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Dear Friends, Today is a big day. IL-2 Sturmovik team is glad to report that after almost three years of development Battle of Normandy is out of Early Access and is officially released - 5.001 update is out! «You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.» Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. The official release also means that in addition to Battle of Normandy Premium Edition in our webstore there’s now Standard Edition without two Collector Planes - German jet bomber Arado Ar 234 and British fighter Spitfire Mk.XIV (they can be bought individually). On Steam the new module and its accompanying Collector Planes will appear in the coming weeks - please stay tuned while we work out the details. As usual, Battle of Normandy owners who have linked IL-2 and Steam accounts can access all the new content in the Steam version already. These years weren’t easy, but they were very interesting. During the development we have created many new technologies and approaches, did a lot of historical research, implemented new solutions. The last aircraft for Battle of Normandy were released in Early Access in August and today we add the last pieces - the map of the Northern France and Southern England, Pilot Career mode, Quick Mission Builder and Advanced Quick Mission Generator support for the new map. We have told about the Career mode and the new map in our recent Dev Blogs, but must point out again that they set the new record in terms of the work involved. New mission types, new airfield types, new airfields appearing on the map after D-Day - bringing their total amount to 100 airfields with historically accurate layouts! New objects created specially for the module - ships, ground vehicles, buildings, coastal defenses, V-1 buzzbombs and their launch positions, dozens of new aircraft paint schemes, etc. Battle of Normandy contains 10 player controllable aircraft (8 in the Standard Edition): - Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib – British fighter/bomber, - North American P-51B-5 Mustang – American long range fighter, - Republic P-47D-22 Thunderbolt – American fighter/bomber, - Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 Late – late version of the German fighter, - Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 Würger - German fighter, - De Havilland Mosquito F.B. Mk.VI ser.2 – British twin engine fighter-bomber, - Messerschmitt Me 410 A-1 Hornisse – German twin engine fighter-bomber, - Junkers Ju 88 C-6 – German twin engine heavy fighter, - Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIV – British fighter (Collector Plane included in the Premium Edition), - Arado Ar 234 B-2 Blitz – German twin engine jet bomber and recon aircraft (Collector Plane included in the Premium Edition). Each aircraft includes a slew of historically correct modifications - unlike other games where each modification would be counted as a separate aircraft model, in Great Battles you can freely select and combine them. For instance, Me-410 A-1 mentioned above has modifications that, when selected, make it a whole model lineup: 1. Me-410 A-1/U2, 2. Me-410 A-1/U4, 3. Me-410 B, 4. Me-410 B-2, 5. Me-410 B-2/U1, 6. Me-410 B-2/U2, 7. Me-410 B-2/U4, 8. Me-410 B-2/U4 field mod with four MG 151 guns. In addition to the all above, update 5.001 contains the results of the big work on the damage model improvements which are of course are applicable to all the modules as usual - as you can see in the long list below, it required many changes in various parts of the sim. The testing and tuning of these changes by beta-testers from the community took a lot of time. We think this is the big step forward for Great Battles series and hope you’ll enjoy it. There are many other fixes and improvements - for instance, the mission loading time has been reduced dramatically, several times less on some PC configurations! The pilot and tank crew AI got better, etc.: Main Features 1. All Battle of Normandy owners have access to Northern France and Southern England map in two variations (before and after the D-Day). As usual, in multiplayer mode the map can be accessed by all Great Battles players. 2. All Battle of Normandy owners have access to the mid-1944 Career mode (3 countries, 5 phases, 17 frontline states, 225 historical squadrons, 103 of them joinable by the player, many new mission types). 3. All Battle of Normandy owners have access to QMB and AQMG game modes on the new map for a quick action, also with many new mission types. 4. Numerous new aircraft paint schemes added, including different invasion stripes for various time periods of 1944. 5. PzKpfw IV Ausf.H. tank added (AI controlled). 6. Flakpanzer IV «Möbelwagen» SPAA added (AI controlled). 7. Gleaves-class destroyer added (AI controlled). 8. The loading speed of all missions on all Great Battles maps has been improved significantly. Damage Model Improvements 9. Aircraft DM: RHA equivalent of the aircraft skin has been reduced nearly three times to the previous (wrong) values. 10. Aircraft DM: an issue that made aircraft skin damage too severe for larger bombers and some fighters has been fixed. 