AUSTIN, TEXAS. -- May 02, 2001 -- From the tech hub of central Texas comes the latest evolution in the ever expanding game industry. Senior game developer Robert Holm has announced today that he has branched off of Microsoft's leading studio Digital Anvil to begin the formation of his own company, Arithmetic Studios.

An industry veteran with 7 years of development experience and 21 years as an avid gamer, Robert has worked for many top studios over the span of his career. Most notably companies such as Crystal Dynamics, DreamWorks Interactive and Take 2 Interactive's BLAM! Game Development. As well as a few smaller named developers. Contributing to 8 shipped Playstation and PC titles prior to coming to Digital Anvil, including the highly acclaimed PC title, The Sims by Maxis. At Digital Anvil, Robert was a lead developer directing and producing animation on their ground breaking first party Xbox title named Brute Force. His dedication to quality and strong leadership has proven to be a great asset to the project. Brute Force, a cutting edge and still "unofficially" announced Xbox title is set to capture console gamers worldwide.

Arithmetic Studios will focus solely upon creating games with rich, immerse story lines that captivate the player and cast them into a world of emotions. Said Robert, "We want to evoke the emotions of a player as well as excite their imagination. Bringing out a gamer's fear and letting them overcome it. Involving them in a fantasy and letting them become a part of it. Our games will create a concern for the player, a passion and even a love and hate for the characters that inhabit our worlds. You will want to become a certain character, or want to solve a certain dilemma because you will care about what happens in the story. You become the story, and drive it to completion."

The new studio will be based in the San Francisco bay area where they will soon begin the development of a prototype of their first title with which to "help secure a publisher". The new company has already peaked the interest of a few major publishers.

"Our first game will be an original, very intense action title in the first person perspective, driven by a dramatic story line" according to Robert. More details about their first title is still under wraps as they secure their copyrights. "You can expect to hear more about it as we move forward with development over the next couple of weeks."

Contact Arithmetic Studios, located online at www.arithmeticstudios.com for more information.


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Digital Anvil is a Microsoft Corporation. Xbox and Brute Force are copyrights of Microsoft Corp. Crystal Dynamics is an Eidos Corporation. The Sims is a copyright of Maxis, an Electronic Arts brand. Playstation is a copyright of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.