``Unreal Tournament 2004'' Goes Gold; Epic Games Completes Development on Highly Anticipated Multiplayer Opus; Game Will Be Available Worldwide March 15

Business Wire, March 4, 2004

Entertainment Editors/Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 2004

Atari (Nasdaq:ATAR) and Epic Games are pleased to announce that development is complete on "Unreal(R) Tournament 2004," the highly anticipated follow-up to last year's smash "Unreal Tournament 2003" and the third installment in the mega-selling "Unreal Tournament" franchise. The game is expected to be available at retail stores worldwide on March 15.

"Get ready, PC gamers, because the biggest thing to ever hit multiplayer gaming is about to land on your hard drives!," said Peter Wyse, executive producer at Atari. "The granddaddy of all multiplayer competition is back and better than ever! The extra time was worth the wait - Epic has produced the biggest, baddest, and most exciting multiplayer title ever to grace the PC."

"Unreal Tournament 2004" was developed by Epic Games in conjunction with Digital Extremes. The game builds on the success of past installments, taking the franchise to the next level with the introduction of the hyper-charged Onslaught mode, the return of the fan-favorite Assault mode, which last appeared in the original "Unreal Tournament," and the introduction of land-, air- and space-based vehicles.

Gamers worldwide have already made the free, downloadable official demo of "Unreal Tournament 2004" one of the most popular game demo downloads of all time, with more than 1.5 million downloads in the first week of availability. The demo first hit the Internet on Wednesday, February 11, and was distributed on a worldwide scale and is already one of the most played online PC games on the Internet.

In the game, players suit up as the ultimate techno-gladiator of the future, taking their fates into their own hands as they battle up to 32 other players in action-packed, frag-filled arenas. "Unreal Tournament 2004" contains new maps for all established game modes, including Capture the Flag, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Bombing Run and Double Domination, as well as all new arenas for the new styles of play. In addition, "Unreal Tournament 2004" contains all of the maps, mutators and game types -- such as Mutant, Last Man Standing and Invasion -- from "Unreal Tournament 2003" and the free downloadable bonus packs for that game.

Features in "Unreal Tournament 2004" include:

-- Onslaught Mode: Onslaught is an epic-in-scope team-based

challenge that pits two teams in bitter warfare across massive

terrain maps in a frag-filled battle to destroy, capture and

hold key power nodes. Vehicles play a major role as

war-hardened flying and driving machines transport combatants

to the "front" and serve as mobile platforms to launch

devastating attacks on the enemy.

-- Assault Mode: In the completely redesigned Assault mode,

gamers are challenged to complete a variety of mission

objectives to attack or defend bases in a bigger and badder

version of the "Unreal Tournament" classic; many Assault maps

require the use of vehicles as a critical gameplay element.

-- Vehicles: "Unreal Tournament 2004" features a variety of

land-, space- and air-based vehicles, including buggies,

tanks, hovercraft, aircraft and more

-- Voice Technology: Integrated voice communications, including

voice-over-IP technology to allow real-time chat with

teammates and opponents during gameplay; voice recognition,

allowing players to issue orders to computer controlled bots;

and, text-to-voice conversion of typed chat. Voice chat

includes 3D audio on supported sound cards, so players can

sense where voices emanate from.

-- New and Revised Weapons: The devastating arsenal of

bone-crunching weaponry that "Unreal" has become famous for

returns, with several enhancements. Many existing weapons have

received model and texture updates as well as sound

improvements. The game also includes all new weaponry for the

massive Onslaught and Assault battles, including the massive

AVRiL (Anti-Vehicle Rocket Launcher) to take down incoming

vehicles, the Grenade Launcher, which discharges sticky

explosives on enemy emplacements, vehicles and personnel, the

Spider Mines, the vile and brutal arachnid bombs that scuttle

the landscape searching for unsuspecting adversaries, and a

completely redesigned and reintroduced Sniper Rifle, not seen

since the original "Unreal Tournament."

-- Characters: New and classic fan-favorite "Unreal" characters

join The Tournament to challenge players, including the

vicious Skaarj and the infamous Xan Kriegor.

-- New Maps: More than 100 levels are included in the game for

all new and existing gametypes, featuring tons of new

textures, static meshes and music. In total, "Unreal

Tournament 2004" ships with more never-before-seen maps than

the entire number of maps that shipped with "Unreal Tournament

2003"!

-- UnrealTV: A match broadcast system that allows for hundreds of

people to view an "Unreal Tournament 2004" match with minimal

performance impact on a game server, creating a television

sports like viewing environment for fans to watch professional