11. Aircraft DM: like the previously released change for larger caliber ammo, now all projectiles in the game loose integrity and stability after penetrating a significant armor thickness which affects their remaining ability to penetrate armor. 12. Aircraft DM: the relative speed of the target is correctly accounted for projectile penetrations calculations. 13. Aircraft DM: AP bullets and shells make slightly bigger holes in the airframe and aircraft skin. 14. Aircraft DM: powerful HE rounds explosions cause more damage to the airframe, aircraft skin and components. 15. Aircraft DM: small HE bullets cause less damage to aircraft skin. 16. Aircraft DM: it is now possible to damage radiators and fuel tanks when firing 7.62-7.92 rounds from more than 350 m distance. 17. Aircraft DM: bullets are less likely to ricochet from aircraft skin at low angles. 18. Aircraft DM: Bf 109 radiator collision model has been improved (previously its wrong shape could cause most smaller caliber bullets to ricochet when fired directly from behind). 19. Aircraft DM: the loss of the bullets energy hitting Bf 109 F-4 engine has been corrected. 20. Aircraft DM: an issue that caused bullets hitting Spitfire Mk.XIV MGs and guns to not lose energy has been fixed. 21. Aircraft DM: engine fire probability from bullet hits has been somewhat increased for WWI-era piston engines and jet engines. 22. Aircraft DM: engine fire probability from bullet hits has been reduced for WWII-era piston engines. 23. Aircraft DM: fuel tank fire probability from bullet hits has been reduced. 24. Aircraft DM: fuel tank fire and explosion probability from HE ammo hits has been reduced, now it depends on the HE power more. 25. Aircraft DM: it’s now harder to put out the fires by side-slip movement. 26. Aircraft DM: the several years old ‘crew health cheat’ (they required four point-blank 7.62 bullets in the torso or two in the head to be killed) has been removed. Now their ability to sustain damage is much more close to reality. 27. Crew DM: a random error that could cause a death from mild G-loads has been found and fixed, thus improving survivability rate during emergency landings. 28. Ballistics: ricochet tendency has been reduced somewhat. 29. Right wing MGs on P-51B can be correctly damaged. 30. P-51B and D fighters wings (middle-upper parts) can be correctly damaged. Me 410 Improvements 31. Me 410A-1: weapon panel placards corrected for WB 151 and MG 131 modifications. 32. Me 410A-1: missing rods from bomb doors to the forward window added. 33. Me 410 A-1: speed and timer gauges in the pilot’s cockpit corrected. 34. Me 410 A-1: altitude and speed gauges in the gunner’s cockpit corrected. 35. Me 410 A-1: bomb holders for 250 kg bombs and for SB 1000/410 look corrected. 36. Me 410 A-1: radiator fenders indicators light up when the cockpit light is turned on. 37. Me 410 A-1: the rear landing gear state affects air drag. 38. Me 410 A-1: technochat message warning about the gun overheating restored for the gunner. 39. Me 410 A-1: now the gunner can use the entire horizontal range of the guns for aiming. 40. Me-410 A-1: radiators can be correctly damaged by AP projectiles, resulting in coolant leaks. 41. Me 410A-1 intercept missions added to AQMG game mode. Tank Crew Improvements 42. M4A2, KV-1s, Pz.IV.G, Pz.V.D, Pz.VI.H1 hatches close when the turret blocks them. 43. The damage of the gun barrels base on Pz.III, Pz.IV and Pz.VI is calculated correctly when it is hit by fragments. 44. In multiplayer a guest gunner (who connected to someone else tank) won’t constantly hear the turret turning mechanism noise. 45. In multiplayer a tank owner won’t hear the gun or MG reloading sound when another player connected to his tank to the gunner or MG gunner station. 46. In multiplayer turning aircraft or tank turrets controlled by another player emit correct turning sounds. AI Improvements 47. AI controlled bombers keep formation a bit better during climb. 48. AI pilots will attempt to return to base in the event of an oil or coolant leak. 49. Me 410 pilots will correctly drop bombs in a deep dive. 50. Mosquito, Ju 88 C6 and Me 410 pilots will correctly drop underwing bombs. 51. Twin and 4x guns in AI controlled vehicles won’t judder during aiming. Other Improvements 52. Dropping an 1650 pounds bomb from Handley Page O/400 bomber won’t display an error. 53. A visual artifact in front of the right engine of Handley Page O/400 bomber has been removed. 54. An issue that caused guns and MGs to ‘float’ above certain breastwork has been fixed. 55. ‘No jamming’ difficulty option works correctly for aircraft turrets. 56. Me 410 is correctly counted in stats. 57. Visual bomb explosion effects has been corrected for cases when a bomb ricochets and goes off above the ground. 58. Proximity and CheckZone triggers in missions won’t erroneously count non-spawned and inactive objects. 59. External camera works correctly after flying beyond the map borders. 60. An issue that could lower the muzzle speed of an overheated MG before causing additional scattering of the fired bullets has been fixed. 61. Both P-47 have their idle engine RPM corrected (it was a bit too high potentially causing moving with brakes applied.

