



[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource GamesPress.]

LOS ANGELES – June 15, 2016 – The Rogue Initiative and Michael Bay today announced a partnership to develop original entertainment properties with a focus on virtual reality and interactive hardware. The new collaboration will produce immersive, virtual adventures offering gritty, danger-close action coupled with Michael Bay’s signature style and storytelling that fans all over the world have come to expect from his blockbuster action films. This is Bay’s first foray into interactive entertainment; he will direct and The Rogue Initiative will produce and develop original content in cinematic-style VR. Pete Blumel, co-founder and CEO of The Rogue Initiative, said: “I’ve enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Mr. Bay and couldn’t be more excited to work with him and truly leverage his unique vision and incredible depth of experience to this amazing new medium. We’re all absolutely thrilled to be working with such a cinematic powerhouse in the field of action entertainment.” Bay said: “I’ve known Pete for a long time, and he’s put together a great team. I’m excited about building new visual worlds for this innovative medium with them.” Cathy Twigg, co-founder and Chief Production Officer of The Rogue Initiative, said: “We take a comprehensive approach in producing our IP for the entertainment landscape, specializing in film, television and interactive experiences with a focus on virtual reality. This enables The Rogue Initiative to align with our partners in expanding our IP to various other platforms and media. We’ll be bringing this approach to the properties we co-create with Mr. Bay as well.” The Rogue Initiative officially launched earlier this year with several projects in development. The company will seek further investment and strategic partnerships to develop its slate of upcoming cinematic, interactive VR, film and television projects for platforms and distribution channels, including Sony Playstation, Oculus, HTC Vive, Samsung GearVR, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, feature film, network and cable television. Hrish Lotlikar, co-founder and CBDO of The Rogue Initiative, said: “We are producing entertainment properties for a global audience and continue to seek investors and partners internationally that would like to collaborate in developing and distributing our content.” Michael Bay will join The Rogue Initiative as a strategic advisor, along with veteran film and television Producer Lynda Obst (whose credits include Interstellar, Contact, Sleepless in Seattle) as well as other recently added advisors, including Cliff Plumer (President, Jaunt Studios at Jaunt VR), Matthew Cohan (President, Bay Films), and Cody Simms (Executive Director, Disney/TechStars). For more information about The Rogue Initiative and its collaboration with Michael Bay, please visit therogueinitiative.com. ### About The Rogue Initiative Based in Los Angeles, California, The Rogue Initiative delivers unmatched entertainment and cinematic experiences to global audiences through producing and co-owning original high-end AAA intellectual properties with potential to expand organically from virtual reality (VR) to various other platforms and media. Additionally, the company brings a focus on further advancing technology for better consumer experiences, including VR player controls, navigation, gaze, AI character interaction and the utilization of big data. The Rogue Initiative is backed by top Silicon Valley investors, including Presence Capital and The VR Fund, and led by a veteran team of award-winning entertainment industry professionals, including alumni from the original Call of Duty team, Amblin Entertainment, Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, Disney and Activision Studios and Sony Pictures and NBC. For more information, visit therogueinitiative.com. About Michael Bay Director/Producer Michael Bay is one of the entertainment industry’s most successful filmmakers, currently listed as the 4th highest grossing director of all time. The films that Bay has directed and produced via his two production companies have grossed more than $7.5 billion worldwide. His directing resume includes the films Bad Boys and Bad Boys 2, both starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence; The Rock, starring Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery; Armageddon, headlined by Ben Affleck, Bruce Willis and Liv Tyler; Pearl Harbor starring Affleck, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale; The Island with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson; the dark comedy Pain and Gain, starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson and Anthony Mackie; 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, the true, untold story chronicling the heroic rescue mission that saved 36 Americans during an attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012; as well as four films in the Transformers blockbuster franchise, all under the Bay Films banner. He is currently at work on the fifth installment of the series, Transformers: The Last Knight. Bay is also the founder and principal partner of Platinum Dunes with partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, a production company originally conceived to give talented commercial and video directors a chance to break into the feature world. Their movies include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows along with The Purge and Ouija franchises. They have also produced several successful television series, among them, TNT’s The Last Ship, Starz’s Black Sails, and Paramount’s upcoming Jack Ryan, set to star John Krasinski. A graduate of Wesleyan University and Art Center College of Design, Bay has won virtually every major award in the commercial industry, including the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Best Commercial in the world for his "Got Milk?/Aaron Burr" spot, which has been established as one of the top ten classic commercials of all time. Several of his commercials are housed in the permanent collection of MOMA (the Museum of Modern Art) in New York. He has lectured at Harvard Graduate School of Architecture, Wesleyan University and the University of Southern California, among several others, as well as at various national business leader conferences. In 2011 he was honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, Wesleyan University, and in September 2015 he was honored with a career tribute at the 41st Deauville American Film Festival. A Los Angeles native, Bay resides in Miami, Florida. Visit www.michaelbay.com Investor & Partnership Inquiries: Hrish Lotlikar Co-Founder & Chief Business Development Officer [email protected] Media Contacts: Kate Pietrelli for The Rogue Initiative [email protected] +1 760-518-2633