SAN FRANCISCO, CA and LONDON--(Marketwire - Mar 26, 2013) - Kuato Studios, a pioneer in learning technology, today released Hakitzu, the first mobile strategy game that teaches JavaScript coding for kids.

News Facts:

• Code is becoming the essential communication tool of this age. There will be one million more computer science jobs than computer science students in 2020. As Mark Zuckerberg says, "there just aren't enough people who are trained and have these skills today."
• Kuato Studios conducted research in schools throughout the US and UK; students said they are eager for products that are graphically-rich, interactive and challenging. Kuato Studios hosted video interviews with teachers, administrators and students to capture feedback. Kuato Studios worked alongside two innovative schools in the US: New Milford High School, led by principal Eric Sheninger, and Burlington High School, a public school using Apple's one-to-one iPad program. The videos capture excited voices from each school about the potential for Hakitzu to impact students and teachers.
• Kuato Studios set out to make learning code fun, engaging and creative. To captivate kids with a beautifully designed interface, exciting graphics, and learning that is fully integrated into the experience of the game.
• Hakitzu is a turn-based strategy game where kids battle other players' robots using JavaScript, one of the world's most popular programming languages.
• Hakitzu is available free on iPad 2, 3, 4 and iPad Mini, and is the first iOS game to combine compelling gameplay and JavaScript coding. Every four weeks, the Studio will release updates with features and functionality informed by feedback.
• Hakitzu is the first in a series of products that will challenge the way children learn. Kuato is committed to empowering young people with the skills and understanding they will need to succeed in their world.
• Kuato Studios is funded by SRI International and Horizon Ventures.

Further multimedia is available by request; screenshots can be downloaded here.

Quotes:
Frank Meehan, founder and CEO, Kuato Studios
Twitter: @frank_meehan
"Code is the essential tool for our age, yet traditional teaching methods haven't 'broken through' in helping learners master coding skills. We listened to kids who said they wanted more than the flat, text-based interfaces of today -- and built Hakitzu for them. The key to making learning fun for kids today is to make it social, exciting, challenging and graphically rich."

David Miller, chief education architect, Kuato Studios
Twitter: @DavidMiller_UK
"Learning to code unlocks a whole new sphere of creativity for young people. It's a universal language that challenges the mind while developing confidence and real-world skills. Hakitzu offers kids a wonderful learning-by-doing opportunity; they get to interact with code in a fun and interactive environment."

Patrick Larkin, Assistant Superintendent at Burlington High School, NASSP National Digital Principal Award Winner (2012)
Twitter: @patrickmlarkin
"With Hakitzu, we have a program where students can lead their own learning in a key 21^st century skill -- the new language of coding. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and we are excited about exploring this type of learning opportunity with Kuato Studios."

Eric Sheninger, principal of New Milford High School
Twitter: @NMHS_Principal
"The students had the honor of testing Hakitzu and it was fascinating to see how quickly they adopted the game and caught on to its techniques; players would collaborate with one another both face-to-face and through the game. Working with Kuato Studios gives me a lot of ideas on how to better serve our students with the integration of educational gaming and coding courses to give them an advantage upon graduation."

Hannah, sophomore at Burlington High School
"Based on my knowledge of the universal language, Braille, I believe that coding is the next language that will need to become universally understood. We have a very technology and device-based system, people are going to need to understand how to access that technology. Hakitzu makes it easy for young people to learn basic coding -- it shows them the necessity for practice, attention to detail, as well as the rules and constructs of this new language."

Social Networks:

Hakitzu Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hakitzu

Kuato Studios Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KuatoStudios
Kuato Studios Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KuatoStudios
Kuato Studios YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/KuatoStudios

About Kuato Studios
Kuato Studios is a learning company building fun and interactive products that inspire kids to learn the new skills of the future. Kuato Studios was founded in 2012 by the creators and investors behind Siri, to disrupt, innovate and lead the education market, and is working on integrating the latest cutting edge technology, like next generation conversation AI from SRI International, into a smart tutoring platform. Beginning in March 2013 with the release of Hakitzu, a game that teaches coding skills and problem solving, Kuato Studios will release a suite of learning products that enhance and support learning in many curriculum areas.