Microsoft today announced that a new Xbox� action-strategy game, Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders, is in development by Phantagram and is heading to retail shelves in fall 2004. The first Xbox Live�-enabled action-strategy game to blend large-scale strategic battles with fast and fierce hand-to-hand combat, Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders takes players to the forefront of an epic battleground.

Set 50 years after the War of Heroes, players assume the role of a general in a fantasy battlefield. Players must fight alongside their troops and use catapults, dragons or any means necessary to crush the Dark Legions and put an end to the terror they've unleashed on the sacred Holy Grounds. Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders features up to 100 characters and allows up to 150 units to fight on one screen, boasting breathtaking battles on an epic scale. In third-person perspective, players' characters will progress from basic troops to more specialized and powerful units. Throughout 30 hours of playtime, players can choose to battle as the Humans or Dark Legions in more than 60 different maps. Mission types include all-out war, castle siege, scouting, trapping and more. Gamers can also compete head-to-head or team up with other players in Deathmatch battles via Xbox Live. Players can enhance their missions by downloading new mission packs, weapons and armor while tracking their performance with Xbox Live scoreboards. Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders is in development by the renowned game developer in Korea, Phantagram, LTD.