Idea Fabrik Plc
Idea Fabrik Plc Founds North American Game Development Studio: Second Star Interactive

Idea Fabrik Plc / Key word(s): Acquisition

07.02.2011 / 23:37

Northern Virginia-Based Studio Headed by Game Industry Veterans

LONDON : Feb 7, 2011 Idea Fabrik Plc. (GB00B61CVK31, TI4.F), provider of
the HeroEngine game development platform, today announced the creation of a
new game development studio in Northern Virginia: Second Star Interactive.

Headed by game industry veteran Darrin Hyrup, Second Star Interactive
features a core team with decades of experience at major studios throughout
the game industry, including Electronic Arts, Mythic, Bethesda Softworks
and Sony Online Entertainment.

'Developing our own games is a critical part of our efforts to expand and
enhance our technology because it keeps us close to the HeroEngine user
experience,' said Neil Harris, President of the US operations and COO of
Idea Fabrik. 'Darrin and the Second Star team bring a wealth of experience
and practical contributions to the table that will help us grow both as a
technology provider and as a company.'

Second Star Interactive will operate as a division of IF Studios
Incorporated, the U.S based wholly owned subsidiary of Idea Fabrik Plc.,
which acquired the HeroEngine technology business in 2010. Second Star
Interactive will work closely with IT Lagoon, the Idea Fabrik art studio
based in Kiev Ukraine, to develop online games, that deliver both an
exciting gaming experience and showcase the strength of the Hero game
development platform.

Said Darrin Hyrup, newly appointed VP and General Manager of Second Star
Interactive, 'The HeroEngine tools are amazing. They let us rapidly
prototype and develop content faster than anything I have seen in all my
years in game development. We're excited by the possibilities offered by
the engine, and are looking forward to launching games sooner than we ever
thought was possible.'

'We at Idea Fabrik are extremely excited about the launch of the Second
Star Interactive studio, especially in the current environment of high
growth in online game development, where the competition for high quality
talent is very strong among both well-established players and the new breed
of well-financed casual game developers,' said Alex Shalash, Chairman of
the Board of Idea Fabrik.

Since launching in 2006, HeroEngine has been licensed to dozens of game
development firms worldwide for projects such as EA/BioWare's upcoming MMO
title, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Idea Fabrik's first in-house game is
currently in development and will be launching later this year. A number of
third-party developers who have licensed HeroEngine also plan to launch
games featuring the technology before the end of 2011.

About the Second Star Interactive Team:
Darrin Hyrup, VP and General Manager, is an online games veteran. A founder
and former executive at Electronic Arts' Mythic Entertainment studio,
Darrin has contributed to the development of more than 30 game titles in
his 30 years in game development. His experience spans all levels of the
game business across several different studios, including EA, Mythic
Entertainment, Interworld Productions, AUSI, and Simutronics.

Lori Hyrup, Creative Director, brings fifteen years of experience
designing, developing, and managing online games, having worked most
recently at EA/Mythic as the lead franchise designer and producer for Dark
Age of Camelot. Lori also contributed to the design and development of most
of Mythic Entertainment's catalogue of games

Cooper Buckingham, Lead Designer, has over ten years of experience in the
game industry. Most recently from Sony Online Entertainment, Cooper
previously worked for Electronic Arts and Perpetual Entertainment, where he
contributed to the production and development of several games, including
Warhammer Online, Dark Age of Camelot, Gods and Heroes, and The Sims.

Tim Cotten, Sr. Technical Designer, comes from Wu Studios where he was the
Design Director. Previously, Tim worked at Electronic Arts as an engineer
and lead designer for the Stygian Abyss expansion of Ultima Online, as well
as contributing to two previous UO expansions.

Eric Piccione, Art Director, has over twenty years experience across the
artistic field. Originally a comic book artist, Eric was most recently art
director at Wu Studios, as well as EA/Mythic where he was responsible for
the visual direction of Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot. Eric is also
an instructor and mentor in the field of computer art for the Arlington
Arts Center and George Washington University.


About Idea Fabrik:
Idea Fabrik is a next-generation online games company. The company licenses
its HeroEngine game development technology platform to dozens of studios
worldwide for projects which include EA/Bioware's upcoming MMO title, Star
Wars: The Old Republic. Idea Fabrik also provides the HeroCloud managed
service offering independent developers low-cost access to the HeroEngine
technology. For more information about Idea Fabrik, including details about
the company's online game development studios across the globe, visit the
official website at http://www.ideafabrik.de.

Safe Harbor: Statements contained in this news release, other than those
identifying historical facts, constitute 'forward-looking statements'. Such
forward-looking statements relating to the Company's future expectations,
including but not limited to revenues and earnings, technology efficacy,
strategies and plans, are subject to safe harbors protection. Actual
Company results and performance may be materially different from any future
results, performance, strategies, plans, or achievements that may be
expressed or implied by any such forward-looking statements. The Company
disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements.

Contacts:
Idea Fabrik Plc 
Quadrant House Floor 4
Thomas More Square
London E1W 1YW
United Kingdom

ir@ideafabrik.de


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