The AR 234 is pretty dang cool. Added some AI B-26 which is also in this update. Enjoy

Dear Pilots, Today’s DD takes a look at our cliff models for the Normandy Map. Making realistic looking cliff faces in a flight-simulator is always tough. Whenever you make a map with the English Channel this becomes necessary. Many other development teams have had to craft them over the years and we are no exception. We had our first crack at them when we made our Channel Map for Rise of Flight about 10 years ago. We’ve gotten better at making them and below you can see some work-in-progress images of how they currently look in IL-2 Great Battles. Work on the Normandy map continues and it is really starting to take shape. The map will be released later this summer. However, the next update is already in Beta and it will include the Arado AR-234 jet bomber. What an interesting and challenging aircraft to model. She’s pretty complex. And the AI B-26 will also be I the next update. Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Dear Pilots! In today’s DD we have three new things to show you. First, we have some screenshots of our Normandy Map which is coming together nicely. It’s looking very scenic! Second, we have developed the technology to launch a V-1 “Buzz Bomb” from fixed installations. They will make great targets for mission designers. And finally, we have been working on the technology necessary to portray amphibious landings which is necessary for Normandy. Normandy Landscape Below are screens from the new map. As you can see there are some rather large cities and towns as well as a variety of different airfield types. The landscape is also very beautiful. Together it will make a very interesting and fun map to fly over. V-1 Installations The dreaded V-1 is operational in our project for the first time. V-1 sites were prized targets by Allied pilots and needed to be silenced. The V-1s raining down on the UK in the summer of 1944 were a real problem and caused so much destruction and casualties. Attacking these sites will make for some excellent missions. Amphibious Landings And finally, we can’t have an invasion without landing craft bringing troops and vehicles to the beaches. In the images below we see some testing on one of our non-Normandy maps. We have found a clever way to make infantry objects that appear pretty convincing. These soldiers can advance and shoot at the enemy and of course they can perish. Just don’t ask these little pixel soldiers to make you a sandwich or tea, they aren’t that smart. Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Dear friends, The Sturmovik Team and Ugra-Media have completed the Sopwith Triplane which is the final aircraft planned for Flying Circus Vol.II. The new Western Front map is still in development. The "Tripe" as it was famously called, has three beautiful wings! Each wing has its own ailerons making it quite maneuverable in battle with enough armament to allow its pilots to be confident in a dogfight with any adversary of the era. We think you will enjoy her! In addition to the new aircraft there are many changes and additions in this update that will improve your gameplay experience: 1. Sopwith Triplane is available to all owners of Flying Circus Vol.II; 2. Distant buildings visualization system has been improved, single medium sized buildings that are viable targets are displayed from farther away; 3. Shadows rendering in the hangar is more detailed; 4. Tank gun firing visual effects are further improved; 5. Fire effects are improved for various vehicle types; 6. Additional optimization of the landscape rendering system reduced the potential stutters while moving on the map; 7. Loading times of larger maps were improved a bit; 8. Sensitivity settings for the pitch axis, the vertical guidance axis of the tank turret and other similar axes, now have correct namings for hte axis limits; 9. Adjusting the axes control settings was made clearer thanks to better dead zone visualization; 10. Second and third engine axes response settings have correct labels; 11. GUI instrument panel turns off after bailing out; 12. A rare GUI issue that sometimes could lead to generating a Quick Mission Builder scenario without a player flight if the player flight count has been set to random has been fixed; 13. Balloons now have markers like aircraft do; 14. Bombs dropped from a bomb bay backwards (tails first) won't visibly jerk along their axis; 15. Simple ground vehicles and ships will correctly engage the targets assigned by MCU_CMD_AttackTarget command with High priority; 16. Square visual artifacts on the water surface that were visible from high altitude at certain sun position won't appear on Rheinland map anymore; 17. AI pilots will switch off their navigation lights when engaged by