Montreal, Canada. August 28, 2003 – Strategy First and Nival Interactive are pleased to announce that their highly anticipated game, Etherlords II has Gone Gold!

“The buzz on Etherlords II after the open beta is great,” says Steve Milburn, Director of Marketing at Strategy First. “With the help of the players and fans of Etherlords, this title is ready for prime time!”

Serge Orlovsky, President of Nival Interactive commented, “It’s great that fan support and feedback can play such an immense role in shaping an outstanding game like Etherlords II, and lets us continue challenging genre boundaries to create unique and original titles”

Check out the newly released Etherlords II single-player demo now available on http://www.strategyfirst.com/en/downloads

About Etherlords II
The saga continues! Etherlords II takes you back to the world of Ether and into a whole new realm of fantastic possibilities. Lead your hero on an unforgettable journey through lands filled with unsurpassed beauty and danger to unlock the ultimate mystery.

Etherlords II is an exciting mix of role-playing elements and tactical turn-based combat in the best traditions of fantasy trading card games.

Game Features:

• Five campaigns covering a magnificent 3D fantasy world
• Hundreds of spells and creatures combine to create nearly unlimited tactical possibilities
• New monsters and magic that can be used by any of the four races
• Enhance your Hero’s skills throughout each campaign with new spells, creatures and abilities.
• Non-linear missions with multiple paths to completion
• New multiplayer modes, automated tournament server
• Boats, tunnels and transporters let you explore every corner of the Etherworld
• Versatile Map Editor lets you create new missions and even campaigns

Etherlords II is scheduled to ship this fall with a SRP of $39.99 and an ESRB rating of TEEN. Developed by Russian-based Nival Interactive, Strategy First will publish it for the North American market. Etherlords II will make its retail debut this September.

About Nival Interactive
Nival Interactive is the leading Russian game developer, and also the largest one with four development teams and a staff of 107. Since the company's inception in 1996, Nival has firmly established its presence in the international gaming industry through constant innovation. Past titles include original role-playing/strategy games like the "Rage of Mages" series and "Evil Islands", as well as the 3D turn-based strategy "Etherlords" and “Blitzkrieg” – our recent RTS game. Nival continues to challenge the world of interactive entertainment with ground breaking new titles. You can learn more about Nival Interactive at our site, www.nival.com.

About Strategy First
Strategy First Inc. is a leading developer and worldwide publisher of entertainment software for the PC. Founded in 1990, the company has grown rapidly, publishing major games in the industry and simultaneously developing its own in-house titles such as O.R.B., Disciples II, and Nexagon: Deathmatch. After winning numerous awards for games such as Disciples: Sacred Lands, Europa Universalis, Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns and Steel Beasts, Strategy First continues to push the gaming envelope with its own groundbreaking titles, while maintaining its reputation as a unique alternative for independent developers seeking to market their games to a worldwide audience.

###