Bigpoint and Fox Consumer Products Get Cool with Worldwide Open Beta Launch of Ice Age Online

- Free-to-Play Browser Game Captures Essence of Hit Film Franchise; Release Goes Live in 10 Languages

SAN FRANCISCO, July 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bigpoint – a global leader in online games – in collaboration with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products today announced the international open beta launch of Ice Age Online. Based on the hit motion picture franchise, Ice Age Online brings together the popular film characters and environments in a free-to-play, browser-based adventure game with a host of cool social features. The title offers fans a new way to enjoy the beloved franchise alongside the global release of Ice Age: Continental Drift, in theaters in 3D July 2012.

"We're excited to have fans of Ice Age jump into the open beta," said Julia Salomon, Producer, Bigpoint. "Our team is dedicated to delivering an authentic online gaming experience that is true to the cinematic adventures of Sid, Manny, Diego, and Scrat – and we're confident that fans will be entertained by Ice Age Online."

In Ice Age Online, players take on the role of a sloth who discovers the perfect home for its herd, but suddenly becomes separated by a volcanic eruption. To survive, players must rescue the lost members and build camps for their prehistoric animal friends through a combination of mission and jump-n-run gameplay. Throughout multiple game modes and the World Map, a variety of locations can be explored – the Ice Floes, Grassy Plains, Jungle, and Glacier – based on familiar settings within the blockbuster movie franchise.

The platform game, built atop the Unity 3D platform, will also feature a friends list, activity graph, leaderboards, and the opportunity for friends and families to visit each other's camps and leave gifts behind. As players learn to utilize special skills and master the collection of precious acorns and materials needed to construct camps, they will unlock new achievements and bonuses – including one level where players are able to take control of Diego, the lightning-fast saber tooth tiger, and race along a challenging obstacle course.

"Video games and film have an organic connection, and the online game space offers the opportunity for fans around the world to be immersed in the world of Ice Age in an all new way," said Jeffrey Godsick, President of Fox Consumer Products. "Bigpoint, a global leader in online game development, was a natural partner choice for launching this franchise phenomenon on an online gaming platform."

Ice Age Online is now available in 10 languages worldwide with more languages to be added in the weeks to follow. Players can access the game for free, and play directly in their web browser.

For more game news and updates on Ice Age Online, visit the official website at www.iceageonline.com

About the Ice Age Film Franchise

With over $4 billion in box office, home entertainment and consumer products sales, the ICE AGE franchise is a perennial hit. The next theatrical installment, Ice Age: Continental Drift, arrives in theaters in 3D July 2012. Fans will follow Scrat's nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he's been after since the dawn of time, with world-changing consequences – a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these upheavals, Sid reunites with his cantankerous Granny and the herd encounter a ragtag menagerie of seafaring pirates determined to stop them from returning home. The film features a returning cast voiced by Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, and Queen Latifah, along with new characters voiced by Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Peter Dinklage, Wanda Sykes, Keke Palmer, Nick Frost, and Aziz Ansari, among others.

For more information about the new movie, please visit: http://www.iceagemovie.com/

About Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products

A recognized industry leader, Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products licenses and markets properties worldwide on behalf of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Twentieth Television and Fox Broadcasting Company, as well as third-party lines. The division is aligned with Twentieth Century Fox Television, one of the top suppliers of primetime entertainment programming to the broadcast networks.

About Fox Filmed Entertainment

One of the world's largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Fox Filmed Entertainment produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Productions and Twentieth Century Fox Animation.

About Bigpoint

Bigpoint is an online-game developer, publisher and content provider for more than 1000 global distribution partners. Bigpoint's free-to-play games are played by over 270 million registered users in over 25 languages. The company's portfolio includes casual, core, and hardcore titles, including Battlestar Galactica Online, Universal Monsters Online, and Drakensang Online. Over 900 employees from more than 35 countries work together at Bigpoint offices in Hamburg, Berlin, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Paris, London, and Malta. For more information please visit www.bigpoint.net.

Press Contacts
Bigpoint GmbH
Claas Paletta
PR Manager Games
Tel: +49-(0)40-881413-158
E-mail: c.paletta@bigpoint.net