FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THRONE OF DARKNESS MULTIPLAYER BETA PROGRAM Public Invited to Beta-Test Click's Upcoming Japanese, High-Action Role Playing Game

BELLEVUE, WA (August 23, 2001) - Sierra and Click Entertainment today announced that they are looking for a few good samurai for the Throne of Darkness(tm) Beta Program to help put the game's multiplayer feature to the test. Be among the first to do battle against the demon Zanshin and his horde of undead warriors! The beta test will run from September 9th through September 23rd, 2001. During this time Sierra will be monitoring the game's ability to host a large number of simultaneous players. Beta participants are encouraged to play Throne of Darkness online via Sierra.com for at least ten hours per week, with at least five of those weekly hours taking place between 5 and 10 PM Pacific Time. Sierra will select the first 750 qualified applicants to return by U.S. mail the Throne of Darkness Beta Test License. This application, as well as further information about Throne of Darkness and the beta test program, can be found at http://throneofdarkness.sierra.com/multiplay-beta/. Throne of Darkness is a new high-action RPG with a unique Japanese storyline and groundbreaking multiplayer capability. The single-player campaign includes ten gigantic levels, each with multiple side quests. Players manage their party through a series of tactical "plays," - formations and action orders that the party follows, allowing a high level of coordination between the player and the AI-driven samurai. Throne of Darkness is scheduled to ship next month.

Sierra On-Line, Inc. http://www.sierra.com, a studio of Vivendi Universal Publishing and part of its Games division, is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is renowned for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles that represent a wide variety of computer entertainment on both next generation console and PC platforms.

Vivendi Universal Publishing is a world leader in mass-market multimedia communications. The Company has 22,000 employees and 300 brands in 40 countries and aims to become the unchallenged leader in each of its operating sectors. VU Publishing had 2000 pro-forma revenues of 3.6 billion euros. A leading publisher of online and PC and Console-based interactive content, the Company's portfolio of entertainment software brands includes Blizzard Entertainment, Flipside.com, Sierra and Universal Interactive Studios. Interactive entertainment is one of parent company Vivendi Universal's key content areas, along with Movies, Music and other Publishing activities.