THE BATTLE BEGINS AS EA SHIPS BATTLEFORGE TO RETAIL OUTLETS ACROSS NORTH AMERICA AND EUROP…

Redwood City, CA. - March 25, 2009 - Phenomic^TM, an Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio today shipped the real-time strategy (RTS) game BattleForge^TM in North America and will ship the game in Europe on Thursday, March 26th. With the game's servers now live, players will storm the battlefield and enter a fantasy world where they will use virtual trading cards to build the perfect army and lay waste to their foes. The new Real-Time Strategy game, BattleForge gives players the ability to customize their play experience by adding new units to their collection for as little as 250 BattleForge Points (available for $2.50). This flexible model unlocks the power of the game by allowing players to buy as much or as little of these additional in-game resources as they wish.

BattleForge comes prepped and ready with four ready-made faction decks based on the four elements in the game - Fire, Frost, Nature and Shadow and 3000 BattleForge points.  The BattleForge Points allow players to buy an additional 12 booster packs bringing the box total to 160 cards.  

Players can use BattleForge Points to purchase new cards in booster packs. Booster packs contain eight cards - 5 common, 2 un-common, 1 rare or ultra rare, all for just 250 BattleForge points. This dynamic system allows players to customize their RTS experience with content that can be purchased at their own discretion.

Players can also use BattleForge Points to bid on or buyout cards from other players in the online auction house, or players can auction their own cards to gain more BattleForge points. Alternatively, players can directly trade cards in a unique direct-trade option. With no subscription fees, regular free content and feature updates like new maps and game modes, players have the freedom and flexibility to buy additional content online fully customizing their experience.

While additional cards add diversity to a player's deck, it takes skill to make each deck stronger. Through victory in scenarios and ranked Player vs. Player (PvP) matches, players can earn card upgrades and gold. As each players' skill grows, their forces will level up with them.

"The team is so excited that players will be able to enjoy the action as much as we have.  The Open Beta was very successful and we can't wait to see how the players immerse themselves into the world of BattleForge," stated Creative Director, Volker Wertich.  "The scale of BattleForge allows the player to experience a diversity which has never existed in RTS games before, as we probably offer many more units than traditional strategy games. There is an exceptional RTS experience in every BattleForge box. From there we let players decide what to invest or trade, but victory is determined by skill."

BattleForge ships today in North America and on March 26th in Europe. BattleForge will be available for the PC at a retail price of $49.99.  There is no subscription fee. For more information, visit www.battleforge.com.