Aspyr Media to Publish Gothic III in North America

Aspyr Media issued a press release earlier today announcing that they have acquired the rights to publish and distribute Gothic III in North America.

AUSTIN, TX (November 30, 2005) – Aspyr Media today announced it has acquired the rights from JoWood to publish and distribute Gothic III in North America. As the third part of this globally successful role-playing saga, Gothic III offers players a nonlinear, open-ended role-playing game with an enthralling story that presents an extremely detailed simulation of nature and human behavior.

“The Gothic brand has a large and loyal following who appreciate the great variety of action and adventure that the series offers players,” said Ted Staloch, VP of Aspyr Media. “Gothic III lets players continue their adventures in the game’s endless world, which features countless side quests along with varied characters, spells and weapons.”

Players saved their home island from the forces of evil in Gothic I and Gothic II. Now it is time to travel to the realms of the mainland, where invading Orcs have enslaved the human kingdom. There are but a few free humans in the nearly uninhabitable icy north and southern desert, and a handful of rebels hiding in the forests and mountains of Midland. Players can choose to join the rebellion or serve the Orcish Usurpers, ultimately tipping the scales and deciding the outcome of the last war to save the world. There is no simple linear story in Gothic III – every game will be different and unique – but all will ultimately lead to players to decide the fate of humankind.

Features:

– Huge free world with virtually no boundaries

– New combat system that is easier to play

– Clear objectives within the main story, though the decisions lie with the player

– Engrossing story driven by the player’s choices

– Countless side-quests for the player to choose from

– Over 30 different monsters and dozens of human enemies

– Over 60 different powerful spells and over a hundred different weapons

– Advanced and complex human behavior AI for hundreds of individual characters featuring full audio dialogues

– Unique class-free character development — the absence of rigid character classes means players can choose to train their character with whatever military power and sorcery power to suit the player

Developed by Germany’s Piranha Bytes/Pluto13, Gothic III will be released in the first quarter of 2006 for the PC at a SRP of $39.99. For players who can’t wait until Spring for more Gothic action, Aspyr released Gothic II Gold yesterday, which features the original game plus its expansion pack, Gothic II Night of the Raven. Gothic II Gold is available for an SRP of $19.99.