Expands Highly Successful Thief Franchise With Four New Titles From Looking Glass Studios

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 13, 1999--Eidos Interactive, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment, Thursday announced an agreement with Looking Glass Studios Inc. which will bring four new titles based on the popular Thief franchise to market, including ``Thief II: The Metal Age(tm),'' ``Thief Gold(tm),'' plus two other as yet unnamed products based on the Thief franchise.

``We are very pleased to further the very strong working relationship we have with Looking Glass Studios,'' said Mike McGarvey, COO of Eidos. ``They are one of the most consistent developers of quality titles in the entertainment software field.''

``Thief: The Dark Project'' revolutionized the first person genre by using a complex environmental simulation, coupled with a sophisticated artificial intelligence system to create a rich, immersive game world that provides for gameplay filled with stealth, strategy and suspense.

Eidos will be shipping ``Thief Gold: The Dark Project,'' a highly enhanced version of ``Thief: The Dark Project'' which features three all new missions, in fall 1999.

In ``Thief II: The Metal Age,'' players once again assume the role of Garrett, a cynical, world-weary master thief living in an ancient city where magic and primitive technology uneasily coexist.

This first person, 3-D action adventure will incorporate all the elements that made ``The Dark Project'' so successful, plus improved artificial intelligence and all new content to unveil more of the Thief backstory. Renderer enhancements, including 16-bit texturing, colored lighting and variable translucency, will make ``Thief II'' even more visually stunning than the original.

``We are excited about taking Thief to the next level with Eidos Interactive,'' said Paul Neurath, managing director of Looking Glass Studios. ``Eidos is one of the premier publishers today, and has a demonstrated talent for building strong franchises.''

``Thief II: The Metal Age'' will be available in spring 2000 and is making its debut this week in Los Angeles at the Electronic Entertainment Exhibition (E3 Expo) in the Eidos booth (No. 500 South Hall).

Looking Glass is a pre-eminent developer of critically acclaimed titles including ``System Shock,'' and the Flight Unlimited series. Looking Glass Studios Inc. is based in Cambridge, Mass.