An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered.
- G. K. Chesterton

Fellow fans and adventure seekers,
Uru has been quite an adventure for us. After pouring everything we had into our vision back in 2002, Uru Live was abruptly cancelled. There have been several fits and starts since then - various attempts to keep the vision alive. The most notable was Until Uru - a continuation of Uru Live that put its future directly into the hands of the fans. The fans didn’t let us down.
Although the fans were able to bide their time in the ancient underground city and distant Ages, not much changed. There were huge expanses to explore and share, but the full vision of Uru Live was designed to be dynamic and changing - providing new story and places to explore all the time. Now, with some help from our forward thinking friends at Turner/GameTap, we’re pleased to announce that we’re ready to bring Uru Live back to life.
We have been furiously toiling behind the scenes to write some interesting new content that will make its way into Uru Live in the coming months. We’ve also been working on the nuts and bolts - rebuilding our software and servers to clean up bugs and lag and to provide a base for cutting-edge improvements in the future.
This new adventure is not without caveats. We’re smaller and leaner now. We have much more to do with fewer people to do it. But we’re trying to work smart to provide new content that provides fresh new adventure for everyone on a regular basis.
So here we go again into exciting unknown territory. Little did we know that the opening lines of Myst would be so prophetic.
Thanks so much for all of your encouragement and support,
Rand Miller

“URU LIVE” LIVES ON EXCLUSIVELY AT GAMETAP

Online, multiplayer version of blockbuster game resurfaces on GameTap, with real-time 3D and new episodic content

LOS ANGELES – E3 – (May 9, 2006) – “Uru Live” lives! GameTap, the broadband entertainment network from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), is reviving the online foray of “Myst”, one of the most popular adventure series ever created. As part of GameTap’s bold new initiative, the “Uru Live” game and community will be available to GameTap subscribers later this year as part of their monthly subscription.

“Uru Live” is the online multiplayer version of “Uru: Ages Beyond Myst,” which was developed by Cyan Worlds. Extensively beta-tested in 2003, “Uru Live” spawned an avid community of players, many of whom have kept unofficial sites up and running ever since. With the advent of broadband gaming, there is a whole new medium and a ready audience for this revered title. Unlike its predecessors, the new worlds of “Uru Live” are dynamic and alive, making use of real-time 3D rather than still images to bring players together online to explore incredible new worlds. To keep “Uru Live” even more fresh and challenging, GameTap and Cyan will update the game with new episodic content on a regular basis.

“The epic journey to D’ni will begin anew this holiday season on GameTap,” said Stuart Snyder, GameTap’s General Manager. “We are bringing back ‘Uru Live’ with new episodes, intriguing new worlds to explore, and a host of fresh features. ‘Uru Live’ was ahead of its time, and now that technology has caught up with this visionary game, GameTap and Cyan are teaming up to bring it into the bold new world of broadband entertainment.”

“Uru Live” is part of the popular “Myst” series created by Rand and Robyn Miller. Selling more than 12 million units, it was the top-selling video game franchise of the 1990s. In fact, it is credited with creating a whole new genre of games, the first-person adventure-puzzle game.

“Uru Live” will join the more than 500 on-demand video games and 300 streaming video channels now available on GameTap.

To register for GameTap, visit www.gametap.com where you can sign up for the leading all-you-can-play-&-watch video game lifestyle broadband network for $9.95 per month. Go to www.gametap.com now and sign up for a free two-week offer.

About Cyan Worlds, Inc:

Cyan Worlds, Inc., located in Spokane, WA, is best know for Myst and Riven, which received numerous awards, critical acclaim and broad popularity, Cyan has been designing and building immersive interactive worlds since 1987. They currently employ over 40 designers, programmers and artists. For more information about Cyan Worlds, visit www.cyanworlds.com

About GameTap

GameTap delivers hundreds of the greatest games-on-demand plus original programming via a broadband-connected PC. To access GameTap, players securely download and install Turner-developed client software from www.gametap.com that acts as a gateway to the GameTap vault. Because games reside securely on the PC, not across a network, they act just as if they were still on the console or at the arcade. Fast response times, 3D effects, colors, and characters are all present and accounted for. New games and original programming will be added to the service each week. GameTap supports navigation and game play using keyboard and mouse, as well as most USB peripherals.

About Turner

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment products around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.
CONTACT:
Chase/Beth Gardiner/Misty Skedgell
Access Communications for GameTap TBS, Inc.
415-844-6289/917-522-3522 404-885-4396
chase@accespr.com/bgardiner@accesspr.com
misty.skedgell@turner.com

Uru was built for people - a place for people to meet, grow and wonder.

The deep city came alive with the sounds of life - and then it was silent again.

But the life of Uru is in the people. It will not awaken again until Uru has people again

...Untìl Uru has people again.

This is not Uru, or Uru Live. It's only a breath, a spirit of what Uru was. It's a heartbeat until Uru can slowly grow again.

...Untìl Uru can slowly grow again.

Myst Uru: The Path of the Shell

The name of the second expansion pack has been chosen! Currently scheduled for a June 23rd release, the third chapter in the Uru story will continue where "To D'ni" left off, and will be available via retail and online outlets.

A complete set of all three Uru titles: "Myst Uru: Complete Chronicles" will also be released, and will consist of: Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, To D'ni, and The Path of the Shell. This will be a very valuable addition to all Myst fans' collections!

We can't wait to join you, on the Path of the Shell…

randomos

Wherein we step from behind the curtain...

As you may have noticed, the date implied by the Top Ten List has sort of grown- during the QA process we've had to push the release date back from our original target. We've tried to have fun with the process- and the changes in the schedule- and hope you have had fun too.

Today we learned- again, due to the need to make sure that the quality and level of support were absolutely ready- that the expected date for the release of the expansion pack is now Monday March 22nd. We are very confident that this date is solid, but, with the previous delays, thought it best to clarify the situation and pass along what we know. Please note: this date too might have to be delayed. We really really hope not- but that's the nature of the beast: you can predict your testing results, but the actual process may turn up bugs, and that means fixes and a need to delay the release.

And yes, we'll continue to try to come up with humorous additions to our Top Ten list (and if you have any good suggestions, please drop a private topic invite to Khatie or myself!).

Thanks all!