Today Major League Gaming (MLG), the professional videogame league, announced its collaboration with Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, on the development of the highly anticipated Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Vegas 2.

The new Rainbow Six title features an "MLG Map" that pays homage to the MLG Pro Circuit, depicting an MLG event at the Las Vegas Convention Center. MLG and Ubisoft collaborated on the development of the map, which was designed with competitive gaming in mind.

The collaboration reflects the rising importance of both MLG and competitive multiplayer gaming in live and online environments. With millions of gamers playing at its live competitions and on its websites, MLG is now recognized by players and publishers as a leading authority on competitive play, and its rules and game settings have become the de facto standard for competition around the world.

"We were thrilled that Ubisoft chose MLG to collaborate on the development of a map specially designed for competitive gamers," said Matthew Bromberg, President and CEO of Major League Gaming. "Rainbow Six was a terrific addition to our Pro Circuit last year, and we can’t wait to turn our millions of Pro Circuit, online and TV fans onto this new game."

"Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas transformed the way gamers play online multiplayer games in the current generation of hardware," said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Ubisoft. "The Rainbow Six franchise has been a leader in the world of online multiplayer video games since 1998, and we are proud to have worked with MLG on Vegas 2."

MLG will support the overall effort by including Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 in its 2008 Pro Circuit, including a special release event for the game in April. The multi-city MLG Pro Circuit, which will be covered by ESPN.com, kicks off April 11, 2008 at the Meadowlands Expo Center outside of New York City.

To learn more about Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2, please visit http://www.rainbowsixgame.com.