SAN JOSE, Calif. ¨C June 26, 2007 ¨CGala-Net, Inc., a subsidiary of global online community company Gala, Inc., today announced that Gala-Net has tapped IGNs popular game download site FilePlanet (http://www.fileplanet.com) to exclusively manage Upshift StrikeRacers North American closed beta testing.  Registered members of IGN and FilePlanet will get an exclusive chance to experience the high-octane racing and vehicular combat of Upshift StrikeRacer. 

Beginning in early July, the beta will offer 120,000 slots to the most enthusiastic players, who will be among the first to try Upshift StrikeRacer.  The beta period will last for several weeks leading up to the free-to-play online multiplayer games commercial launch in August. 

¡°The expectation for Upshift StrikeRacer since the game was announced has been more dramatic than we could have hoped for, and we are excited to step up the beta period with FilePlanet at the helm,¡± said John Young, Gala-Net vice president and producer of Upshift StrikeRacer.  ¡°Having FilePlanet manage the closed beta period frees up the production and community teams here at Gala-Net to focus on the final touches leading into Upshift StrikeRacers highly-anticipated open beta and commercial launch.  The quality feedback we collect from participants during closed beta will be invaluable to the final stages of the games preparations for mass distribution to anyone who wants to play Upshift StrikeRacer for free.¡±

Upshift StrikeRacer is the first free-to-play online game to combine modern vehicles with a full arsenal of weaponry and a robust community for gamers looking both for a social network and for head-to-head destructive racing battles on a multiplayer scale.  The game provides players with 20 different maps and the opportunity to compete with up to seven other StrikeRacers at a time through multiple modes of play including Team versus Team, straight timed racing and the no-holds barred StrikeRacing mode, pitting both their driving skills and their arsenals against each other.   Extensive player community tools include the ability for StrikeRacers to create their own Club web pages onto which they can upload photos and music, share their blogs and network with other StrikeRacers around the world to develop real-world friendships.

More details on Upshift StrikeRacers closed beta program, including exact dates, will be released in future announcements to IGNs community.  Upshift StrikeRacer launches commercially this August on Gala-Nets game portal www.gpotato.com. 

Gamers who have not yet registered with FilePlanet can do so by going to http://www.fileplanet.com.