Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe Live on Live

Empire Interactive today announced that the eagerly awaited, classic combat sports game Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe, is available on the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade starting today.

Regarded as a break-though title that took the sports genre to a new level, Speedball, the Bitmap Brothers classic, was first released for the Amiga in 1990 and quickly became a huge success. However it wasn’t until the release of its sequel, Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe that the title reached new gaming heights and sold over 2 million units. It is still considered by many to be one of the best games of all time.

As of today, players can get the Xbox Live Arcade version of Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe, a perfect conversion of original game will all the classic elements that have made it a firm favorite amongst gamers, but with the addition of an all-new High Definition version, more teams and downloadable content.

Empire Interactive has recently enjoyed great success with the release of arcade classic Double Dragon, one of the most popular full game downloads on Xbox Live Arcade (400MP). The highly anticipated release of this legendary game should further cement Empire’s position as a leading provider of casual games in the online marketplace.

Ian Higgins, CEO Empire Interactive said, “Xbox Live Arcade is the ideal environment for this exciting new High Definition version of Speedball II: Brutal Deluxe. With the addition of extra content packs and downloadable content, gamers will at last have the ultimate version of the game.”

Clive Kabatznik, CEO of Silverstar Holdings commented, “Speedball II will undoubtedly add to our earlier successes on Xbox Live Arcade and further demonstrates our ability to cost effectively redeploy classic titles on all major formats and a multitude of distribution channels.”

Mike Montgomery, of developers Bitmap Brothers said, “The team is as passionate about Speedball today as they were back in the day. The evolution of the game to Xbox Live Arcade will provide renewed interest and excitement for Speedball fans old and new”.

At a cost of 800MP, its arrival will please both hard-core fans and new generations of gamers who have yet to experience what some believe is the finest combat sports game ever made.