Gas Powered Games' RTS-RPG hybrid Demigod (PC) has been delayed into 2009 and will be published by digital and retail distributor Stardock, the two companies announced today.

Previously expected to arrive in fall 2008, Demigod was pushed to February 2009 in order to integrate feedback from the forthcoming summer public beta test. The game puts players in control of a massive golem, tasked with destroying an opponents army before the same fate befalls their army.

As with Ironclad Games' Stardock-published RTS Sins of a Solar Empire (PC), Demigod will not sport any type of on-disc copy protection. The companies also noted that the game has been budgeted for "many months of free post-release feature updates."

"Not only do we have a proven retail publisher, but we get to partner with a pioneer in the digital distribution space...a company that totally understands what kind of experience our customer wants and the quality game they demand," said Gas Powered Games founder and CEO Chris Taylor. "The whole proposition is truly refreshing.”

Gas Powered Games' latest project is becoming a little more clear with the release of a few more images.

Using the Supreme Commander engine, Demigod will borrow aspects of gameplay from RTS mods such as Warcraft III's Defense of the Ancients, allowing players to control a single hero unit within a massive online battle.

A release time frame and platform has also been revealed since the initial announcement: Fall 2008, on PC.

Chris Taylor and the team at Gas Powered Games will follow their 2007 RTS Supreme Commander with a take on a popular RTS modification, according to a 1UP report filed today.

The game, called Demigod, is said to at least partly derive its gameplay from Defense of the Ancients, the wildly successful user-created mod for Blizzard's RTS Warcraft III.

As in DotA, players of the multiplayer-focused Demigod will command a single hero unit, which can grow in power based on a leveling structure. Some of the hero units will have the ability to create lesser units and supporting structures, while others will make do with their own super powers.

According to the report, Demigod is being designed as a multiplayer experience, with an "emphasis on co-op play." There will be a singleplayer component, which Gas Powered Games characterized as a "training ground."

Platform and release date projections have yet to be announced.