browsergames.de/ProSiebenSat.1 Digital Secure Marketing Deal with Blue Byte/Ubisoft

Multi-Channel Marketing for The Settlers Online – Second browsergames.de TV-Spot Released

Potsdam/Munich October 24th, 2011. Browsergames.de/ProSiebenSat.1 Digital have sealed the deal for a cooperative marketing campaign for the popular browser game, The Settlers Online (German title: Die Siedler Online), created by the Ubisoft subsidiary, Blue Byte. Just a few weeks ago, the company based in Munich announced a cooperation deal with Gazillion Entertainment and thereby the acquisition of the European license for the online game, Marvel Super Hero Squad Online. With Blue Byte/Ubisoft, ProSiebenSat.1 Digital has secured yet another strong partner in the online gaming industry. Browsergames.de is the most visited and broadest spanning browser games portal in the German-speaking market and, as such, is a key marketing platform for The Settlers Online. At the same time, the browser game will also be featured on the SevenGames.de and SAT1Spiele.de online gaming portals.

PC-Game Series Inspires Browser Game
The free-to-play browser game, The Settlers Online, is based on the popular PC-game series, The Settlers. In October of last year, the online game, which takes players back into the Middle-Ages, was launched into the Open Beta testing phase and in early August 2011, the game was officially released.In The Settlers Online, players are charged with creating an empire from a small settlement by developing their kingdom and conquering new lands. Players must make sure to gather important raw materials from the surrounding area in order to construct new buildings and supply for the population. In addition to that, players will also be able to regularly embark on adventures and complete exciting quests.

Multi-channel Marketing for The Settlers Online
The marketing and presentation of the game is primarily online and will be carried out on the portal, browsergames.de, which is operated by ProSiebenSat.1 Digital and Covus Games. Simultaneously, the campaign will also be launched on the SevenGames.de and SAT1Spiele.de portals. The TV-Spot, which is featured on ProSieben, for The Settlers Online started in mid-October. “We are quite excited about securing a new, strong cooperation partner in Blue Byte/Ubisoft and being able to feature The Settlers Online on our online games portal, browsergames.de,” says Matthias Lesch, Head of Sales and Marketing at Covus Games. “We are convinced that we will be able to reach a new audience for The Settlers Online, particularly with the help of the multi-channel marketing strategy.”

The TV-Spot is available here : Press or http://www.myvideo.de/watch/8298989/Die_Siedler_Online_Offizieller_TV_Trailer_zum_Die_Siedler_Browsergame

New Structure, New Look – Covus Prepares for the Future

Business venture gets updated with modern corporate design, restructuring for more efficiency

Covus, a specialist for the implementation of web projects, features a brand new and refreshing website design including company logos. In addition to the site redesign, it is the first introduction of the Covus Group as a single company. Moreover, it is has lead to a complete restructuring within the Covus Group itself.

The complete and uniform corporate design of Covus highlights the future-oriented business model of the business venture. On the homepage (www.covus.com) you will find detailed information on the four different companies: Covus Holding, Covus Core, Covus Games and Proxma AG.

Covus Holding is an investor and know-how provider for numerous technology companies and is always looking for new investment opportunities in the IT area. The necessary technical support for the implementation of various web projects and related services is provided by Covus Core. Covus Games is a company that, in the meantime, has focused on the online games area. Along with marketing and online games (an example of which can be seen on the online games portal www.browsergames.de) yet another specialty of Covus Games is consultation services for game developers and operators. Proxma AG ultimately focuses on software operation and distribution through the internet.

“Because of the massive expansion of Covus in 2010, a restructuring made sense. Now, we are even better prepared for any new projects in the future”, stated CEO Sven Lubek. “Covus has the capacity to develop into one of the market leaders in the area of web projects and planning and with this in mind; we plan to use our site re-launch to help us spread our message to everyone.”

Browsergames.de is a media partner of the German Developer’s Prize 2010

The online games portal of Covus Games GmbH supports the awarding of the most prestigious distinction in the gaming scene.

The game portal browsergames.de, a project of Covus Games GmbH, is an official media partner of the German Developer’s Prize 2010. The renowned award recognizes outstanding performances and achievements from the previous year which caused a sensation in the gaming branch.

The German Developer’s Prize will be presented in Essen, Germany on December 1st, 2010 for the seventh time. The online games portal www.browsergames.de is providing support for the presentation of the award which is hosted by Aruba Events and will be the presenter for the category “Browser Games”. Nils Freitag, Head of Content at Covus Games, accepted the invitation from Aruba to address attendees on the relevant theme of browser games.

“German development studios are clearly the leaders in the browser games market”, emphasized Nils Freitag, who has many years experience in the field. “The most globally successful browser game creators and publishers, who have always been front-runners in the areas of technology and game quality, are located right here in Germany. This is why the prize for the best German browser game 2010 is a particular support-worthy case, which we would like to continue to develop.”

The winners of the genre awards of the German Developer’s Prize 2010 have already been selected. Browser games will also be receiving awards at the event, such as the racing browser game Drivals (Gameforge). Among the awards for browser games chosen by the audience are such titels as Cultures Online (gamigo), SevenLands (InnoGames), Farmerama (Bigpoint) and many others. The Hamburg-based, browser game factory Bigpoint has been nominated for the Best Publisher award. As nominee for this award, Bigpoint will have to go up against large publishers such as Ubisoft who are also vying for the prize with their browser game, The Settlers Online.

Covus Games acquires browsergames.de

The online games portals, browsergames.de and browsergamez.com, will be operated by the company Covus Games GmbH starting in November of 2010.

The newly-founded Covus Games GmbH is from now on the operator of browsergames.de and browsergamez.com. Along with the administration of the site, Covus Games offers advisory and marketing solutions for online games publishers and developers.

Furthermore, Covus Games offers direct assistance to companies that have not yet broken into the online games scene. Covus Games advises customers before, during and after the initial development of online games and brings customers together with competent and experienced service providers. Other companies, who have already developed an online game or introduced one onto the market, are also well informed and advised through Covus Games’ game analysis.

Pro.de becomes an independent business

In November of last year, pro.de had been founded as independent corporate entity by Proxma AG with the goal of establishing one of Europe’s leading software distribution companies. Although Proxma AG itself is a relatively young company, the three founders are very experienced in the field and have supplied active software for more than 10 years. In addition to their experience with software distribution and supply, they also have a hand in the creation and success of top-sellers such as WinDVD, PestPatrol, Zonealarm, Sygate and Micrografx and brought them onto the German-speaking market.

Through excellent, long-term communication with software customers, such as the German Telekom, GMX, Telekom Austria, Bertelsmann, Vogel, Burda, Avanquest, BHV, Sybex, Koch Media and Toshiba, Proxma AG has developed into quite a successful venture in a very short time, even for the experienced team members.

Alongside the three founders are 10 other employees who are responsible for the company. One-hundred percent of Proxma AG’s financing comes from the company itself and therefore, is not under the influence of external investors. Across an excellently built, Europe-wide network with various channels of distribution, Proxma AG is able to deliver products that are used in more than 90% of all German households and sold in more than 3000 outlets. Today, the company operates a few, easily accessible ESD-platforms, pro.de being one of them, as well as the high-value Top-Domain, www.software.de.