVUE, WA) -

Homeworld, the breakthrough debut game developed by Relic Entertainment™ and published by Sierra Studios™, was given the prestigious honor of being chosen “Strategy Game of the Year” for 1999 by top-selling gaming magazine, Computer Gaming World.

“In a year filled with derivative releases, Homeworld, which offers a truly unique gaming experience, shone brightly,” said Editor-in-Chief at Computer Gaming World, George Jones. “The game follows a very simple recipe for making a great game: an original concept executed to near perfection.”

“When we set out to make Homeworld, our design goal was to change the way people thought about gaming by producing the most immersive, interactive space combat experience ever made,” said Alex Garden, CEO of Relic Entertainment. “Nothing could have prepared us for the overwhelming support from the fan community and the press throughout Homeworld's development. Winning 'Strategy Game of the Year' from a magazine as influential as CGW is a rush more intense than anything we ever imagined.”

Since Homeworld's launch in September the game has been credited as a superior real-time strategy (RTS) title by the gaming press and has received over twenty different awards and accolades in categories such as “Best of the Best, ” “Players' Choice, ” “Game of the Year, ” and even “Best Music '99 ” awarded by Gamespot. Homeworld captured E3.Net's Game Critics' Award for “Best Strategy Game ” two years in a row, which is decided by over 30 of the top editors in the gaming industry. Homeworld was also one of Sierra Studios' top revenue generating PC titles during the holiday season and has sold over 250,000 units worldwide since its release.

Taking the RTS genre to new levels, Homeworld allows players to command a massive starfleet on an epic journey to the heart of the galaxy. Homeworld is a revolutionary step in gameplay and technology, offering 16 missions and two races in cinematic quality 3D environments, along with eight-person online multiplayer gaming with technologies provided by the WON.net™ Internet gaming site. Homeworld is the premier release from Vancouver, B.C.-based Relic Entertainment.

Founded in May of 1997, Relic Entertainment designs and develops electronic entertainment. Relic worked with Sierra Studios on the production of Homeworld, a real-time strategy game for Windows 95/98 PC CD ROM.

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.