Battlefield 1942 announced for the Xbox

Electronic Arts announced today that it has signed an exclusive agreement with Swedish developer Digital Illusions to publish Battlefield 1942 for the Microsoft Xbox and PC platforms. The action game simulates events from the WWII era and features a wide variety of playable vehicles, including famous fighter planes, tanks, and battleships. The game's diverse environments include such locations as small European towns and sea-based surroundings. Although the game will focus largely on single-player missions, it will also have multiplayer options.

"Battlefield 1942 is an exciting interactive WWII experience that will appeal to players who enjoy strategizing and fighting in some of the world's greatest battles,'' said Tom Frisina, Electronic Arts' vice president of distribution. "We think Digital Illusions has the skill and experience that makes them uniquely qualified to re-create the look and feel of that period in an exciting game experience.''

"This agreement is an important part in our strategy for creating alliances with leading software and hardware manufacturers,'' said Patrick Soderlund, CEO of Digital Illusions. "This is the most significant contract ever signed by Digital Illusions for a single game, and we are thrilled to be working with Electronic Arts.''

Digital Illusions is also developing Motorhead2 for the PlayStation 2. Battlefield 1942 could be released by the end of the year. Financial terms of the company's publishing agreement with Electronic Arts were not disclosed.