"The decision to utilize Alchemy as our game development platform is an excellent example of how we are committed to bringing more to the table for our customers. Pirates is for serious gamers. Using Alchemy not only allows us to enhance game quality, but it has allowed us to pursue new directions in technology development and implementation for the online realm," stated Russell Williams, Executive Producer of Flying Lab Software. "The irony is that gamers will only know about Alchemy indirectly, when they find out that the gameplay and technology of Pirates are unsurpassed."

Pirates is broadband only, with high-end hardware specifications for graphics -- a GeForce 3 or better is required in at least a 1GHZ machine, and the game is optimized for the latest DirectX 9.0-class cards. Pirates is being published on-line directly to gamers using Valve's new Steam technology. This is the same delivery system used by Half-Life 2 and Counterstrike 2. Early screenshots, FAQs, and forums are available at: http://www.burningsea.com. The first iteration of the game launches in the fourth quarter of 2003, with new iterations regularly adding major new features in the months after release.

"It's exciting to see so many cutting-edge games being built on Alchemy. Flying Lab Software is taking full advantage of the flexibility and extensibility of Alchemy, utilizing our advanced C++ open architecture in connection with our easy integration technologies," said T. Paul Thomas, President and CEO of Intrinsic Graphics. "On-line game development is a very important part of our customer base. We're proud to be part of Flying Lab's award-winning line up of games."