SAN FRANCISCO, CA – February 25, 2010 – Celebrating design innovation and game-play excellence from one of the most unsung groups in the gaming world – the independent development community – Direct2Drive, a leader in digital distribution of video games, today announced the five finalists for its second annual Direct2Drive Vision Award.

The Direct2Drive Vision Award honors independent developers whose games present the new ideas and concepts that will help spark innovation in gaming. The finalists and winner will be presented live on stage by IGN’s on air personality Jessica Chobot at the 12th Annual Independent Games Festival (IGF) Awards, which takes place on Thursday, March 11. The winning team will receive a $10,000 prize from Direct2Drive.

“The future of gaming hinges on the ability for developers to constantly innovate and entertain players of all types. Indie developers are continuously generating the new ideas and concepts that will help drive gaming forward. The Vision Award is one of the ways for us to recognize the community and these five incredible games,” said Sutton Trout, vice president, Direct2Drive Digital Content.

The five finalists for the Direct2Drive Vision Award are:

• HurricaneX2, A 3D martial arts brawler from You Yun Tech.

• Joe Danger, a build-it-yourself stuntman simulator from Hello Games.

• Nyxquest: Kindred Spirits, from Over The Top Games, which challenges players to fly, aim and shoot through a world inspired by Greek myths.

• Super Meat Boy, a platform game from Team Meat starring a lovable cube of meat who must race through dangerous obstacles to save his girlfriend.

• Max and the Magic Marker, a puzzle platform game from Press Play with a unique “magic marker” drawing mechanic.

All five of the 2010 Direct2DriveVision Award nominees will be given the opportunity to distribute their respective games on Direct2Drive. More information about the finalists can be found on D2D’s IGF Vision website, located at http://www.direct2drive.com/promos/igf-2010/

The Vision Award is just one of several ways that IGN and its subsidiaries, Direct2Drive and GameSpy Technology, are supporting and recognizing the independent development community. Leading up to the award ceremony, Direct2Drive released a game bundle of IGF nominees from previous years. The bundle, released today and only available until March 12th, is priced at $29.95 – a more than 75% savings below the costs to purchase each game individually.