DUBAI, 28 November 2006 — At GITEX, BreakAway Games (www.breakawayltd.com) was showing off “Arabian Lords,” its bilingual, PC strategy game inspired by the Rise of Islam during the 7th-13th centuries. Arabian Lords will ship exclusively to markets in the Middle East with both Arabic and English language translations on the CD. The game should become available in Saudi Arabia in early January at a price of around $20.
“Arabian Lords was an incredibly interesting and fun project for BreakAway. With our strength in developing great strategy games, we enjoyed creating a game with such a rich subject as Islamic history,” said Doug Whatley, founder and chief executive officer of BreakAway Ltd. “We’re very pleased with the results and look forward to creating products for this growing market.”
Arabian Lords is an innovative blend of real-time strategy and city-builder game play that lets players take the role of an enterprising merchant lord as they start with one palace and expand to rule an ancient empire. As players gain prestige and wealth they must engage in competition and shrewd diplomacy against rival factions, while keeping their own customers and citizens happy and their community thriving.
“One of the unique aspects of Arabian Lords is that players can employ different strategies and win in a variety of ways including, building a culturally advanced city, amassing the most wealth or becoming the most respected leader,” said Deborah Tillett, VP of Development, at BreakAway Ltd. “Players are rewarded for shrewd negotiations, cultural finesse and great leadership — not by relying on military might or violent means.”
Other game features include 11 scenarios spanning the Rise of Islam during the 7th-13th centuries. Real-Time Action lets players craft and manage their own Middle Eastern cities. LAN and Internet multiplayer features allow competition against as many as four players.
“This is undoubtedly a unique effort by a leading game developer,” said Mahmoud Khasawneh, CEO of Quirkat. “This is the first time an established player like Breakaway has expanded its development effort in partnership with a Middle Eastern studio like Quirkat, to bring to the region a unique blend of gaming quality and cultural and historical references. We are proud to be part of this pioneering effort and we hope to continue this partnership by producing more titles with Middle Eastern flavor. The demand is certainly there and it is refreshing to see a game of this quality address regional storylines.”