SEGA and Petroglyph join forces

SEGA of America, Inc. and SEGA, Europe Ltd. today announced a partnership with developer Petroglyph to create an original Real-Time Strategy (RTS) franchise for the PC. Most Petroglyph team members are former employees of Westwood Studios, where they worked on the company's titles including Blade Runner, Eye of the Beholder, Dune 2 and the blockbuster EA franchise Command & Conquer. The Las Vegas-based development team are presently completing the much-anticipated Star Wars: Empire at War.

Under the terms of the worldwide deal, Petroglyph will collaborate on creating a Modern Military / Sci-Fi themed RTS franchise exclusively for SEGA. SEGA will manage all marketing and distribution activities and work hand in hand with Petroglyph to supervise ongoing game development. Both companies will announce product and release details at a later date.

"SEGA is moving aggressively toward a leadership position in the RTS category and the team at Petroglyph is behind some of the finest games in the genre," said Simon Jeffery, President and COO, SEGA of America. "We continue to rebuild SEGA as a leading publisher by collaborating with only the very best developers in North America and Europe."

"Coincidentally, this deal marks the ten year anniversary of the blockbuster RTS series which most of the Petroglyph team worked on during our time at Westwood Studios," said Michael Legg, President of Petroglyph. "We are extremely excited about our partnership with SEGA, as it will enable us to advance the RTS genre while creating fun and exciting experiences for gamers worldwide."