PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of casual games, introduced an irresistible innovation in its flagship Bejeweled franchise this evening, at a gala celebration in downtown Seattle. Bejeweled Twist, the first new Bejeweled title in almost four years, puts a completely new spin on the top-selling puzzle game that PopCap pioneered eight years ago. Featuring a revolutionary new style of play and the highest production values of any casual game in history, Bejeweled Twist is available now for PC via online download at www.popcap.com, with online partners such as MSN Games, RealArcade, Zylom, WildTangent ORB, Telstra and STEAM offering the game on November 18. On that same date, Bejeweled Twist will arrive on shelves at leading North American retail chains including Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Target carrying a North American retail price of US$19.99. The all-new game will be also be localized for European markets and become available via PopCap's international websites next month. Bejeweled is far and away the most popular casual game franchise of the 21st century, with more than 350 million copies downloaded and over 25 million units sold.

Formally unveiled this evening at a gala launch event at Seattle's Experience Music Project museum and attraction, Bejeweled Twist is already winning over fans of the original Bejeweled and Bejeweled 2. "There's no doubt this is the world's greatest casual video game," declared Cindy Robertson, who wrote, published and sells a strategy guide for Bejeweled 2 under the pen name Julia Gemstone. "PopCap has done it again, taking a ridiculously simple concept and honing it into an utterly enthralling experience that can be relaxing, challenging, exciting or incredibly strategic, depending on your mood. With so many ways to play, Bejeweled Twist provides thousands of hours of fun for anyone. If Bejeweled is hot chocolate, Bejeweled Twist is a double mocha latte!"

"It took considerably more time, more money and more people than the original Bejeweled, but we feel it was worth every ounce of that effort," said Jason Kapalka, chief creative officer and co-founder of PopCap, and co-creator of all three Bejeweled titles. "We promised ourselves we'd come up with something really new for ‘the next Bejeweled' and we must have gone through at least a hundred ideas before settling on the ‘twist mechanic' in the new game. Then it was a question of making that mechanic as fun and intuitive as possible, and that took a lot of tinkering and tweaking. But we're really happy with the final result. We believe the new game will be immediately recognizable to Bejeweled fans, and as easily accessible to novice players as the original game, but allow far more flexibility and freedom in play. So it can provide a challenging game for those who enjoy strategy, a fast-paced blitz for players with a passion for action, and a relaxing, Zen-like experience for those just looking for a quick stress-busting break."

Bejeweled Twist removes the barriers of traditional match-3 games. Instead of swapping adjacent jewels to make a set, players rotate an entire 2×2 block of gems clockwise in an effort to create a line of three or more gems of the same type. Further, in Bejeweled Twist players don't have to make a match with every move – instead they can freely rotate gems anywhere on the board, allowing far greater liberty of movement and vastly increased strategic freedom to plan combinations, cascades and chains.