Supreme Commander and Demigod developer Gas Powered Games is among the latest to join the PC Gaming Alliance, a distinction that also applies to BFG Technologies, Bigfoot Networks, Flextronics, GameTap, Howie's Game Shack and InstantAction.

The non-profit consortium, which strives to "drive worldwide growth of PC gaming," announced the new members today and highlighted the recent addition of GameStop.

"I've spent most of my career fully immersed in the world of PC gaming. It's where many of the world's biggest gaming franchises were born and where much of the industry's innovation continues to this day," said Gas Powered Games CEO Chris Taylor. "Gas Powered Games hopes to make contributions that keep PC gaming at the forefront of the industry, help it to overcome its challenges, and continue to fulfill its amazing potential."

The PC version of Street Fighter IV will hit North American retailers on July 7, Capcom business development VP Christian Svensson recently revealed in a blog post.

Some retailers, including Capcom itself and Amazon.com, will sell a $60 bundle that packs a SFIV-branded MadCatz Fight Pad alongside the otherwise-$40 DVD release. The PC version packs support for higher screens resolutions than the console editions that hit earlier this year, and also includes three new optional visual filters.

The game will also be available from various digital distribution outlets, including Capcom's estore, Steam, Impulse, Direct2Drive, Metaboli, Gametap, Nvidia.com and GamersGate, all of which should reflect the standard MSRP of $39.99.

Attention Shacknews shoppers! We at Shacknews know that you're a cheapskate that you appreciate a good value, and with that in mind we thought we'd direct you over to GameTap, where Overlord (PC, 360, PS3) is free starting tomorrow.

Overlord, a minion-leading action game with a fantasy-world slant, was released in 2007 from Triumph Studios to solid reviews. "You have a busy day: peasants to slaughter, villages to burn, hopes to dash," implores the game's promotional writing. "There's a baby with some candy that needs taking the next town over," it adds.

So, if not for the fact that it's free, go play Overlord for the sake of the candy.

Just in time for the run-up to Bethesda's Fallout 3, GameTap has added both of Black Isle's original Fallout RPGs to its lineup. To celebrate, the company is offering the first Fallout in its free subscription rotation.

Hailed as one of the better PC games of all time, Fallout is a post-apocalyptic romp through a ruined American West, featuring a cast of memorable characters and an uncompromising tactical combat system.

As RockPaperShotgun points out, the soon-to-launch Good Old Games service will also offer the Fallout titles for permanent purchase in a DRM-free digital format.

GameTap, Turner Broadcasting's digital distribution service for PC games, has been sold to Paris-based Metaboli, a European digital distribution service provider.

Under the agreement, the subscription-based game service will carry on business as usual. In 2009, after "a transition period," Metaboli will take direct control of the GameTap brand. Gamers will experience no interruption to their service.

"The addition of GameTap provides us a foothold in the U.S. market," said Metaboli CEO Pierre Gaudet in a press release. Turner will still hold a stake in the company.

The announcement comes less than two months after Turner announced its intention to sell GameTap by taking an $18 million writeoff.

Turner Broadcasting is preparing to sell its PC digital distribution platform GameTap, Turner parent company Time Warner revealed in financial documents today.

Time Warner noted that the company had posted "an $18 million noncash impairment of GameTap as a result of Turner's decision to sell its on-line video game business," but offered no details on potential buyers or the service's future.

The action follows GameTap's decision to lay off its entire editorial staff earlier this year.

Currently, GameTap provides a selection of PC and classic console titles for its members, including old-school games, modern releases, and original efforts such as Spicy Horse's American McGee's Grimm and Telltale's Sam & Max series.

While a small portion of GameTap's total offerings are available free of charge via an ever-changing catalog, most require a monthly $9.95 subscription.

Subscription-based PC gaming service GameTap has agreed to bring a number of games published by THQ to the service, the company announced today.

The agreement will see the addition of such THQ-published PC titles as Relic Entertainment's Company of Heroes, Gas Powered Games' Supreme Commander, Iron Lore Entertainment's Titan Quest and GSC Gameworld's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl to the service, among others.

Left, Company of Heroes. Right, Supreme Commander.

Those players who don't shell out the $9.95 per month for the "Gold"-level GameTap subscription can also expect a number of THQ titles to be available from the service's free-to-play catalog, which requires 15 second video advertisement to air before each play. GameTap did not specify which THQ titles will be free.

The games are expected to appear on GameTap before the end of the summer.

GameTap today announced an expanded partnership with Interplay to make several of the company's titles such as Fallout, MDK and Descent available via numerous digital distribution channels.

