LIONSGATE, SABAN BRANDS AND GAME DEVELOPER nWAY TEAM FOR SABAN'S POWER RANGERS MOBILE GAME

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and SAN FRANCISCO, June 15, 2016 /CNW/ -- The pop culture phenomenon Saban's Power Rangers will soon be reimagined as a real time multiplayer mobile action game as announced today in partnership by Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a premier next generation global content leader, Saban Brands, the creator of the 23 year Power Rangers legacy, and cutting edge game developer, nWay. The game is slated to launch next year. Also next year, Lionsgate and Saban Brands will release the eagerly-anticipated Saban's Power Rangers feature film in theaters worldwide on March 24, 2017.

"This alliance underscores our strategy of combining a world-class brand with a Triple-A game developer to create an exciting, high quality game with enormous upside," said Lionsgate President of Interactive Ventures & Games Peter Levin.  "With nWay's ability to achieve console level play on mobile devices, the Power Rangers game will appeal to a broad spectrum of core gamers and Power Rangers fans alike." 

"For decades, the Power Rangers brand has provided new and engaging opportunities for fans to experience the iconic franchise and we are thrilled to continue that legacy by joining forces with Lionsgate, our feature film partner, and nWay to create a state-of-the-art mobile game," said Janet Hsu, Chief Executive Officer of Saban Brands.  "With these phenomenal partners, we will connect millions of Power Rangers and gaming fans globally with a mobile gaming experience unlike anything else."

"Lionsgate and Saban Brands are the ideal partners and Power Rangers is the perfect property on which to base a game with player-to-player competition, epic battles and intense action that raises the bar for the genre," said nWay Chief Executive Officer Taehoon Kim.  "The Power Rangers global fan base provides a powerful foundation for the game's launch, and the high quality of gameplay makes this a natural for the e-sports trend.  Power Rangers is an incredibly beloved and recognizable property, and its deep and detailed mythology will enable us to create a rich, multi-layered world for gamers everywhere."

nWay is an innovative San Francisco-based game company comprised of developers who have worked on some of the biggest intellectual properties in the world, including Star Wars, James Bond, Indiana Jones, The Godfather and Star Fox.  nWay's first game, ChronoBlade, launched in Asia and is coming to the U.S. this summer.

Haim Saban launched Power Rangers with "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" as a live action television series more than 20 years ago, and it quickly became the most-watched children's television program in the United States. It remains one of the top-rated and longest running kids live-action series in television history and has grown into one of the world's most popular and recognizable brands, with toys, apparel, costumes, video games, DVD's, comic books and more.

The announcement is the latest milestone in Lionsgate's creation of a diverse games business that includes: strategic investments in Telltale Games, Next Games, Mobcrush and Fifth Journey; the recent or planned launches of Orange is the New Black (IGT/DoubleDown Casino), Point Break (Payday), Mad Men (Zynga) and Kevin Hart mobile games; acquisition of rights to top gaming properties Borderlands and Candy Crush Saga to be adapted into films and television series; and virtual reality gaming initiatives built around the Company's John Wick and Now You See Me film properties as well as a VR game partnership with Google's recently-announced Daydream platform.

ABOUT LIONSGATE

Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader with a diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, international distribution and sales, branded channel platforms, interactive ventures and games, and location-based entertainment.  The Company has nearly 80 television shows on 40 different networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses. These include the critically-acclaimed hit series Orange is the New Black, the beloved drama series Nashville, the syndication successes The Wendy Williams Show and Celebrity Name Game (with FremantleMedia), the breakout series The Royals and the Golden Globe-nominated dramedy Casual.

The Company's feature film business spans eight labels and includes the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, the Now You See Me, Divergent and John Wick series, Sicario, The Age of Adaline, Roadside Attractions' Love & Mercy and Mr. Holmes, Codeblack Films' Addicted and breakout concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates.  Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as a foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com

ABOUT SABAN BRANDS

Formed in 2010 as an affiliate of Saban Capital Group, Saban Brands (SB) acquires and develops a world-class portfolio of properties in the entertainment and lifestyle sectors. SB applies a global 360-degree management approach to growing and monetizing its brands through content, media, marketing, distribution, licensing and retail to markets worldwide and consumers of all ages. Saban Brands Entertainment Group (SBEG) develops innovative branded content that resonates with consumers across all media platforms. SBEG's growing entertainment portfolio of brands includes Power Rangers, Popples, Glitter Force, Cirque du Soleil Junior – Luna Petunia, La Banda and others in development. Saban Brands Lifestyle Group (SBLG) drives major expansion within the company's diverse portfolio of fashion and lifestyle properties. SBLG's portfolio currently includes Paul Frank, Macbeth, Mambo and Piping Hot. SB operates a global network of offices in Los Angeles, London and Sydney. For more information, visit www.sabanbrands.com.

ABOUT SABAN'S POWER RANGERS

Saban's Power Rangers franchise is the brainchild of Haim Saban, creator and producer of the original "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" hit series that launched in 1993. Following its introduction, "Power Rangers" quickly became the most-watched children's television program in the United States and remains one of the top-rated and longest running kids live-action series in television history. The series follows the adventures of a group of ordinary teens who morph into superheroes and save the world from evil. It is seen in more than 150 markets, translated into numerous languages and a favorite on many key international children's programming blocks around the world. For more information, visit www.powerrangers.com.

ABOUT nWAY

nWay is the game studio behind ChronoBlade, a competitive and cooperative multiplayer Action RPG for mobile, TV, and browser platforms. The mobile free-to-play title, set to launch in the US in summer of 2016, features console quality graphics and fast-paced synchronous cross-platform multiplayer gameplay by leveraging nWay's proprietary technology for a latency-free experience. The company is based in San Francisco with offices in Seoul, Korea. The nWay team is comprised of leading developers and executives from Blizzard, Electronic Arts, LucasArts, Maxis, NCSoft, Nintendo, RockStar North and Tencent. They have collectively contributed to over a dozen hit console and online games including: Killer Instinct, StarCraft, Diablo II, FIFA Online, Battlefield Online, Dante's Inferno, GTA, Crackdown, and Lineage II. nWay has received venture funding from IDG Ventures, Baseline Ventures, TransLink Capital, WI Harper Group, Cowboy Ventures, Harrison Metal and Keytone Ventures. For more information, visit nWay at www.nway.com.

For further information, please contact:

Lionsgate
Peter Wilkes
[phone]
[email protected]

Saban Brands
Lindsey Latham  
[phone]
[email protected]

nWay
Ivy Lee
[phone]
[email protected]

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SOURCE Lionsgate