the enemy during the landing; 18. All German gauges have been redrawn to be as historically accurate as possible. Different gauges are assigned to each model variant (Oyster_KAI); 19. Colors of all German interior equipment/placard have been checked and repainted to their correct color or design (Oyster_KAI); 20. New different throttle quadrant markings & pitch control switch for Bf-109 F/G/K. 21. New drop tank placard & oil cooler placard for Bf-109 E-7 (Oyster_KAI); 22. New headrest for Bf-109G6 (Oyster_KAI); 23. New details for He-111s (Oyster_KAI); 24. New rudder pedal belt texture for all German planes (Oyster_KAI); 25. In the Me-262 exterior view, the 2 pixelated circular holes behind the seats have been redrawn (Oyster_KAI); 26. Added circuit breaker markings on the instrument panel for Bf-109s, Fw-190s, and the Me-262 (Oyster_KAI); 27. Added screws for the Fw-190A's left & right canopy frame (Oyster_KAI); 28. Bf-110s, M.C202, and P-51D external views now have visible instrument reflections (Oyster_KAI); 29. P-51D placards won't glow at night (Oyster_KAI); 30. Scrollbar in the aircraft selection menu in Dogfight won't overlap with the aircraft images 31. A minor issue in the tactical number selection menu has been fixed; 32. Mission Editor won't crash during loading of the Prokhorovka map; 33. Aircraft lists in the Mission Editor are sorted correctly (alphabetically).

Dear Friends, Today’s Developer Diary showcases our upcoming and awesome Mosquito FB Mk.VI. Isn’t she a beauty? Our “Wooden Wonder” as it was called, is in the later stages of development and we have already completed some of her skins that will be included. Work on her flight model has begun and work on finishing her cockpit continues. We are doing all we can to get her into your hangars just as soon as possible. We know she is a hotly anticipated plane and the wait is difficult, but please have patience, we think she will be worth it! As you know, we frequently re-visit some of our older technology and try to improve it. A recent example is our sky, clouds and lighting, which we still hope to improve further in time. Recently, we finally had some time to re-visit our technology that affects the appearance of our Propeller Disk. Our current prop disk has some issues that we wanted to rectify including how it seems to disappear at certain angles. We also wanted to make its appearance more realistic and dynamic. We think we achieved this and here are a couple screens to help demonstrate. It’s hard to get the whole effect in still images or even a video, but we wanted to make you aware of this development. We think you’ll enjoy it once it’s in-game. Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Dear Pilots! Happy Holidays to everyone in the IL-2 Sturmovik community! May it be filled with good health, family, friends and lots of time to play your favorite virtual air combat simulation! Today’s Developer Diary is a showcase of the beautiful P-51B which we are working very hard to finish for you by the end of the month. Just some minor bugs are left along with still finishing the tricky Malcolm Hood. We also have some shots of some new combat vehicles for you to check out like the M8 Greyhound and Universal “Bren Gun” Carrier Mk. II. And we have a new good looking USAAF bomber crewman model to show you. The fur sure looks look warm! We’re working as hard as we can to end this challenging 2021 strong so wish us luck as we battle to get things done! Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Hello P-51 Lovers! We know you’ve been waiting patiently to see more of the P-51B, so today we show you what it looks like both inside and out! This new ‘Pony’ should be ready by the end of this month. It’s the Holiday Season and a time for giving, so there will likely be two updates in December! One with the new clouds and the DFWC.V and the other with the P-51B and maybe, just maybe new fuel systems and drop tanks for several Bf-109 variants. Of course, plans are subject to change pending testing. And as mentioned previously the Malcolm Hood has taken extra work to get it right, so that component is not ready to be shown yet. Without further delay… Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Hello Friends! Happy Monday to everyone! We have a short DD for you today that features the DFW C.V for Flying Circus Vol. II and new 4K skins for our old friend the Yak-1b which were crafted once again by our partner Martin “ICDP” Catney. The Yak-1b completes our initial goal of bringing all aircraft and tank skins along with their templates up to the 4K standard. It took several years, but what an accomplishment!! Thanks again to Martin, Francisco (BlackHellhound1) and Marcus (Raptorattacker) for helping make all this possible! DFW C.V Yak-1b 4K Skins The DFW C.V, Yak-1b 4K skins and our initial release of our new clouds will be in the upcoming 4.701 update later in December. Which we pray to all mighty Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Yahweh, Zeus, Lucifer, Cthulhu, Thanos, General Zod or whatever powerful deity controls its fate, please give us the strength to finish the P-51B so we can include it in update 4.701! Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Dear Friends, Welcome to a rare Monday edition that is our 300th Developer Diary which happens to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the release of the original IL-2 Sturmovik for the PC! Two decades on and IL-2 products are still going strong! Simply amazing! We know you would like this to be a super special diary today, but for us, it’s just another busy week at work trying to finish our projects. Please don’t think that we are not proud of this milestone, because we are, but there is just so much to do and we need to stay on task! However, we hope that there will be 300 more DDs and 20 more years of Sturmovik products to come! We also realize that we could not have gotten this far without the financial support of our customers and those dedicated people in our community that help us make Sturmovik week after week. We salute anyone and everyone who has contributed to the Great Battles series over the years either as an unpaid volunteer or professional partner. From painting skins to developing apps, making missions to beta testing, 3D modeling to historical to research, localization of text to voice acting and on and on, this 300th Developer Diary is dedicated to you guys! THANK YOU! No DD is complete without some news and images about current projects and today’s is no exception. Both of these projects have been undertaken by third-party partners – the C-47 cockpit is being built by Ugra Media and the IAR-80/81 is being built by our partner Ivan. Both of these models have been shown before and they have progressed since we last showed them, even if their appearance is not drastically different from before. There is lots of work being done to keep the poly and texture budgets under control and make the model not only beautiful, but also efficient. This is always a big challenge for anyone who makes models for us. C-47A IAR-80/81 The IAR will likely go on Pre-Order next week as well as our two new Collector Tanks which Jason will also announce next week. Enjoy! The Sturmovik Team

Dear Friends, The cold November is here already and we continue working on our projects. An important milestone for the Battle of Normandy is getting near - its map will be ready to a degree that will allow us to begin the development of Pilot's Career for this theater (meaning that settlements, airfields, roads, rivers and forests will be there). It will be too early to share the screenshots of the map itself at this point since the work on its visual part - texturing and finalizing landscape features, coast and additional detail - happens at the last stage of development according to our workflow. Nevertheless, this stage is not very far away either, since the map overall progresses according to the plan. Speaking of the map, we can say that creation of map objects is finished, including the new city blocks characteristic for Britain, coastal defenses, radar stations, farmsteads for rural areas and, of course, unique landmarks. For creating believable airfields, certain additional airfield objects were created which are characteristic of this theater of war. The work on various naval and ground units for BoN continues - there are several ship types that participated in the landing, including landing craft and radar-equipped ones, and several vehicles like this British armored car Humber Mk.IV, which is ready for deployment. The German heavy fighter Ju 88 C-6 and the legendary US fighter P-51B-5 are getting close to release. Progress on the P-51B has been frustratingly slow with several technical delays due to research and software issues. Anyway, it's Flight Model 99% done and only Malcolm Hood visual is on the finish line of production. Please be patient the early Pony will get here we promise! Arado 234, Mosquito FB MK.VI and Me 410 are at earlier stages of development, but they are progressing according to the general plan. In the meantime, the work on the new fuel system is nearly finished and it will make its debut on Bf 109 fighters. As soon as it is ready we'll apply it to all the aircraft of the sim. This new tech will make the fuel system modeling more realistic, damageable in more detail and pilot interfacing with it will be recreated with more fine details. With this new technology up and running, we plan to switch to the development of the launch, guidance and warhead functioning of the