CLIMAX TO TAKE ON 80 NEW STAFF AS IT ANNOUNCES MASSIVE EXPANSION OF ITS U.S. OPERATION

Climax Studios |

Los Angeles, California - Wednesday 8th December 2004: Following a hugely successful year for its Los Angeles studio, Climax is proud to announce plans to expand its U.S. operation. The ambitious project will see the LA office relocate to larger premises and recruit new staff - a move that reaffirms Climax's commitment to creating a world-class development studio.

Based in Santa Monica, California - in the heart of the movie and video game industries - the new 16,000sq ft office that is to become the studio's new home represents the first phase in Climax's major U.S. expansion. The second phase - the employment of 80 new staff hand-picked from the cream of America's video game development community - will consolidate its fast-growing reputation as one of the country's leading independent game studios.

The announcement to expand the U.S. operation comes shortly after the critically acclaimed launch of its first game, Tron 2.0 Killer Application on Xbox. Developed for Buena Vista Games, Tron 2.0 Killer Application's release in the U.S. has been heralded by fantastic reviews and highlights the calibre of game the LA studio is capable of producing.

David Schwartz, President of the LA Studio, is confident that enlarging the U.S. office will allow it to follow-up this phenomenal success with even more outstanding games for both the current and future Xbox and PlayStation consoles. "The expansion is crucial to the studio's on-going development," he confessed. "By moving to larger premises and hiring additional staff we can deliver cutting-edge action adventure games for all the major platforms. We're particularly excited by the opportunities this move gives us to create the next generation of hit games for Xbox2 and PlayStation 3. We're working closely with SCEA on a high profile title for 2005 too, and this exciting move will allow us to explore other opportunities to work with some of the industry's biggest names"

News of Climax's expansion of the LA studio comes at the end of a remarkable year for the company, as CEO Karl Jeffery explained: "With more Climax-developed games hitting the store shelves than ever before, 2004 has been a fantastic year for the whole Climax group. In particular, the success of the US operation has been a major plus for the company. We expected a few teething problems, but it's integrated exceptionally well with the UK studios and complemented the work we've been doing over here. Its location is also critical to the entire company, as it allows us to work closely with the biggest names from both the video game and movie industries."

The expansion of the LA Studio isn't just about developing more games; it's also a crucial part of reinforcing the company's global positioning. "The decision to expand reiterates our determination to turn Climax into a major force in the video game industry," continued Karl Jeffery. "By increasing the size of our operation here in the US, the company will be better positioned to forge exciting new partnerships. As we head into 2005, we are confident of outperforming the phenomenal success we have achieved through 2004."

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About Climax

Founded in 1988 by Karl Jeffery, Climax Group Inc. has grown to become the world's leading independent video game developer. At the cutting edge of the games industry, Climax develops technologically advanced and critically acclaimed interactive games software for all major console platforms. The company works with major worldwide publishers such as Microsoft, SCEA, Buena Vista Games and THQ to create such hit titles as ATV Offroad Fury 3, Sudeki and the Moto GP series on Xbox and PC.

Climax is headquartered in Los Angeles. Additional information on Climax is available at www.climaxgroup.com.