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Kalamazoo Game Firm Gets Deal In Russia, Other Eurasian Nations

KALAMAZOO -- The game developer S2 Games Thursday announced plans to expand its regional exposure in the Commonwealth of Independent States.

In an exclusive partnership with regional online gaming platform Garena, the Heroes of Newerth game brand is seeking to improve the overall gaming experience of its fans in the CIS region.

CIS is a regional organization whose 10 participating countries include Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova.

The proposed plan will provide the CIS with localized servers and service enhancements that include regional marketing and support teams to provide the region an unmatched amount of attention and care.

"We want to ensure the longevity and growth of HoN in CIS and across the globe," said Marc Deforest, CEO and Founder of S2 Games. "Garena has been expanding HoN in South East Asia for well over a year with excellent results and we know they can provide the same premium gaming experience in the CIS region."

The benefits of the venture extend far beyond offering a localized game client to gamers who have been playing HoN for well over a year. Garena will administer localization efforts for HoN similar to those enjoyed by gamers in the West since the game launched in 2010. From region-specific, localized marketing to administering local tournaments and fostering growth in HoN e-Sports, Garena plans on taking HoN's presence in the region to new heights.

The transition began Wednesday, Jan. 4, with an Open Beta Test of the localized HoN client and a fully featured transfer program. The transfer program is aimed at directing HoN players in the CIS region to the CIS client, where current account holders can continue playing HoN with all the credentials of their original account. The transfer process begins by linking a current HoN account to a Garena account, which will migrate all of the account data including store purchases on Jan.16. The transfer program can be found at http://transfer.hon.garena.ru.

Once a player makes the transfer to Garena and HoN CIS, they can expect all the same services they enjoyed from their International account, including all the latest game patches and store purchases, while taking advantage of localized servers and support exclusive to the CIS region. New users from the region looking to create a HoN account are encouraged to do so using Garena and current users are encouraged to make the transfer as soon as possible to prevent interruptions in service.

HoN sub-account holders in CIS have an additional opportunity to take advantage of their sub-accounts in the localized CIS region. Each sub-account can be transferred to a newly created Garena account or they may opt to be reimbursed 1,500 gold coins for their sub-account purchase by contacting S2 Games support at http://helpdesk.s2games.com/. Requests made for sub-account reimbursement must include three items: a HoN International username, the transaction id issued for the sub-account purchase, and the Garena account where the coins should be transferred. Reimbursement requests to S2 Games support must be made by January 16th. Requests made after January 16th must be directed to Garena support where the same listed information is required for reimbursement.

S2 Games is an independent 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, S2 is focused on providing the best online and multiplayer gaming experience, and opportunities for its fans to shine.

More at www.s2games.com.

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