The original book cover for "Ender's Game"

Science fiction fans who love videogames, start your rejoicing. Later today, award-winning author Orson Scott Card and Chair Entertainment--the creative team responsible for Advent Rising and Undertow--will officially announce plans to turn Card's beloved novel "Ender's Game" into a, well, game. But you can read the announcement here first. The interactive game won't tackle the entire book, however; instead, it will focus on the famed Battle Room. And in something of a twist, Ender's Game is being built from the ground up for digital distribution via services like Xbox Live Marketplace and Playstation Network rather than DVD or Blu-Ray, immediately making it the highest profile download-only title to date. See below for the release that's going out later today; click here to read our exclusive interview with Chair co-founders (and brothers) Donald and Geremy Mustard.

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"THE ENEMY’S GATE IS DOWN!"

CHAIR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP SECURES INTERACTIVE RIGHTS TO ORSON SCOTT CARD’S BESTSELLING ENDER’S GAME SERIES

First-Ever "Battle Room" Video Games to Bring Classic Literary Series to Life

Salt Lake City, Utah – January 29, 2008 – Chair Entertainment Group, an independent video game production company and creators of the award-winning Undertow, and bestselling author, Orson Scott Card, today announced their partnership to create the first-ever video games inspired by the legendary "Battle Room," featured in the beloved literary classic, Ender’s Game. Ender’s Game is an award-winning, international bestseller and one of the most popular science fiction novels ever written.

Under the terms of the agreement, Chair has obtained the exclusive rights to develop Ender’s Game "Battle Room" video games across all next-generation consoles, handheld platforms, and PC. In collaboration with Orson Scott Card, Chair will begin development later this year with the first offering expected for release via downloadable platforms.

"I have been a huge fan of Ender's Game since I was ten years old, so it is a true honor for our team to be entrusted with creating the first video game inspired by this classic story,” said Donald Mustard, creative director at Chair Entertainment Group. "Our goal is to create an authentic Ender’s Game experience that delivers awesome gameplay and can be enjoyed by both longtime fans and gamers new to the series."

"From the moment I started working with Donald Mustard and his team at Chair, I knew that these were the guys I wanted to do the first Ender's Game video game,” said Orson Scott Card. "It's not enough to slap the Ender's Game name on just any game--it has to be exciting, memorable, and endlessly replayable. Chair shares my understanding of this and I am looking forward to working with them to ensure the game is as authentically Enderish as possible."

In the fictional Ender’s Game universe, humanity is at war with an alien species known as the Formics, and Battle School is the training ground for the future leaders of Earth’s International Fleet. Taken at a very young age, Earth’s most brilliant children undergo a rigorous training designed to teach advanced military theory where strategic and tactical glory is won in the null gravity battles known to the elite students simply as the game! Through simulated war games and training conducted in the Battle Room, the children rise through the ranks of Battle School to become Earth’s only hope for victory.

The two parties previously collaborated on the Chair Entertainment Group property Empire, which the Company introduced in 2006 with the launch of an Orson Scott Card-written bestselling novel of the same name.  A feature film based on Empire is in development by Warner Brothers and Chair has future plans for video games and comic books based on the property.

Gamers and long-time Ender’s Game fans are invited to share their thoughts on Orson Scott Card’s popular website, www.hatrack.com, and the official Chair forums at: www.chairentertainment.com/community/forums/