Star Wars: The Old Republic Powered by HeroEngine

We technically already knew this, but that didn’t stop Simutronics from issuing another press release announcing that BioWare is building Star Wars: The Old Republic with their HeroEngine.

BioWare Using Simutronics’ HeroEngine for Star Wars: The Old Republic

Collaborative Tool Significantly Aids Game Development

GAITHERSBURG, Md. – Dec. 10, 2008

Simutronics, a leading creator of online game development platforms and interactive entertainment, and BioWareâ„¢, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced that Star Wars®: The Old Republicâ„¢, a story-driven massively multiplayer online PC game set in the timeframe of the Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republicâ„¢ franchise that is being developed and published by BioWare and LucasArts, is being built using Simutronics’ HeroEngineâ„¢.

(Our goal was to partner with a platform developer that knows online gaming and virtual world development, and the team at Simutronics has an excellent track record in that respect,) said Gordon Walton, Co-Studio Director at BioWare. (Their HeroEngine was specifically created for building MMOGs and it allows for a great amount of flexibility in the way our entire team collaborates.)

The unique collaborative design platform of the HeroEngine allows for development in real-time, enabling teams in different geographic locales to build the world and play the game live on the server simultaneously. Updates and changes to the game environment are instantaneous, negating the need for nightly builds and code crunching, which significantly reduces the notoriously long MMOG development cycle.

(The team at BioWare is creating an incredible experience, and we’re honored that they’ve selected our tool to help them build this epic world,) said David Whatley, Simutronics’ Chief Executive Office and HeroEngine Chief Designer. (We’ve invested years of experience and our passion for virtual world entertainment into developing HeroEngine, and we’re confident that fans and online gaming enthusiasts alike will be happy with the finished product.)

For more HeroEngine information, visit www.heroengine.com

For more information on BioWare, visit www.bioware.com

For more information on Star Wars: The Old Republic, visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com

About HeroEngine
HeroEngine is the integrated, collaborative, and realtime platform for full life-cycle development, deployment, and maintenance of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games and virtual worlds that reduces time to market, lowers costs, and allows creative teams to focus on what they do best. The collaborative development model, rapid prototyping environment, natural world building tools, end-to-end content pipeline, and integrated versioned asset system of the HeroEngine are built and optimized for the needs of large-scale geographically-distributed MMO and virtual world development teams. Licensees include ZeniMax Online, and many more around the world. More information is available at.

About Simutronics
Simutronics Corp. is the leading creator of advanced technology platform for developers in the multi-billion dollar global market for massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. Its HeroEngine platform provides a complete technology solution for MMO developers, which takes years off time to market by providing a streamlined creative pipeline and a complete toolset in an integrated turnkey solution. More information on HeroEngine is available at . Corporate information is online at . Simutronics has offices in St. Charles, MO and Gaithersburg, MD.

About BioWare
BioWare develops computer, console, handheld and online video games focused on rich stories and memorable characters. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world’s best-selling titles including the award-winning Baldur’s Gateâ„¢ and Neverwinter Nightsâ„¢ series, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republicâ„¢ and Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood for the Nintendo DSâ„¢. Original BioWare-created intellectual properties include Jade Empireâ„¢ and the 2007 Game of the Year, Mass Effect. With studios in Edmonton, Canada, and Austin, Texas, BioWare is hard at work on the epic fantasy RPG, Dragon Ageâ„¢: Origins, and a story-driven MMO, Star Wars®: The Old Republicâ„¢ as well as several unannounced projects. In 2008, BioWare was acquired by the world’s leading electronic entertainment publisher, Electronic Arts. For more information on BioWare, visit www.bioware.com.

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSâ„¢, EAâ„¢, EA SPORTS Freestyleâ„¢ and POGOâ„¢. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies.