Ubi Soft hits State-side on-line multiplayer universe

As the multiplayer gaming market grows on the web, so too has Ubi Soft Entertainment’s commitment to the platform. The company is using its brand-new on-line division to host Shadowbane–a new game from Texas-based Wolfpack Studios. The title combines persistent world multiplay with fantasy role-playing and strategy elements so that players can physically affect the history, politics and landscape of the game itself. Shadowbane should launch on-line in the first half of 2002.

Ubi Soft’s web division runs on a pay-to-play gaming model, and the company expects Shadowbane to garner several hundred thousand players, generating in excess of US$40 million over two years.

Sesame and Encore team up to leverage interactive preschool appeal

Encore Software has inked an exclusive five-year deal to publish interactive games based on Sesame Workshop properties worldwide. The first titles that Encore will promote and distribute are Sesame Street for PC and gaming systems and a Dragon Tales CD-ROM. Two Elmo’s World CD-ROMs, additional collections featuring the cast of Sesame Street, and Dragon Tales: Dragon Land Festival are also slated for debut in the next couple of months.