Explore New Depths of Middle-Earth with EA's The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-Earth II, The Rise of the Witch-King*

CHERTSEY, UK 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 Winter 2006 for the PC. The game is not yet rated by PEGI or USK.

For more information about either title, please visit www.bfme2.ea.com.