PORTAGE, Mich., April 29, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- S2 Games is proud to partner with Mail.Ru Group to present S2 Games' newest game, Strife, to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Strife is the premier second generation MOBA developed by S2Games (creators of the Savage series and Heroes of Newerth). S2 Games has released two new heroes in honor of the partnership announcement and is officially accepting signups for closed beta at Strife.com.
"S2 Games has been in the MOBA market from its inception. Since then, we've learned a great deal about this maturing genre through a wide range of analytical studies and experience. With Strife, we want to take MOBAs to the next level, utilizing our resources to blend the processes of game development and player engagement. The result: a more enjoyable experience that grows the community and evolves the idea of what MOBAs can be," said Marc DeForest, CEO of S2 Games. "We always seek to work with the best partners across the globe. We are proud to partner with Mail.Ru, whose popularity will help propel Strife to be a globally renowned brand."
With Strife, S2 Games developers began with a top-to-bottom analysis of currently existing MOBAs and a blank slate in terms of design in order to craft a game that promotes collaboration among team members and removes barriers to the features that have made the genre so dynamic and popular. Heroes can change the components of their weapons, and can further customize their gameplay with pets. In Strife players are less dependent on returning to home base than in other games; a free courier delivers ammunition, and players can restore health and mana by just temporarily stepping outside of battle.
One of the major advantages of Strife is a well-balanced rewards distribution system. All heroes involved in a battle receive rewards for killing enemy brawlers and heroes. This removes the need for teams to worry about who gets what last hit and focus on what is the most fun - team fights and team play. Strife provides all of the game's heroes for free, including the latest heroes, Claudessa and Fetterstone, who are available for the first time today.
"Today, MOBAs are one of the most popular genres of online games with a global player base in the tens of millions. And soon, Mail.Ru Group will be adding the next step in the MOBA genre to its collection of game offerings from one of the studios that pioneered the genre. Strife is a new generation MOBA, which incorporates the best features of this type of games and at the same time provides new opportunities for players and unique features. We are honored to present to the CIS community this ambitious project,"- commented Oleg Shpilchevsky, Head of Games Division.
Mail.Ru will announce the CIS closed beta start date at a later time.
About Mail.Ru Group
Mail.Ru Group (LSE:MAIL) (listed since November 5, 2010) is a leading Internet company in the high-growth Russian-speaking Internet markets (Russia is Europe's largest Internet market measured by the number of users, comScore). Mail.Ru Group's sites reach approximately 85% of Russian Internet users on a monthly basis (comScore, June 2013) and the Company is the sixth largest Internet businesses globally, based on the number of total pages viewed (comScore, June 2013).
In line with the 'communitainment' (communication plus entertainment) strategy, the Company is moving rapidly to build an integrated communications and entertainment platform. The Company owns Russia's leading email service and Russia's largest internet portal, Mail.Ru (TNS, all Russia, age 12-64, June 2013). The Company operates two of the three largest Russian language social networks, Odnoklassniki (OK) and Moi Mir (My World), and Russia's largest online game business. The Company's portfolio also includes Mail.Ru Agent and ICQ – two instant messaging services popular in Russia and CIS.
The Company holds minority equity stakes in VKontakte (39.99%) and Qiwi (15.04%). The Company also holds a number of small venture capital investments in various Internet companies in Russia and Ukraine.
About S2 Games
S2 Games is a game publisher and developer with a mission to identify, develop, evolve and unleash the future of online multiplayer games. Since its inception in 2003, S2 has been focused on driving innovation into the global online game space, through identifying and solving industry issues, listening closely to its passionate gamer base and incorporating features that gamers truly want.
Active in sponsoring and helping drive many global tournaments for their flagship title, Heroes of Newerth which has accumulated over 12 million installs with over 2 million current registered players, and their new title, Strife, S2 is focused on providing the best online multiplayer gaming experience and opportunities for its fans to shine. For more information on S2, please visit www.S2games.com or follow @S2Strife on Twitter.