In an interview with PC Gamer, Valve's Gabe Newell has called Microsoft's process for patching on the Xbox 360, discussing the disparity between the post-launch of support of Team Fortress 2 on the PC versus the Xbox 360 in The Orange Box.

"We thought that there would be something that would emerge, because we figured it was a sort of untenable," explains Gabe. "'Oh yeah, we understand that these are the rules now, but it's such a train wreck that something will have to change.'" Read more »

Since the launch of Steam for the Mac and the release of Valve's back-catalog of Source-engine titles, Valve has been "working with Apple and their GPU vendors to close the performance gap with Windows." It has paid off!

The latest Mac OSX update, released yesterday for Snow Leopard implemented changes that led Valve to see, "depending on the game, video settings and the hardware.. measured frame rate improvements from 15% to 120%." Read more »

The tutorial for the Demigod demo is refreshingly brief: it consists of a button labeled "Join game." Turns out, Demigod is an online multiplayer RTS with RPG features, such as the ability to gain new skills, acquire beneficial items, and die repeatedly while being called a n00b by the other players because you don't know what the hell is going on because there's no friggin' tutorial.

Stardock has released the demo for Demigod, its strategy game developed in collaboration with Gas Powered Games. Grab the 599mb demo now.

Demigod was derived from the Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients. Players command powerful avatars amidst a field of lesser minions, fighting on teams as they power up and take down rival Demigods. Read more »

The release of Stardock and GPG's RTS-action title Demigod has been a troubled one. With thousands of players--legitimate users and otherwise--harassing the game's servers, the title was made unplayable online for many.

"Demigod's connectivity problems have basically boiled down to 1 bad design decision and 1 architectural limitation," writes Stardock CEO Brad Wardell in a new blog post that outlines the situation. Read more »

The software sales charts are in for the second full week of April, showing a strong debut for the piracy-ridden Demigod at US retailers, with Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor continuing to do well at both retail outlets and digital distributor Direct2Drive.

While NPD's list mostly reorganized that of last week, Direct2Drive saw some more significant changes, with MLB 2K9 and Civ IV charting due to newly lower prices. Read more »

Valve today announced that The Orange Box--the acclaimed collection of Team Fortress 2, Portal, Half-Life 2 and its first two episodes--will be 66% off this weekend on Steam.

The reduction in price brings the five-game pack to a mere $10, making this the perfect opportunity to catch up for anyone that somehow skipped over the year 2007.

Update: Stardock has asked the press to clarify that the below figures don't represent overall sales, but simply the breakdown of pirate-to-legitimate users at peak hours.

Original: While around 140K people tried to play Gas Powered Games' Demigod (PC) online Wednesday, only 12% or so were legitimate buyers, claims publisher Stardock.

Read more »

This week's PlayStation Store update from Sony brings more downloadable content than you can shake a stick at and assorted other goodies for the PlayStation 3.

Highlights include missions for Valkyria Chronicles, a PixelJunk Eden expansion, Sonic Unleashed levels, F.E.A.R. 2 Toy Soldiers and retro wrestlers for WWE SvR 2009. If you love learning, there are PS3 Themes for the universities of Arkansas and Nebraska. Read more »

An update from publisher Stardock's CEO Brad Wardell details the problems facing Gas Powered Games's RPG-RTS hybrid and the steps being taken to resolve them.

Many players are facing difficulties getting online and connecting to games, issues Stardock--who are responsible for the game's multiplayer backend--are working on.

Read more »

Gas Powered Games' action RPG/RTS Demigod has gone gold and will arrive April 14 on store shelves and publisher Stardock's Impulse digital distribution platform for $40.

The $50 Collector's Edition sports a pewter figurine of the walking castle Rook demigod, a soundtrack CD and poster, though probably not a sample of the Stardock office carpet.

So you skipped class this Friday to escape into the world of video games--only to find Demigod lead designer Mike Marr pulling you back in for an introductory course on the GPG/Stardock-developed RTS title.

At least it's just a video. And the quiz is still a few weeks off--Demigod stomps onto the PC battleground April 14.

The talk began with a quiz. On screen, a few colorful pixels and jagged, aliased lines.

"Who can name this game?"

A few murmurs. Finally, one brave answer, in the form of a question: "Loom?" Read more »

Here's another extended look at Demigod, narrated by Stardock CEO Brad Wardell.

Demigod is that game where you control a single, powerful hero in a competitive, match-based RTS setting. It's a bit overwhelming at first, but the video does a decent job of breaking down the basics.

Stardock's latest is coming out April 14 on PC. Read more »

Below is the latest trailer for Gas Powered Games' and Stardock's upcoming PC RTS Demigod. Narrated by Stardock CEO and executive producer Brad Wardell, the trailer attempts to explain the game's basic mechanics--up until Wardell dies, anyways.

The full version of Demigod arrives this April.