IAHGames

SINGAPORE, 13 October 2010 – After months of keen anticipation, Counter-Strike Online, the first English online version of the world’s most popular First-Person Shooter (FPS) worldwide is finally available to its legions of fans in Southeast Asia.

After a successful Closed Beta Test, IAHGames is launching the Open Beta Test (OBT) today. Counter-Strike Online, a Free-to-Play online FPS game, represents a fresh reboot of the legendary FPS classic Counter-Strike, but with exciting new features that are set to appeal to both die-hard Counter-Strike fans as well as new players of the game.

New additions to the franchise include online game elements such as character leveling and leaderboard rankings. These allow players to witness their game characters grow the more they play the game, a feature absent in previous Counter-Strike games. By merging these online game elements while retaining the polished feel of the classic Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike Online opens itself to the scores of gamers who have never tried the game.

"The Counter-Strike franchise has a fervent following which has been cultivated over the last ten years. We believe that Counter-Strike Online is the best iteration of Counter-Strike yet and that it will satisfy gamers’ craving for a high quality first person shooter game as well as a decidedly unique online game," said Kim Dong-Sun, Director of the Counter-Strike Online team at NEXON Corporation, which developed the game.

"This is the biggest leap of advancement Counter-Strike fans in Southeast Asia shall see, and one that we believe they have been eagerly waiting for. With online games having captivated the gaming world in the past decade, adding online game elements to Counter-Strike was a natural progression," said Luke Cunico, General Manager, Counter-Strike Online, IAHGames.

New highlights of Counter-Strike Online available in OBT include classic fan-favourite maps such as Dust and Aztec, but also three never-seen before maps – Tunnel, Rex Laboratory and Camouflage. Gamers also get to see their characters develop as they play the game, as levelling up will see them gain in-game rewards and higher game ranks.

Other new features include a clan system that allows clans to challenge each other, a ranking system and the ability to purchase items such as new weapons, item boosts and character skins.

Counter-Strike Online is scheduled to launch with all its full features on 27 October 2010. To commemorate the occasion, IAHGames will be holding a Halloween-themed Counter-Strike Online tournament at Virtualand@Bugis Junction on 30 October 2010.

Counter-Strike Online is a tactical First Person Shooter that pits a team of counter-terrorists against a team of terrorists in a series of rounds. Each round is won by either completing the mission objective or eliminating the opposing force.

Counter-Strike was originally developed as a modification for the popular FPS, Half-Life, back in 2000. It then developed into a series and the franchise has sold more than nine million copies worldwide since its first release 10 years ago.

For more information and access to the game client, please visit www.cso.sg

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About Infocomm Asia Holdings Pte Ltd

Headquartered in Singapore, IAHGames is a leading publisher, operator and distributor of interactive entertainment. The company currently operates award-winning titles including EA SPORTS™ FIFA Online 2, Granado Espada, Dragonica, and distributes Take-Two Interactive products such as Grand Theft Auto IV ™ and the Bioshock® series.

IAHGames’ subsidiary Monsoon Online Pte. Ltd. is an official distributor of several Blizzard Entertainment® games, including Diablo® II, Warcraft® III, and World of Warcraft®, as well as distributor and licensee for Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™, in select regions of Southeast Asia.

One of the first online games companies in the world to receive ISO 9001:2000 certification for “Distribution and Operation of Online Games”, IAHGames executes a unique “One Market, One Asia” strategy that offers developers and publishers a one-stop distribution service for multiple countries.

For more information, please visit www.IAHGames.com.

About NEXON

Established in 1994, NEXON developed the world's first graphic MMORPG, 'The Kingdom of the Winds', and, since then, with its diverse and well-received titles, NEXON has quickly become one of Korea’s leading publishers of online content. Throughout 16 years of company history, NEXON reported KRW 200 million in revenue for the first year they started the business in 1999, and it took five years to exceed revenues of KRW 10 billion. NEXON has doubled its growth rate each year since 1999 and by the end of 2009, NEXON recorded over KRW 703 billion in revenue, marking the highest sales record and profit rate in the Korean online gaming industry.

NEXON has enjoyed rapid growth, thanks in large part to its sound development capabilities, which have lead the production of the highest quality and most marketable games. The company’s creativity has served as a power source to achieving the goal of providing the best possible games to NEXON customers. NEXON is also an innovator in gaming, creating the Item Selling business model, which it first introduced to the world via QuizQuiz (current QPlay) in 1999. This new business model set a precedent that continues to receive positive reviews from domestic and international companies.

Having regional offices in Korea, Japan, the U.S., and Europe, 30 games from NEXON are currently being serviced online in 72 countries with more than 350 million registered users.

NEXON has a game portfolio encompassing all game genres including MMORPG, strategy, and board games. Games such as ‘Crazy Arcade BnB’ of the internet arcade genre, ‘MapleStory’ which was the first online RPG to employ a 2D side-scrolling system, and ‘Mabinogi,’ a modern style 2nd generation MMORPG, ‘Dungeon and Fighter’, the 1st Online game in China which Achieved peak concurrent user level of 2,200,000 users in 2009 for Korea, China, and Japan. all show NEXON’s underlying strength of pioneering new genres and leading the industry.

NEXON has eagerly diversified its business portfolio, promoting its popular game characters through animation, mobile and console games, to deliver on the high demand for products featuring avatar customization.

NEXON provides the best excitement and experience to the world with various entertainment business based on games. NEXON has become the Global Fun Leader as a unique and exciting game creator, as a service leader that puts customer value first, and as a business partner that promises success. Through unparalleled creativity, challenging spirit, and a customer-centered mind, NEXON strives to become a global entertainment company.