As part of the agreement, GameTap will feature the Interplay titles in its subscription-based play service, ad-supported website and sold directly via GameTap's online digital download store.

"This licensing deal is a good example of how Interplay is leveraging its library of intellectual properties," said Interplay CEO Herve Caen. "The company will continue to either reinvent some of those properties by developing them into new versions or sequels, or by partnering with an existing leader like GameTap, where the original titles can live on."

Interplay recently announced that it was planning sequels to a number of its franchises with as Earthworm Jim and MDK. The struggling studio was revived earlier last year by Bethesda's outright purchase of the Fallout franchise.

Subscription-based PC gaming service GameTap announced today that Ion Storm's shooter-RPG hybrid Deus Ex (PC, PS2) will be available to play free of charge on the platform beginning next week.

Often regarded as one of the most influential shooters ever developed, Deus Ex blended first-person shooter gameplay with a branching, complicated storyline, upgradable stats and skills and extensive character interaction. A sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War, was released in late 2003.

The title will be playable via the service's free-to-download launcher program, which allows users to browse and download a variety of PC and emulated console games. Those players who don't shell out the $9.95 per month for the "Gold"-level subscription can expect a 15 second video advertisement to air before each play.

In addition to Deus Ex, GameTap also offers Ion Storm's Thief: Deadly Shadows and Doublefine's Psychonauts among some 120 other titles in its free game roster.

GameTap will no longer be publishing Derek Smart's episodic game series, the company revealed to Gamasutra.

Announced in early 2007, Galactic Command: Echo Squad was originally slated to be a four-part space-sim series created by Battlecruiser designer Derek Smart. Much like Telltale's Sam & Max games and American McGee's Grimm, it was to be released through GameTap's digital distribution platform as part of the company's Originals line.

"It was a good game, it was very solid, but as we were going through, it ended up not being the right title for our audience," explained GameTap content VP Ricardo Sanchez. "We thought it would succeed better with Derek's core base."

Despite the termination of the publishing agreement, Sanchez remained extremely positive about the project, and noted that Smart is still planning to release. According to the game's dev blog, all four episodes of Echo Squad were completed and delivered to GameTap owner Turner in June 2007.

"It was a tough call. I think it's one of the strongest games ever made," Sanchez noted. "I honestly think it's one of Derek's strongest games."

After the completion of Bravo Squad, developer 3000AD then began work on Galactic Command: Talon Elite, a fleshed-out sequel Smart claimed would "re-invent the space sim genre." A third Galactic Command game, Bravo Team, is planned to arrive in late 2009.

Cyan Worlds' Myst Online: Uru Live (PC) is scheduled to be removed from GameTap's on-demand gaming service in April, according to GameTap content VP Ricardo Sanchez.

On the GameTap forums Sanchez explained that the plug was pulled for "business reasons". Myst Online: Uru Live has been operational for just under a year, having gone online via GameTap's subscription service on February 15, 2007.

Sanchez also assured fans and subscribers that GameTap's relationship with Cyan Worlds remains amiable despite Uru Live's closure. "Cyan is still a very valued partner of GameTap," he wrote. "We are on excellent terms, and we look ... Read more

GameTap, the Turner Broadcasting-owned PC digital distribution platform, will celebrate the addition of its 1,000th game on November 15. With the milestone less than a month away, the lead-up will be marked by a number of high profile game releases for paying members.

Subscribers will gain access to Mercury Steam's creepy shooter Clive Barker's Jericho (PC, PS3, X360) on October 23, the same day it hits retail. The conclusion to the current season of Cyan Worlds' episodic series Myst Online: Uru Live (PC) follows November 1, with the second season of Telltale Games' episode-based adventure franchise Sam & Max (PC) beginning November 8.

Along with its new and original games, GameTap will continue adding older PC and console titles to its lineup each week. Codemasters' ... Read more

Sega's Clockwork Knight, the company's toy-oriented side scrolling Saturn launch title, marks one of the three latest additions to GameTap's expansive lineup.

Subscribers of the Turner Broadcasting-owned PC service will be able to stream the new titles, the other two of which are Frictional Games' PC survival horror adventure Penumbra Overture and Sixteen Tons Entertainment's strategic PC disaster simulator Emergency 3, beginning today.

The company will also be updating the rotation of its free ad-supported offerings with 27 more PC and console titles, bringing the total number of current free-to-play games to 43. The new games are as follows:... Read more

An international English-language version of GameTap is planned for release in the "beginning of 2008," GameTap VP of content Ric Sanchez told Shacknews today.

