REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 27, 2006 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) officially announced today that they will continue to expand The Lord of the Rings universe with The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king *. As the expansion pack to the fan favorite, The Lord of the Rings™, The Battle for Middle-earth II, this Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game will enhance every existing feature and offer players the chance to command the rise of evil in Middle-earth while experiencing the epic battles that took place before those depicted in the New Line Cinema films.

Full of exciting content, including an entirely new faction, completely new single player campaign, and additional units for all six existing factions, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-King, allows players to explore the evil side of Middle-earth. The all new single player campaign’s innovative units will help to tell the story of the evil Witch-King’s rise to power, domination of Angmar and invasion of the great kingdom of Arnor, home to Aragorn’s ancestors. To fully experience the evil side of Middle-earth, gamers can now play as the Angmar faction in skirmish, multiplayer, and War of the Ring modes.

"The Lord of Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-King will transport players to a new time and place in Middle-earth while adding strategic depth to the innovative gameplay gamers loved in The Lord of Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II," said Mike Verdu, Executive Producer at EALA. "Fans will love exploring the evil side of Middle-earth as described in Tolkien's fiction and brought to life in the visual style of the New Line Cinema films. This game is set to deliver the ultimate RTS Middle-earth experience."

Experience a whole new depth of strategy and upgraded War of the Ring and Create-A-Hero features. Create-A-Hero’s entirely unique Troll class boasts additional weapons and armor that will allow players to have even more freedom in customizing their game play. War of the Ring, a risk-style meta-game, offers upgraded army persistence, a new siege dynamic on the Living World Map, and unified territories that serve as major control points.

An EA Los Angeles (EALA) game developed exclusively for the PC under the EA brand, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, the Rise of the Witch-King includes all new content from J.R.R. Tolkien's original fiction, and allows the player to delve deeper than ever before engaging in battles that go beyond the award-winning movie trilogy. EALA will bring The Lord of the Rings world to life in accordance with an agreement with The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises that grants EA the rights to develop games based on the books, in addition to a separate agreement that allows for games based on the New Line Cinema films.

The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-King requires The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II in order to play and will be available Holiday 2006 for the PC. The game is not yet rated by the ESRB.

For more information about either title, please visit www.bfme2.ea.com. For information or to find artwork for any EA game, please visit EA’s press site at www.info.ea.com.

*Working Title

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for videogame systems, personal computers and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA SPORTS BIGTM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2006, EA posted revenue of $2.95 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

About Tolkien Enterprises

The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises is the holder of worldwide motion picture, legitimate stage, merchandising, and other rights in J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary works The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Tolkien Enterprises has been producing and licensing films, stage productions and merchandise based on Tolkien’s works for almost 30 years. Its headquarters are in Berkeley, California, and its website may be found at www.tolkien-ent.com.

About New Line Cinema Corporation

Founded almost 40 years ago, New Line Cinema is the most successful independent film company in the world. Its mission is to produce innovative, popular and profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. In addition to the production, marketing and distribution of theatrical motion pictures, the fully-integrated studio has divisions devoted to home entertainment, television, music, theater, merchandising and an international unit. In 2005, New Line partnered with HBO to form Picturehouse, a new theatrical distribution company to release independent films. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line’s Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most successful film franchises in history. New Line is a division of Time Warner, Inc. (TWX).

Electronic Arts, EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All The Lord of the Rings content other than content from the New Line trilogy of The Lord of The Rings films 2006 The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises (“SZC”). All Rights Reserved. The Lord of the Rings, and the names of the characters, events, items, and places therein are trademarks or registered trademarks of SZC under license. All content from The Lord of the Rings film trilogy MMVI New Line Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Posted: July 27, 2006