V-1 vengeance weapon - its FM and 3D model, including the launch site, are already ready. There is good progress in Flying Circus Vol. II project is well. The German two-seater recon/strike airplane DFW C.V is the closest one for the release - at the moment its 3D model is nearly finished while its FM is in the works - and we plan to have it in the next update already. Sopwith Triplane should be also released before the end of the year as well as the British heavy bomber Handley Page O/400. Early next year we'll have to finish German bomber Gotha G.V, Western Front map, and two Collector Planes, late WWI fighters. In addition, there is a lot of WWI-era ground vehicles incoming - for instance, in the next update, we plan to release Jeffery Quad, Benz LKW 1912 and Daimler DR4 in several modifications and tanks - Mark V female, Reno FT and Schneider CA 1. WWI aviators will find their life slightly more complicated due to the addition of the German 37mm automatic AA gun Maxim Flak M14. All the things listed above are just a fraction of what we and our partners are working on at the moment, so please stay tuned - we'll be able to tell you more about the other development streams in our next Dev Diaries.

Dear Pilots, Our Mosquito FB Mk,VI for Battle of Normandy is coming along nicely. Some very early WIP shots of it in the engine. Still much support work to do for it still. Will initially be available to fly with 8 squadrons in Career mode. Q. If it's made from polygons is it still a Wooden Wonder? Enjoy!

This is from 777 Studio Official Announcement Good day pilots! So, the long wait is over and we're ready to put the rumors to rest. 777 Studios partners with 1C to form 1C Game Studios (1CGS) and develop IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad We invite you to our new forum, where you will find additional information about the project and will be able to ask questions and chat with the developers. You can read the full announcement on the official website of the game at http://il2sturmovik.net. To all our ROF customers and fans - this is not the end of ROF development or new content. Please do not panic. We are still working on the details and we will inform you once we have them. Right now all current releases we promised are on schedule. On a personal note - the ROF community and your support has made this day possible. We have always wanted to make a WWII product and your support of our WWI product has afforded us this opportunity. Now you will be able to enjoy both WWI and WWII products produced by our team and new expanded team. If all goes to plan there will be much to be happy about in the coming months and years. We hope you will stick by us and continue to support our flight-sim endeavors. Onward and upward! The Entire 777 Studios team" This is from the 1C site " NEW IL-2 STURMOVIK TITLE IN DEVELOPMENT 1C Announces Partnership with 777 Studios to create 1C Game Studios MOSCOW, Russia – December 11, 2012 – Leading Eastern and Central European publisher, 1C Company, is proud to announce that it has partnered with award winning developer 777 Studios to form a joint venture and new studio named 1C Game Studios. This new studio is set to create IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad, a new sequel to the award-winning WWII combat flight simulator IL-2 Sturmovik. 1C is the owner of the best-selling IL-2 Sturmovik franchise of combat flight simulators and 777 Studios is the developer of the popular and technologically advanced WWI flight simulator Rise of Flight: The First Great Air war. "1C is proud to take the next step in flight-simulation history with 777 Studios, a company and team that has grown to be one of the best flight-simulation developers in the world and has proven that their attention to detail and product quality speaks volumes about their talent and dedication,” said Nikolay Baryshnikov, VP of 1C Company. “We look forward to bringing a new era of development and spirit of enjoyment to the combat flight-simulation community together." This venture brings two of the world’s leading combat flight-simulation franchises and development teams together under one banner to form a new, dynamic team led by 777 Studios management. Giving respect to the roots of the IL-2 Sturmovik series, the partnership will start with the development of Battle of Stalingrad which focuses on the Eastern Front air war during the titanic struggle over the industrial city of Stalingrad in 1942-43. The battle of Stalingrad was an important turning point for both the Soviet and German armies in WWII, with the air war playing an important role in the outcome. Jason Williams, President of 777 Studios, had this to say, "The 777 Studios team is very excited to be partnering with such a publisher and developer