Epic Games and ChAIR Entertainment Announce “Infinity Blade 2” Video Game on iOS December 1st
ChAIR launches eBook, “Infinity Blade: Awakening” written by acclaimed fantasy author Brandon Sanderson via iBookstore
Epic Games, Inc. and its award-winning Salt Lake City-based development studio, ChAIR Entertainment, today announced “Infinity Blade 2” will be released exclusively on iOS on December 1, 2011. A follow up to the groundbreaking iOS sword fighting adventure, “Infinity Blade,” “Infinity Blade 2” leverages the processing power of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to deliver an immersive and graphically rich experience for users, and supports iOS 5 features such as iCloud, enabling profiles and save games to transfer seamlessly between devices.
Powered by Unreal Engine 3, the critically acclaimed “Infinity Blade” ushered in a new generation of handheld gaming and became the definitive blockbuster experience on iOS. “Infinity Blade 2” builds upon the addictive gameplay and breathtaking visuals of the original game with dozens of new locations set across expansive 3D environments. Delving further into the story of this mysterious, timeless adventure, players will explore an evolving game world filled with new types of rewards and treasures as they battle scores of new powerful enemies and bosses. New fighting styles and weapon classes coupled with deep role-playing elements provide even greater game play variation. “Infinity Blade 2” also introduces gamers to new online features, such as Clash Mob, in which they’ll participate with fellow gamers in unique “massively social” challenges to unlock rare weapons and exclusive items.
“‘Infinity Blade’ allowed us to demonstrate the true potential of triple-A handheld gaming by delivering mind-blowing graphics and awesome gameplay to millions of mobile users,” said Donald Mustard, creative director, ChAIR Entertainment. “With ‘Infinity Blade 2’, we’re pushing the boundaries of everything achieved to date and adding a ton of new content and unique new features to create the must-have gaming experience on iOS.”
Coinciding with the new game announcement, ChAIR today launched “Infinity Blade: Awakening,” a novella written by #1 New York Times bestselling fantasy author Brandon Sanderson (“The Way of Kings,” “Mistborn,” “The Wheel of Time”). The all-new literary adventure delves more deeply into the fantastical fiction of the “Infinity Blade” video games, to uncover a world of mystery and intrigue where magic and technology are indistinguishable, and even life and death are not what they seem. The “Infinity Blade: Awakening” novella is available now for $2.99 via the iBookstore®.
“An exciting aspect about media in this age is the chance to blend different types of storytelling, blurring the lines between game, novel, and film,” said author Brandon Sanderson. “‘Infinity Blade’ is a great game with real narrative depth hiding beneath its shiny graphics, and I was grateful for the opportunity to express this in prose form and illuminate what had been previously hinted at in the game. I’ve really enjoyed working with ChAIR to produce something fresh and new that really adds to the experience of ‘Infinity Blade’ and hopefully changes the view of gaming fiction as a whole.”
Pricing for “Infinity Blade 2” will be confirmed at a later date. To receive regular updates on the game, fans cans register today at the official Infinity Blade 2 website: http://www.infinityblade2.com/.
To learn more about the “Infinity Blade” games and novella, follow @InfinityBlade on Twitter and ‘Like’ Infinity Blade on Facebook.
About Infinity Blade
In December 2010, Epic Games’ award-winning studio ChAIR Entertainment forever changed the landscape of mobile gaming with the introduction of “Infinity Blade” for iOS. Powered by Unreal Engine 3, “Infinity Blade” brought handheld gaming to new heights with gorgeous visuals, adrenaline-fueled battles and advanced character progression in a fully 3D castle realm. With millions of players worldwide, “Infinity Blade” is one of the most popular games ever launched on the App Store, receiving numerous Editor’s Choice and Game of the Year accolades, as well as the “Excellence in Design” Award at the 2011 International Mobile Game Awards and the prestigious 2011 Apple Design Award.
About ChAIR Entertainment
Founded in 2005, Salt Lake City-based ChAIR Entertainment is a subsidiary of Epic Games, creators of the blockbuster “Unreal” and “Gears of War” video game franchises and the industry-leading Unreal Engine 3. Most recently, ChAIR introduced the award-winning sword fighting adventure, “Infinity Blade” for iOS, released in December 2010. In 2009, ChAIR released the modern and masterful, side-scrolling shooter “Shadow Complex,” published by Microsoft Game Studios exclusively for Xbox LIVE Arcade. The critically acclaimed “Shadow Complex” received numerous E3 and Editor’s Choice Awards and was named Game of the Year by more than 40 media outlets. Before that, ChAIR released the award-winning underwater action-shooter, “Undertow” for Xbox LIVE Arcade. In 2011, ChAIR was named #4 among Pocket Gamer’s list of the Top 50 Developers and ranked #29 among Develop’s Top 100 Game Development Studios in the World.
About Unreal Engine 3
Developed by Epic Games, the award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics, best-of-breed tools and scalability across multiple platforms. Unreal Engine 3’s highly mature toolset and content pipeline consistently evolve along with its advanced mobile features, multi-core processor support, optimizations for numerous platforms and massive world support. Unreal Engine 3 is designed to accelerate developers’ productivity for computer and video games, mobile games and applications, training simulations, 3D visualizations, digital films and animated entertainment. Integrated with two dozen leading middleware technologies, Unreal Engine 3 holds more than 20 technology awards, including seven Game Developer Front Line Awards and four Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Additional information on Unreal Engine 3 can be obtained at http://www.unrealengine.com.
About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its “Unreal” series, including “Unreal Tournament 3” for PC, PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®. The first two games in Epic’s “Gears of War” franchise have sold more than 13 million copies and won more than 50 game of the year awards. The third installment, “Gears of War 3,” sold more than 3 million copies within its first week of release, catapulting the franchise beyond $1 billion in lifetime sales. Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 holds more than 20 industry technology awards and powers many bestselling games. Additional information about Epic can be obtained at http://www.epicgames.com.