id Software Unleashes QUAKE onto the Internet; Most Hotly Anticipated Computer Game Released to Millions of Fans Worldwide.

MESQUITE, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 24, 1996--Years of anticipation came to an end for gamers around the world this weekend when id Software uploaded QUAKE shareware onto the Internet for mass consumption.

id Software, the talented team behind Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM and DOOM II, has rewritten computer game history once again with their latest masterpiece QUAKE, a nightmarishly intense 3D shoot-em-up game.

QUAKE shareware, representing one-quarter of the full game, can be downloaded from id Software's Web site (www.idsoftware.com), through the various mirror sites listed at id's site or from virtually any cool gaming site on the Internet.

"The level of excitement here at id is incredible," said Jay Wilbur, chief executive officer and biz guy at id Software. "The wait was well worth it ... QUAKE will change the face of gaming forever."

QUAKE has accrued unprecedented interest and excitement among the media and gamers from around the globe. Countless Web sites and Newsgroups devoted to the game were flooded as gamers from around the world scrambled to get hold of the QUAKE shareware.

"According to Wilbur, "With DOOM we weren't fully prepared for the onslaught of fans downloading the shareware. This time we're ready! We've installed one of Sequent Computer Systems finest net servers at Best Internet Communication's awesome facility to ensure seamless downloads of the QUAKE shareware off the Internet."

QUAKE marks the next generational advancement of game play technology and design. Industry vanguards, John Carmack and Michael Abrash, developed QUAKE using a totally new engine -- the first new core technology from id since DOOM -- which allows gamers to rip through QUAKE's world at incredible speeds without sacrificing the game's intense graphics. Designed with multi-player gaming in mind, QUAKE uses client/server technology to maximize modem and network play, resulting in brutal and exhilarating deathmatches.

QUAKE is a true 3D game, allowing players to explore, stalk and battle within the six degrees of freedom. QUAKE features id's trademark in-your-face lightning-fast action game play, intense weapons and monsters, amazing sound effects and mesmerizing environments for the most extreme battling experience possible on a computer.

"QUAKE incorporates real physics and 3D effects into the game play," said Mike Wilson, id Software's director of marketing and distribution.

"The environment, rich graphics and reactive weapons truly suspend disbelief making you feel as if you are there ... QUAKE takes you one step closer to virtual reality."

QUAKE at Retail

In August, id Software will distribute QUAKE to consumers using both traditional and unconventional marketing approaches. The retail launch of QUAKE marks the first time that id has distributed their own title under the id label.

The shareware version of QUAKE, with the full version encrypted on the CD-ROM, will be available for under $10. After purchasing the shareware CD-ROM, gamers wishing to purchase the full version can call id to get a "customer specific" code to unlock the rest of the game.

Consumers can also purchase the full version of QUAKE via id's 1-800-id-games number and Web site for $45 plus shipping and handling. In addition to the mass merchants and computer stores stocking the QUAKE shareware, the title will also be available at music retailers and video rental outlets.

Scenario

All around the world mysterious happenings -- bombings, brutal murders, and the theft of a nuclear reactor -- have been rocking the earth. You have been charged by the government to figure out why.

The Slipgate, a secret device causing a sort of earthquake in the time continuum, has been developed by the government. These slipgates are used to instantly move men and equipment from one place and one time to another.

But it seems that others, an evil leader and his organization -- code-named QUAKE (by the Earth's government) -- know about the slipgates and are using them to insert men inside of the earth's bases and buildings. QUAKE is manufacturing an army of serial killers and sending them out on a rampage of murder and theft through his own slipgates.

Yet no one knows where they're coming from. The government fears this is the start of an invasion. It is your mission to find out where the hell QUAKE and his army are coming from, and to stop them cold. You must find the slipgate to his homebase, or dimension, and attack QUAKE in his own world. Armed with your trusty shotgun you begin your mission.

QUAKE's Environment

The QUAKE shareware takes place in the first of four worlds, Dimension of the Doomed, a highly industrial site. Computers hum in the background, surreal lighting effects illuminate the level, murky recesses hide enemies and underwater caverns provide quick escapes as players tear through the levels in their quest to survive.

As gamers proceed, they are slipgated into different eras, each with its own time period or dimension. The levels emulate futuristic military bases, medieval castles, underwater labyrinths and industrial fantasy environments.

Enemies

QUAKE features a sinister cast of new enemies including: the Grunt, a crazed soldier who attacks with combat shotguns; rabid Rottweilers that leap to chew your face; the evil Enforcer, a military bad-ass who fires a laser cannon; nasty Knights with two-handed swords that usually attack in groups; an 8-foot bloody and hairy Ogre; and the Fiend a terrifying, jumping beast with flesh-tearing hooks for hands.

Other death-defying creatures include the Scrag, a hovering amphibious beast who shoots missiles with deadly accuracy; Zombies, dead humanoids who rip chunks of flesh from their heads to hurl as a weapon; Death Knights, deadlier cousins of the Knights with powerful charges emitting from their swords; the underwater terrors -- giant piranha-like Rotfish; the Shambler, an abominable beast that rips attackers with his giant horned hands and blasts them with deadly accurate super-bolts of lightning; the Vore, a fearsome ancient spider-like creature; and finally the Chthon, a gigantic lava-dwelling beast.

Weapons

In order to survive QUAKE, players must be proficient with their trusty shotgun and double-barrelled shotgun, rocket launcher, grenade launcher, nailgun, perforator, thunderbolt and axe.

The shotgun and double-barrelled shotgun aid gamers against the hordes of monsters; rocket launchers explode with a blazing trail as they annihilate enemies; and the grenade launcher kicks with terrific power as the ammo bounces around before erupting. Gamers can mow down monsters with a rain of nails with the nailgun and perforator. Nails are scattered throughout the levels in boxes marked with the Nine Inch Nails logo, NIN.

The thunderbolt sends out a scorching white bolt of lighting that will fry bodies as it travels through them. Once gamers run out of ammo, they must resort to wielding the axe with deadly force.

QUAKE shareware requires a Pentium computer, DOS 5.0 or higher, CD-ROM Drive, 8MB RAM, and 40 MB Hard Disk space. QUAKE supports VGA and SVGA graphics, SoundBlaster, and 100% compatible sounds cards. QUAKE's multiplayer features support modem, network and IP (Internet Play).

id Software, founded in 1991, is a software development company located in Mesquite, Texas. id's team of talented developers continue to make gaming history by creating and publishing one sensational action game after another. Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM, DOOM II, Heretic and HEXEN have created a frenzied demand worldwide and have managed to consistently break shareware and retail sales records at home and abroad. -0-

Note to Editors: QUAKE screenshots, photos, and game footage b-roll available from Lori Mezoff at Technology Solutions, Inc. (212-696-2000, ext. 202 or [e-mail])

CONTACT: Technology Solutions Inc.

Lori Mezoff or Audrey Mann, 212/696-2000

[e-mail] or [e-mail]