Atari and Artifact Entertainment today announced that Horizons: Empire of Istaria will ship to retail outlets nationwide on December 9th. The highly anticipated massively multiplayer online (MMO) role-playing game was previously scheduled to release in November. The extra time will allow Artifact Entertainment to continue to make optimizations and improvements to the game in order to provide one of the most compelling MMO experiences this holiday season. Available for PC CD-ROM, Horizons: Empire of Istaria will allow players to experience online gaming like never before in a single massive online world primed for exploration, brimming with adventure and rife with danger.

"Our decision to do the retail launch of Horizons in December allows us to optimize code, polish our extensive tradeskill system, refine combat, engage new modules of monster artificial intelligence, expand the deep quest system and ensure a stable and fun online experience," said David Bowman, creative director and co-president, Artifact Entertainment. "I think players will be suitably pleased with the end result as we deliver a world where players have a massive impact on their environment -- a dynamic place where cataclysmic events could change the appearance and function of the world in real time right before your eyes."

Horizons takes place within the world of Istaria -- filled with cities and towns, castles and strongholds, villages and mystical structures, in environments ranging from tropical jungle and arctic tundra to windswept plains and mountainous wilderness. Whether adventuring by themselves or questing with a group of friends, players are free to choose their own path and encouraged to create their own stories. Fierce warriors, arcane spell casters and challenging combat will rule the frontier lands, but skilled craftspeople will play an absolutely critical role in overall character and world development.

Horizons: Empire of Istaria will be available at retail stores nationwide on December 9th with an estimated retail price of $49.95 and an ESRB rating of "T" for Teen. Additional information about Horizons: Empire of Istaria can be found online at www.istaria.com.

About Artifact Entertainment
Artifact Entertainment, Inc. is a privately held developer of Online Interactive Entertainment Environments and revolutionary Multi-User Networked Simulations for the gaming and military communities. Artifact strives to provide quality entertainment experiences using superior technology, proven design methods, broad market appeal, customer satisfaction and the highest quality staff. Artifact is currently developing the highly anticipated, fantasy based Massively Multiplayer Game called 'Horizons: Empire of Istaria'. More information on Artifact Entertainment, Inc. can be found at www.artifact-entertainment.com.

About Atari
New York-based Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) develops interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company's 1,000+ titles include hard-core, genre-defining games such as DriverT, Enter the MatrixT, Neverwinter NightsT, StuntmanT, Test Drive®, Unreal® Tournament 2003, and Unreal® Championship; and mass-market and children's games such as Backyard SportsT, Nickelodeon's Blue's CluesT and Dora the ExplorerT, Civilization®, Dragon Ball Z® and RollerCoaster Tycoon®. Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext 5257), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit www.atari.com.

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August 20, 2004