Digital River and GameZone Announce New Global E-Commerce Solution for

Digital River and GameZone Announce New Global E-Commerce Solution for the Gaming Market; Introducing Games on the River, Online Stores for Casual and Hardcore Gamers

    Business Editors/High-Tech Editors

    MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2005--Digital River, Inc. (NASDAQ:DRIV), a global leader in e-commerce outsourcing, and its wholly owned subsidiary, GameZone Online, Inc., a leading provider of editorial content for PC and video games, today announced plans to launch a new global e-commerce solution for the gaming community. The companies' new Games on the River(SM) solution combines Digital River's deep e-commerce expertise and GameZone's extensive game content. Based on an outsourced model, the companies intend to build, host and merchandise interactive and media-rich online stores for online retailers, affiliates, content publishers and portals interested in offering hardcore and casual gamers a shopping experience designed exclusively for them. The stores, which will support multiple languages and currencies, will be stocked with titles from Digital River's growing downloadable game catalog as well as gaming reviews, trailers, cheats, and news from GameZone's expansive archives.
    "We are offering the gaming community a game-centric online shopping experience, complete with a digital sales network and game catalog," said Joel Ronning, Digital River's CEO. "Our strategy in the gaming market parallels our strategy in other high-growth verticals. We take our highly scalable e-commerce infrastructure and downloadable catalog and leverage it across our growing network of clients and end customers. We believe this move is well-timed as more publishers are offering digital delivery as additional channel to physical fulfillment. With retail shelf space at a premium and global broadband adoption on the rise, online channels continue to offer a compelling and profitable opportunity for publishers from many different vertical categories."
    PC games and computer software continue to rank among the fastest growing categories for online retail sales. Some of the growth drivers contributing to this expansion include increasing consumer adoption of broadband and growing consumer confidence in downloading digital files.
    Digital River's Games on the River solution, which the company intends to launch during the third quarter of 2005, is designed specifically with the gaming community in mind. Gamers who are shopping the online stores will gain immediate access to some of the newest, freshest game titles and content on the market. Merchants and publishers also benefit. In addition to cultivating expanded channel relationships, markets and revenue streams:

--	Games on the River merchants will be able to:
--	Resell Digital River's downloadable game catalog and offer their customers play-for-free and buy-now access to more than 500 titles;
--	Take preorders and promote digital sales of front-line game releases; and
--	Expand their online game library with a selection of back catalog games.
--	Games on the River publishers will be able to:
--	Sell frontline and current release titles as well as back catalog and "oldies but goodies" games;
--	Leverage the online sales network to help manage pre-order requirements and the highly-allocated nature of their business; and
--	Wrap and protect their games with Digital River's SoftwarePassport(TM) technology, a digital rights management solution.

    "We have amassed what we believe is the world's largest downloadable digital catalog and have built an online sales network comprised of tens of thousands of software publishers, content providers, affiliates, portals and online retailers," said Tom Venable, Digital River's senior vice president of retail sales. "Now we intend to leverage these e-commerce assets and our expertise in delivering electronic software downloads to further expand our presence in the digital gaming market."
    GameZone Online, Inc., was acquired by Digital River in 2003. GameZone, located at www.gamezone.com, is a leading gaming portal for casual and hardcore gamers. The site offers a convenient location for gamers to access valuable computer gaming resources and editorial content.

    About Digital River, Inc.

    Digital River, Inc., a global leader in e-commerce outsourcing, builds and manages online businesses for more than 40,000 software publishers, manufacturers, distributors and online retailers. Its multi-channel e-commerce solution, which supports both direct and indirect sales, is designed to help companies of all sizes maximize online revenues as well as reduce the costs and risks of running an e-commerce operation. The company's comprehensive platform offers site development and hosting, order management, fraud prevention, export controls, tax management, physical and digital product fulfillment, multi-lingual customer service, advanced reporting and strategic marketing services.
    Founded in 1994, Digital River is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices in major U.S. and European cities. For more details about Digital River, visit the corporate Web site at www.digitalriver.com or call 952-253-1234.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    In addition to the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the company's plans to expand its e-commerce solution, digital catalog and market presence in the gaming space, as well as other statements containing the words, "will," "believe," " intends" and " plans" and similar words. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: Digital River's limited operating history and variability of operating results; competition in the electronic commerce market; difficulties and other risks associated with further penetrating or expanding into the software market in general and in the software game market in particular, the ability of the company to successfully expand its platform and services and the market's acceptance of such offerings, and other risk factors referenced in Digital River's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Digital River is a registered trademark and Games on the River is a service mark of Digital River, Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks, registrations or copyrights of their respective owners.

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CONTACT: Digital River, Inc., Minneapolis Media Contact: Gerri Dyrek, 952-253-8396 publicrelations@digitalriver.com or Investor Relations Contact: Carter Hicks, 952-253-8406 investorrelations@digitalriver.com

KEYWORD: MINNESOTA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS ELECTRONIC GAMES/MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE INTERNET E-COMMERCE PRODUCT SOURCE: Digital River, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005