SOE's Platform Publishing brand and Flying Labs Software have made the agreement official. It was first announced by Rusty Williams of Flying Labs in a blog post to their site. Now the official press release is out of SOE. We'll have more on this story and what it means for Piratey fans as it develops.

PIRATES OF THE BURNING SEA FINDS A HOME PORT WITH PLATFORM PUBLISHING

Platform Publishing to Work with Flying Lab Software, Add to SOE's E3 Title Lineup

SAN DIEGO, CA AND SEATTLE, WA - June 26, 2007 - In an agreement reached today, Pirates of the Burning Sea, the hotly anticipated MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game developed by Flying Lab Software LLC featuring high seas action and swashbuckling adventure in a bold world of pirates and plunder, will be published by Sony Online Entertainment LLC's Platform Publishing label. The game will be added to SOE's title lineup for the E3 Media and Business Summit, July 11-13 in Santa Monica, CA.

Pirates of the Burning Sea will feature action for every play style, whether it's epic ship combat, piracy, building economic empires or sword-swinging adventure. Burning Sea takes place in the New World circa 1720, a dramatic time of conflict and riches. Choosing one of four Nations - France, Spain, England or Pirate - players can set sail as a valiant naval officer, a devil-may-care privateer, a savvy merchant adventurer, or a fearless, rampaging pirate. With one thousand missions to play, dozens of ports to explore, and the entire Caribbean as their domain, players will find an online experience like no other.

"Working with top notch developers like Flying Lab Software is at the heart of Platform Publishing's mission to market and distribute a portfolio of games like Pirates of the Burning Sea that stand shoulder to shoulder with our SOE flagship franchises," said David D Christensen, Vice President, Business Development and International Operations, Sony Online Entertainment.

Virtual buccaneers can engage in fierce ship-to-ship combat in real time, complete with the roar of cannon fire and the crunch of timber as masts and hulls are shattered, sending foes to the bottom of the briny deep or leaving them helpless and ripe for looting. Pirate games aren't complete without the clashing of swords and Pirates of the Burning Sea delivers with three swashbuckling styles, from the deadly and formal Fencing, to the flashy dual-wielding Florentine, or the rowdy and treacherous Dirty Fighting. The combat system is fast and fluid with awesome swordplay and powerful finishing moves.

Pirates of the Burning Sea also features an economy completely run by players, who build their own empires across the Caribbean. Build your own forges, quarries, and rum distilleries and manage large-scale production and distribution in a cutthroat world of gold and galleons where profits are the dream and desperate measures the reality.

The game's Conquest system turns any port into a battleground, as rival players rack up points through PvE (Player vs. Environment) missions and combat culminating in a period of intense PvP (Player vs. Player) gameplay to determine who takes the port -- and the valuable resources it provides for economic gameplay. If you want the cannons, you have to capture the iron, making the Conquest system something that impacts the career of every single player.

"Platform Publishing and SOE possess a level of expertise and success in sales, marketing and distribution that makes them the perfect co-publisher for Pirates of the Burning Sea," said Russell Williams, CEO, Flying Lab Software LLC. "This relationship will allow us their world-class expertise in marketing, distribution, and billing so we can focus on developing an amazing swashbuckling adventure for the pirate in all of us -- and building a community of players who will live that life for years to come."

New screen shots for Pirates of the Burning Sea are available at www.soepress.com.