Frogster selects Level 3 to help deliver online game content to users worldwide

The Frogster Group, a top international online games publisher, has selected Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:LVLT) to provide content delivery network (CDN) services to support its worldwide online delivery of game content.

Level 3 is providing Frogster with caching and download services to support high-speed game downloads and updates for its online game titles, including the award-winning Runes of Magic massively multiplayer online (MMO) game.

"Perhaps more than in any other area of the entertainment industry, user experience is critical to the success (and ultimately the bottom line) of an online game," says Seth Iorio, chief operating officer and member of the executive board at Frogster. "In order to facilitate a great user experience, we were looking for a CDN provider that understood the demanding nature of our customers, who want the newest content on a massive scale as soon as it's available. We have chosen Level 3 because they have not only the technology, reach, and scale, but also the expertise to ensure that our customers enjoy a quality gaming experience."

The Frogster Interactive Pictures AG is an international publisher of high-quality online games serving more than six million users worldwide. Its subsidiaries--Frogster Online Gaming, Frogster America, and Frogster Pacific--market and operate games in Europe, America, and Oceania, respectively.

Level 3 is providing support for the company's current titles, as well its upcoming launches, such as TERA. Level 3's CDN services are designed to provide fast, reliable content downloads and updates, even during peak traffic or flash crowds; for example, when a new patch to a game is released or when a game is launched.

"As the online games industry has grown and demand for game content across devices has exploded, it has become increasingly important to have a CDN with the underlying network infrastructure in place to easily scale to support a quality experience," explains James Heard, president of European Markets at Level 3. "Level 3 not only has the right blend of network infrastructure and tools, but we also understand some of the unique challenges our games customers, like Frogster, face--things like managing growth on a global scale, or finding the right business model to make a free-to-play game profitable--and we work with them to address those challenges with the right combination of solutions."