like 1C. Their passion and support for PC combat flight-simulation as well as historical warfare titles has always been a blessing to these genres and we look forward to producing an excellent product for the Sturmovik legacy and continuing to bring additional content to our existing Rise of Flight product line." This partnership is also a turning point for the combat flight simulation genre that will streamline development of flight-simulation products and allow collaboration between former competitors. The outcome should be increased opportunities for combat flight simulation fans to enjoy their passion while also increasing the likelihood of success in the marketplace. Both 1C and 777 Studios see the flight-simulation genre as an important one for PC gaming with a dedicated fan-base that is eager to support interesting and immersive products. 1C Company is located in Moscow with offices throughout Europe and 777 Studios is headquartered in Southern California with development teams in Russia and Ukraine. Battle of Stalingrad will include both single-player and multi-player scenarios for virtual pilots to enjoy as well as brand new gameplay modes. Initial client release is slated for early 2014 with add-on content and additional features and theatres to follow. IL-2 Sturmovik is an award winning WWII flight-simulator video game franchise and includes such bestselling titles as IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles, Pacific Fighters, 1946 and Cliffs of Dover. IL-2 Sturmovik titles feature intense aerial combat and dozens of historically accurate warplanes and missions. Named in honor of the famous Soviet Ilyushin IL-2 ground-attack fighter, the Sturmovik series features all major theatres in WWII, from the freezing eastern front to carrier combat in the vast pacific theatre. The IL-2 Sturmovik series of titles is widely regarded as the standard by which all other combat flight-simulators are measured and remains a top seller worldwide. About 1C Company 1C Company specializes in distribution, publishing and development of business, entertainment and educational software. Founded in 1991, 1C has become the largest publisher and distributor of computer and video games in Eastern and Central Europe. 1C Company is widely acknowledged as a game developer and has several internal studios. Internal development of 1C includes IL-2 Sturmovik series and Theatre of War series. 1C Company works as a publisher and producer with over 30 independent development studios and has produced over 100 projects for PC and consoles including titles like Rig'n'Roll, Space Rangers, Soldiers: Heroes of World War II, Faces of War, Men of War series, Perimeter, Fantasy Wars, Death to Spies, King’s Bounty Series . In 2012 1C Company launched its iOS apps series for iPhone &iPad. For more information on 1C please go to our website at www.1cpublishing.com. IL-2 Sturmovik IL-2 Sturmovik is an award winning WWII flight-simulator video game franchise and includes such bestselling titles as IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles, Pacific Fighters, 1946 and Cliffs of Dover. IL-2 Sturmovik titles feature intense aerial combat and dozens of historically accurate warplanes and missions. Named in honor of the famous Soviet Ilyushin IL-2 ground-attack fighter, the Sturmovik series features all major theatres in WWII, from the freezing eastern front to carrier combat in the vast pacific theatre. The IL-2 Sturmovik series of titles is widely regarded as the standard by which all other combat flight-simulators are measured and remains a top seller worldwide. About 777 Studios Founded in 2007, 777 Studios specializes in the development and publishing of games and simulation products for the PC platform. 777 Studios is the North American publisher of Tourismo Carretera and Wings of Prey and in 2009 published Rise of Flight: The First Great Air War. In 2010, 777 Studios assumed the continued development of Rise of Flight and released Rise of Flight: Iron Cross Edition worldwide. For information about 777 Studios please visit www.777studios.net. Rise of Flight Rise of Flight is an award winning combat flight-simulation title for the PC. Built on the Digital Nature engine it brings the deadly dogfights of WWI to life and features realistic and advanced flight, damage and physics modeling systems. State of the art graphics and terrain scenery puts you over the Western Front of WWI andan in-depth, immersive Career mode allows players to discover their inner fighter pilot as member of a several famous squadrons. Rise of Flight features over 30 vintage warplanes to fly and fight against and includes adjustable settings to satisfy novice and expert pilot alike. For more information about Rise of Flight please visit: www.riseofflight.com."