VALVE RELEASES HALF-LIFE 1.1 UPGRADE
New Multiplayer Games, Tools, and Editor for Award-Winning Franchise

Bellevue, WA (June 8, 2000) - Sierra Studios™ and Valve, L.L.C. today released Half-Life® 1.1, an upgrade of the multiplayer components and developer tools for one of the most popular PC action game on the Internet. Half-Life 1.1 includes updated versions of popular modifications (MODs), new versions of the Half-Life Software Development Kit (HL SDK) and the Worldcraft™ level editor, as well as the Team Fortress™1.5. game. Information on downloading each of these components is available at the following URL, http://www.sierrastudios.com.

"The 2 million Half-Life customers just have to run the Automatic Update tool and Custom Game browser to get the largest release of multiplayer content and tools ever," said Gabe Newell, managing director of Valve, L.L.C. "The Half-Life Internet 'viewership' already exceeds many TV shows in size. The new games, MODs, tools, and networking systems will continue the Half-Life community's growth, and assist the MOD makers as they develop their next generation games."

Releases

• Team Fortress 1.5 is a new version of the popular team-based action game. Featuring three new scenarios (Dustbowl, Epicenter, and Warpath), TF 1.5 is the first game to incorporate the new networking and server technologies to be included in the highly anticipated Team Fortress 2. In addition, TF 1.5 introduces Valve's graphical user interface (V-GUI) that allows for enhanced in-game control and command functionality, as well as significant improvements in ease-of-use. TF 1.5 is included in the Half-Life 1.1 update, available free of charge to those who own any version of Half-Life.
• Worldcraft 3 is an entirely new version of the level editor used in the creation of Half-Life games. This release marks a major update in the editor's history, introducing several new features such as an OpenGL renderer, new texture application features, automatic previewing tools, and more. WC3 is available free of charge as a stand-alone download.
• HL SDK 2.0 includes all the assets available in the "Professional SDK," such as the Half-Life Artificial Intelligence source code, plus many new features including access to Valve's new networking system and graphical user interface toolkit (V-GUI). HL SDK 2.0 is available free of charge as a stand-alone download.
• Counter-Strike Beta 6.5 features enhanced performance gained by the implementation of the TF2 networking system. In addition, this version also contains a brand new "Gorilla Warface" player model, a map voting system, new weapon models, a smoke grenade, and five new maps. Counter-Strike Beta 6.5 is available free of charge as a separate download.
• Opposing Force™ CTF (Capture the Flag) is a new multiplayer MOD developed by Gearbox Software that casts players as a member of one of two teams comprised of characters from both Half-Life and the award-winning game expansion, Half-Life: Opposing Force. Op For CTF is available free of charge as an update to Half-Life: Opposing Force.

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 50 Game of the Year Awards from publications that include PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World, and CNET's Gamecenter. 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 Entertainment®, Coktel, Knowledge Adventure®, Sierra™ and Flipside.com™ 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.