October 18^th, 2005 (5:56pm) - Foundation 9 Entertainment, the largest independent game developer in North America, today announced its efforts to give back some of its success to the community. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Foundation 9’s employees showed a tremendous outpouring of generosity, donating nearly $10,000 to various relief organizations. The company has now matched half that amount in donations, with money to be spent on relief and rebuilding efforts for victims of the disaster.

"Our company was founded on the belief that sharing resources is the best way to accomplish something bigger together than we can do alone. This thinking applies to communities as well as our own business," said Mark Loughridge, founding partner and co-chairman of Foundation 9 Entertainment. "Helping those in need is a responsibility we all share, and we want to add our contributions to those of our fantastic employees and so many other citizens to make a difference to victims of Hurricane Katrina."

Besides matching employee donations in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Foundation 9 has also chosen to support the Teen Adventure Challenge in LA this November, where the company will be a sponsor of the event and donate games to be given away as part of the prize packages. The CHAMPIONS-based youth enrichment program, in its inaugural year, allows teens to participate in hiking, kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, and a host of teambuilding challenges.

"The gaming industry is often criticized for not being a positive influence on our kids," adds Loughridge. "Supporting events like this, in addition to our active educational software development, demonstrates Foundation 9’s commitment to helping young people learn the skills necessary to live happy and successful lives."

The company will also join many of its gaming industry partners to participate in ESA’s Nite to Unite for Kids fundraiser held October 18, 2005 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. To date, the event has raised over $6.7 million benefiting various youth organizations that are united to make a difference in the lives of America’s kids. This year’s fundraiser, expected to be a sell out event, will honor George Lucas as the group’s 2005 Champions Award.

Foundation 9 has experience working with some of the most revered properties in entertainment, including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Pac-Man. Through its recent mergers of Backbone, The Collective, Pipeworks, ImaginEngine and Digital Eclipse, the company has more than 30 projects in development across all of its studios and continues to lead the way in developing educational and edutainment software.