Owned by Turner Broadcasting System, GameTap and its collection of digitally distributed PC games have, thus far, only been available to those within the United States and Canada. Its offerings include nearly a thousand different games, spanning original titles such as Telltale Games' Sam & Max series and American McGee's upcoming Grimm, along with classic PC series like Ultima and Wing Commander and more modern releases from such companies as Codemasters and Eidos. The service also provides a number of old console games via emulation, ranging from Atari 2600 to Saturn and Dreamcast titles.

No further details were provided in regards to the international edition. In the US, a monthly subscription starts at $9.99, with price breaks provided for those that pre-pay in larger increments. A free ad-support edition of GameTap, containing a small selection of its offerings and supported by advertising, was rolled out earlier this year.

GameTap and Codemasters today announced a multi-year agreement that will see Codemasters PC titles appear exclusively on the Turner Broadcasting System-owned digital distribution service.

The deal spans recent Codemasters-published releases, such as the internally developed racer DiRT (PC, X360) and Triumph Studios' strategy action-adventure hybrid Overlord (PC, X360), as well as impending releases, including MercurySteam's spooky first person shooter Clive Barker's Jericho (PC, PS3, X360) and Spark Unlimited's alternate history FPS Turning Point: Fall of Liberty (PC, PS3, X360).

The games will be available from both GameTap's subscription-based service and its online store. Upcoming Codemasters titles will arrive ... Read more

The episodic adventures of Steve Purcell's adorable freelance police duo Sam & Max will continue this fall, developer Telltale Games announced today.

As with the first season, episodes of Sam & Max Season Two will premiere on GameTap, the Turner Broadcasting-owned subscription-based digital distribution platform. Gamers will then be able to purchase and download individual episodes from Telltale's website the day after they debut on GameTap, instead of waiting two weeks as they did with Season One.

"Season One was a great success, but it's just a starting ... Read more

GameTap today officially announced a partnership with game designer American McGee (pictured left) and American McGee's Spicy Horse studio to distribute American McGee's next game, American McGee's Grimm, through the online GameTap service. As American McGee revealed earlier this month in a now-removed blog post, the action-adventure American McGee's Grimm will be released on a per-episode basis and consist of 24 total episodes.

Each episode of American McGee's Grimm will be based off a classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale--such as Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, or Snow White--with a dark and distinctive American McGee-esque twist, much ... Read more

Turner Broadcasting-owned GameTap has announced three significant developments for its PC digital distribution service: a deal with publisher Eidos to make games available on GameTap the day they hit stores, an online retail store offering games via digital download, and a free selection of GameTap titles on GameTap.com.

Beginning with the release of the Eidos-published, Crystal Dynamics-developed Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary (PS2, PSP, PC) later this year, GameTap subscribers will be able to download select games the same day they make their US retail debut. Said games will also appear on GameTap's new online retail store, which will allow users to purchase and download games instead of ... Read more

GameTap today announced a number of additions to its game library, which now contains over 850 titles. Most notable among the new titles are Origin Systems' DOS-based space flight sim Wing Commander and the service's first Sega Saturn game, Realtime Associates' platformer Bug!, with more Saturn games said to be on the way. Last week, Sega announced that in September it will be discontinuing repair service for its Saturn and Dreamcast consoles, both of which are emulated through GameTap.

Other games added recently include Enlight Interactive's PC RTS Warlords Battlecry III, GarageGames' action-based ThinkThanks, and Sega's SG-1000 puzzler Doki Doki Penguin Land. Sega's SG-1000 was the company's first game console, released only in Japan in 1983.

The GameTap client can be found at the service's official site, with subscriptions ranging from $6.95 to $9.95 a month depending on the commitment made. Currently, those who opt for the monthly payment plan will receive their first month for $0.99.

Turner Broadcasting's GameTap service is primarily known as a subscription service for playing legacy games, but it has been investing increasingly more into new game development as well. Through its GameTap Original program, it currently features Telltale Games' Sam & Max episodes and has kickstarted development of Cyan Worlds' previously cancelled Myst Online: Uru Live; it recently also announced a development deal with notorious designer Derek Smart.

Today, GameTap announced a new program intended to foster independent development: GameTap Indies. Under the label, games will be featured on the GameTap service and promoted along with its GameTap Original games. To start off the program, GameTap will be sponsoring an award to be presented during this year's Independent Games Festival, help annually during the Game Developers Conference. The GameTap Indie Award will be given to three developers, who will receive a GameTap Indie distribution offer. The primary winner will be offered $10,000 and a five-year contract, while the other two winners will each be offered $5,000 and a five-year contract.

The GameTap Indie Award will be presented during the Independent Game Festival, which precedes the Game Developers Choice Awards at this year's Game Developers Conference on March 7 in San Francisco.