BEIJING, Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU), China's leading online media, search, gaming, community and mobile service group, today announced that its online game subsidiary, Changyou.com Limited ("Changyou") (NASDAQ: CYOU) began open beta testing of Battlefield™ Online, Changyou's first licensed online first-person shooter game ("FPS") on November 15, 2012.

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Battlefield™ Online is licensed from Electronic Arts, and is a Chinese online game version of the classic Battlefield™ franchise. The game breaks away from traditional FPS gameplay, utilizing jet fighters, tanks and even aircraft carriers as the main instruments of warfare, while firearms and ammunitions function as auxiliary weaponry. The game allows players to not only compete as small teams in Team Death Match and Capture mode, but also to participate in large-scale combat with up to 100 players in a 50 vs. 50 battlefield. Additionally, Battlefield™ Online features different infantry classes. Players can select from four classes including "medic," "antitank soldier," "engineer" and "sniper" when joining a combat or before re-spawn.  The battlefields in the game are portrayals of real-life battle settings and even the parameters of the military vehicles in the game are based on reality as well.

Mr. Dewen Chen, Changyou's president and chief operations officer, commented, "The FPS game market is an established market in China, and players demand for diverse and unique gameplay experiences is expanding. Battlefield™ Online contains unique features like large-size battlefields and military vehicles that we believe will appeal to more advanced FPS players. Battlefield™ Online is Changyou's first FPS game, through which Changyou will further enrich and diversify our game portfolio and attract more FPS players with innovative gameplay, ultimately further expanding our user base."

About Changyou

Changyou.com Limited (NASDAQ: CYOU) is a leading developer and operator of online games in China with a diverse portfolio of online games that includes Tian Long Ba Bu, one of the most popular massively multi-player online ("MMO") games in China, and DDTank and Wartune (also known as Shen Qu), which are two popular web games in China. Changyou also owns and operates the 17173.com Website, a leading game information portal in China. Changyou began operations as a business unit within Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) in 2003, and was carved out as a separate, stand-alone company in December 2007. It completed an initial public offering on April 7, 2009. Changyou has an advanced technology platform that includes advanced 2.5D and 3D graphics engines, a uniform game development platform, effective anti-cheating and anti-hacking technologies, proprietary cross-networking technology and advanced data protection technology. For more information, please visit http://www.changyou.com/ir/.

About Sohu.com

Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) is China's premier online brand and indispensable to the daily life of millions of Chinese, providing a network of web properties and community based/web 2.0 products which offer the vast Sohu user community a broad array of choices regarding information, entertainment and communication. Sohu has built one of the most comprehensive matrices of Chinese language web properties and proprietary search engines, consisting of the mass portal and leading online media destination www.sohu.com; interactive search engine www.sogou.com; #1 games information portal www.17173.com; the top real estate website www.focus.cn; #1 online alumni club www.chinaren.com; wireless value-added services provider www.goodfeel.com.cn; leading online mapping service provider www.go2map.com; and developer and operator of online games www.changyou.com/en/.

Sohu corporate services consist of online brand advertising on its matrix of websites as well as bid listing and home page on its in-house developed search directory and engine. Sohu also offers wireless value-added services such as news, information, music, ringtone and picture content sent over mobile phones. Sohu's online game subsidiary, Changyou.com (NASDAQ: CYOU) has a diverse portfolio of online games that includes Tian Long Ba Bu, one of the most popular massively multi-player online ("MMO") games in China, and DDTank and Wartune (also known as Shen Qu), which are two popular web games in China. Sohu.com, established by Dr. Charles Zhang, one of China's internet pioneers, is in its sixteen year of operation.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones, tablets and social networks. EA has more than 220 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.

In fiscal 2012, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.1 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster brands such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield™ and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at http://info.ea.com.

The Sims and Need for Speed are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. Battlefield is a trademark of EA Digital Illusions CE AB. Mass Effect is a trademark of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. John Madden, NFL and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Sohu's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections, and therefore you should not place undue reliance on them. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the current global financial and credit markets crisis and its potential impact on the Chinese economy, the uncertain regulatory landscape in the People's Republic of China, fluctuations in Sohu's quarterly operating results, and Sohu's reliance on online advertising sales, online games and wireless services (most wireless revenues are collected from a few mobile network operators) for its revenues. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Sohu's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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