Irvine, California, June 20, 2001 - Black Isle Studios, the role-playing game division of Interplay Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: IPLY), and BioWare Corp. announced today that the expansion product to the award-winning role-playing game Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn(tm) entitled Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal(tm), has shipped to retail. The add-on product expands and enriches the gameplay experience by adding several new locations, high-level spells and powerful new characters to the Baldur's Gate II game. Set in the Forgotten Realms* campaign world of the Dungeons & Dragons game, Throne of Bhaal is the ultimate conclusion of the Baldur's Gate legend as gamers fulfill their destiny as a child of Bhaal.

Developed by BioWare and published by Black Isle Studios, the Baldur's Gate franchise -- consisting of Baldur's Gate, its Tales of the Sword Coast(tm) expansion and Baldur's Gate II -- redefined the role-playing genre and has since dominated the PC game charts with sales of over 3.5 million units worldwide. The franchise continues to receive accolades from press and pundits around the world. Top PC gaming magazines Computer Gaming World and Computer Games Magazine have awarded RPG of the Year nods for Baldur's Gate in 1998 and Baldur's Gate II in 2000, as have the popular gaming-oriented online sites, GameSpot and IGN (Black Isle Studios has been presented the RPG of the Year award from Computer Gaming World and Computer Games Magazine for the last four years running). Additionally, Computer Games, Computer Games Online, IGN and Vault Network named Baldur's Gate Game of the Year for 1998, while leading websites such as MSNBC.com have named Baldur's Gate II Game of the Year for 2000, an honor rarely bestowed upon role-playing games.

Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal takes players through an all-new storyline rich with intrigue and treachery as they unravel the mysteries of the Dungeon of Watcher's Keep and explore other new areas such as the City of Saradush, the Fortified Monastery of Amkethran, Sendai's Underdark Fortress and the player's own Planar Stronghold. Throughout their journey, characters may reach up to level 40, made possible with a raised experience cap of 8 million points, quite possibly the highest level ever achieved by characters in any Advanced Dungeons & Dragons computer game. Also included in the quest are over 40 new powerful high-level spells and abilities. The Wild Mage Character Kit will also be included to the already extensive class list allowing gamers to create a powerful new character able to cast spells with very unpredictable results. Baldur's Gate II players will be pleased to hear that the Dungeon of Watchers Keep (the add-in section contained within the Throne of Bhaal expansion pack) is fully playable either while questing through their Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn adventure or while completing the Child of Bhaal Saga (as part of the add-on section of the Throne of Bhaal expansion).

For more information on the game, check out Tortolia's Preview of the game which can be accessed through the related links below.

• Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal Preview
• Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal Screenshots