Los Angeles (June 19, 2008).  Acclaim Games is approaching the final stage of the "Project: Top Secret" game design contest. "Project: Top Secret" is the brainchild of industry superstar David Perry. In addition to being the biggest video game project ever, it is the first large-scale user-driven game design project in video game history.

One lucky winner will be chosen this month, and we have determined who the finalists are. One of these people will receive the top prize, and an unprecedented career boost, the Directorship of a game to be published by Acclaim Games and Executive Produced by David Perry.

Picking our finalists for this amazing contest was not easy. Out of 60,000 people who signed up, there were certainly hundreds of amazing participants, so we have had to work hard to narrow the field.

"Working with these dedicated gamers for nearly a year and a half on this project, I have come to appreciate not only the efforts of literally hundreds of participants out of this huge field, but their range of personalities and individuality," said Rusel DeMaria, Assistant Director to David Perry. "In helping to pick these finalists, I kept remembering all their persistence, creativity and passion. Limiting the list of finalists was very difficult, as there were always more people I wished I could add."

To honor our designers, we have provided a brief biography of each of the finalists. Only one of these people will win the grand prize, but we want to acknowledge every one of them for their contributions.

"To be hand chosen from 60,000 means every single one of these people are field tested and proven. To be honest, we are having a very difficult time pinning this down to just one winner," says David Perry, the Director of the game.

"Project: Top Secret" will continue, and the team will remain on the project until the game is published. While the original plan was to have the community design the game, then have a professional team make it, that all changed when the community asked to design AND build the final product.

So we are simultaneously working on the second phase, the actual development of the game itself. We currently have ten independent development teams working on the related Top Secret development contest hoping to win a prize worth up to a million dollars, a publishing deal, and a professional development contract going forward.

The Top Secret design winner will be announced next week, along with some special announcements. Stay tuned for more!