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GAMEHORIZON ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL GAMES CONFERENCE WILL RETURN IN 2009

FOR WEDNESDAY 3 DECEMBER

Codeworks GameHorizon, the leading business network for UK games companies, has announced the GameHorizon Conference will return next year following a hugely successful first event in June– and will feature a keynote speech from Realtime Worlds' David Jones.

The second annual GameHorizon Conference– which will take place on 23-24 June 2009 at the Sage Gateshead in NewcastleGateshead– will be a must for publishers, developers, format holders, middleware and hardware companies and professional service firms who want to discover what's happening at the cutting edge of the games industry.

An exclusive audience of around 300 people are expected at the conference, and already GameHorizon has managed to attract a number of big name speakers, including:

• A keynote speech from David Jones, creative director and CEO of Realtime Worlds. Best known for the creation of Grand Theft Auto and all-time gaming classic Lemmings, David is now in charge of one of the most exciting studios in the UK. Having set up Realtime in 2002, he created the hugely successful, double BAFTA winning Crackdown, which sold over 1.5m copies, and is now working on the hotly anticipated MMO, All Points Bulletin– which reports say could generate revenues of hundreds of millions of dollars.

• Roger Walkden, chief executive of Game Domain International, a company with a radical new technology that enables the digital distribution of full games direct to consumers at up to twenty times the speed of conventional download services. As well as launching its own games-on-demand service at AWOMO.com, GDI is providing infrastructure to a range of publisher, developer and retail partners to operate their own branded games download services.

• And Mark Rein, vice president and co-founder of Epic Games, one of the world's leading game developers and game technology providers

Carri Cunliffe, head of sector development at Codeworks GameHorizon, says: "The first GameHorizon Conference attracted hundreds of games execs from around Europe, so it was really an easy decision to run the event once again. Whilst there are several conferences and expos that look in-depth at the details of games art and programming, we felt there was a gap in the market for an event which focused on higher level business issues, new technologies and future opportunities.

"This is a conference designed to help games firms to discover and think about strategies to improve their business."

David Jones of Realtime Worlds adds: "The GameHorizon Conference is an increasingly important event on the calendar; although this will be my first year attending, the reports back from the RTW staff who've gone in the past is that it's a very interesting and informative event with a high calibre of attendees. All of which I'm very much looking forward to seeing for myself."

For more information about the conference and to book places, visit www.gamehorizonconference.com. A Super Early Bird discount starting at£199 is available until 31 March 2009, with bigger discounts available to past-delegates and GameHorizon members.

ENDS

About the GameHorizon Conference

The GameHorizon Conference is the leading European event for executives working in the global games industry. A two-day event, the conference features creative, innovative and inspirational speakers from the worlds of gaming, entertainment and business. www.gamehorizonconference.com

About Codeworks GameHorizon

Codeworks GameHorizon is the leading business network for UK-based games companies– developers, publishers, middleware firms and other service providers. www.gamehorizon.net

All media enquiries: Lewis Harrison, PR manager, Codeworks

0191 556 1128 | lewis.harrison@codeworks.net