Paradox Interactive announced today great news for all fans of medieval combat title Mount & Blade. After several years in BETA, the game is close to completion and scheduled for a worldwide release during Q2, 2008.

Mount&Blade is a single-player, third- or first-person action/role-playing game with a focus on medieval combat. Developed by the Turkish development house TaleWorlds Entertainment, the BETA version of the game has received acclaim worldwide by gamers impressed by everything from the realistic horseback combat to the sandbox gameplay. The latter enables players to roam the map freely in a medieval world that offers options ranging from hunting down bandits, trading for profit in the game’s deep economical system and becoming a commander and taking part in the wars ultimately becoming a great lord of the realm.

"We believe Mount & Blade could be a genre defining title and we are thrilled to be working with TaleWorlds Entertainment to bring the game to a worldwide audience, said Fredrik Wester, Executive Vice President of Paradox Interactive. "In BETA, the title has already garnered much deserved attention and excitement in the gaming community and this will be a release to look forward to."

"Paradox Interactive has reached great success because they know their market and understand gamers, which is the main reason we chose to partner with them for this significant release, said Armagan Yavuz, Co- Founder and lead programmer of TaleWorlds Entertainment. "Our vision for Mount & Blade has been an ambitious one and now that we are so close to completion, we can’t wait to invite gamers into the world we have created".