Press Release Details

The Guitar Hero® Music Library Gets Hotter This Summer With an Assortment of New Additions for Guitar Hero® 5, Band Hero® and This Fall's Gui

July 6, 2010 at 8:30 AM EDT

SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 6, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ -- Summer is in full swing and the only thing more blistering than the July sun is the guitar solos, drum fills and vocal ranges in the 12 new additions to the Guitar Hero(R) music library. Compatible with both Activision Publishing, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero(R) 5 and Band Hero(R), as well as forward compatible with Guitar Hero(R): Warriors of Rock when it's released this fall, these latest additions to the music library will feature tracks from GRAMMY(R) Hall of Fame Award winners Queen, heavy metal rockers Avenged Sevenfold and Disturbed, and the Guitar Hero debut of hard rock band, Shinedown.

To kick things off, world-renowned British rock band, Queen, returns to Guitar Hero with an all-new three song track pack that will satisfy both Queen and Guitar Hero fans alike. Available for download beginning today, the Queen 2 Track Pack will feature three of their biggest hits, including "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," "Killer Queen" and "Somebody To Love."

Before American rock band Avenged Sevenfold rips it up in the on-disc set list for Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock when it hits stores this September, they'll first bring three killer tracks to the Guitar Hero music library on July 13. The Avenged Sevenfold Track Pack will allow fans to shred along with three hit singles, "Afterlife," "Almost Easy" and "Scream," from their self-titled, fourth studio album..

Gamers looking to experience the hard rock, musical stylings of Disturbed should grab their axes, drumsticks and microphones and get ready for the Disturbed Track Pack on July 20, which features "Down With The Sickness," the second single off their debut album, The Sickness, "Stricken," the lead single off the band's third studio album, Ten Thousand Fists, and "Indestructible" the fourth single off their fourth studio album similarly titled, Indestructible.

Continuing to provide compelling ways for gamers to experience and interact with premier music like never before, the Guitar Hero music library is proud to announce Shinedown's debut Guitar Hero appearance. Starting July 27, fans can enjoy the Shinedown Track Pack, which features "Devour," "Second Chance" and "Sound of Madness," three of the biggest hits off their certified Platinum album, The Sound of Madness.

The Queen 2, Avenged Sevenfold, Disturbed and Shinedown track packs will be available on Xbox LIVE(R) Marketplace for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 440 Microsoft Points, on the PlayStation(R)Store for PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system for $5.49 and for Wii(TM) for 550 Wii Points(TM). All songs in each track pack will also be released as downloadable singles for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 160 Microsoft Points, PlayStation 3 system for $1.99 and Wii for 200 Wii Points each. In addition to the in-game music store and Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360, Xbox 360 owners can expand their Guitar Hero music library using the Guitar Hero VIP Pass Music Store, available exclusively on Xbox LIVE(R) online entertainment network.

For more information about Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and their entire line-up of downloadable songs and disc imports, please visit www.guitarhero.com.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision Publishing generally uses words such as "outlook," "will," "could," "would," "might," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes," "may," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimate," future," "plan," "positioned," "potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to," "upcoming" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Activision Publishing's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision Publishing's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms, declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision Publishing's products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware (including peripherals) and related software, industry competition including from used games and other forms of entertainment, litigation risks and associated costs, rapid changes in technology, industry standards, business models including online and used games, and consumer preferences, including interest in specific genres such as music, first-person action and massively multiplayer online games, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors, and third-party developers, including the ability to attract, retain and develop key personnel and developers that can create high quality "hit" titles, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities and potential challenges associated with geographic expansion, and the other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

Guitar Hero, Band Hero and Activision are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

"PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Activision Publishing, Inc.

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