has signed an agreement with Epic Games to produce a series of bronze statues for Gears of War.

Mindzeye Studios has announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Epic Games, Inc. to produce a full line of collector cold cast bronze statues based on characters from the Gears of War® universe. The initial Gears of War product line will be released in 2008, with additional products becoming available following the introductory launch.

Gears of War took the video game market by storm, selling over 4,000,000 copies, breaking sales records on the Microsoft Xbox 360 platform and collecting numerous awards along the way – Gamespot’s "Game of the Year" and the Interactive Achievement Awards' "Overall Game of the Year." The blockbuster game focuses on the soldiers of Delta Squad as they wage war to save the inhabitants of the fictional planet Sera from a relentless subterranean enemy known as The Locust Horde. The game’s storyline begins with the military reacquisition of Marcus Fenix, a crucial character and seemingly last hope for the survival of Sera. Gears of War is coming to Windows XP and Vista this fall.

“Gears of War is extremely unique in that it offers stunning visuals, compelling characters, and a storyline that captures the imagination. We instantly realized that the options available to us to produce incredibly dynamic products based on that world were basically limitless,” said Pete Jirles, President and CEO of Mindzeye Studios. “We’re thrilled to partner with Epic Games on this project. With their attention to detail and story-driven approach, Epic is setting a new standard for the video game industry. Focusing on a compelling game narrative, as well as utilizing the impressive Unreal Engine 3 for incredible cinematic visuals, it’s obvious that they’re concerned with producing a quality product, which echoes our own philosophy.”

“We're really excited by Mindzeye joining forces with us in the Gears of War universe.” said Dr. Michael Capps, President of Epic Games, Inc. “You can tell by looking at their statues that they're artists, and perfectionists -- they spend the time to get it right. We're psyched to see what they can do with Gears characters and monsters, and we hope Gearheads are just as excited.”