Developer, publisher and digital distributor Stardock has released its annual customer report by CEO Brad Wardell, giving insight into its platform Impulse's competition with Valve's Steam as well as interesting figures and estimates concerning the past year.

Stardock estimates "based on discussions with publishers along with the numbers we are aware of" that Steam owns 70% of the digital distribution market, while Impulse sits in second with a 10% share and the remaining 20% is shared between all others.

The successes of Steam and Impulse are due in part, Wardell believes, to their digital exclusives. Impulse's include Sins of a Solar Empire and Demigod--which it publishes--while Steam has the Left 4 Dead and Half-Life developer's own games as well as third-party releases using Steamworks for DRM, among other functions.

Wardell describes Steamworks as a "challenge" for Impulse as it effectively creates Steam exclusives of games which are not technically such... Read more

Stardock today announced that a new "Nvidia Edition" version of its PC digital download platform Impulse is set to be released later this summer.

The application will function just as Stardock's current incarnation of Impulse does, but will also automatically detect and install driver updates for Nvidia graphics cards.

"The single biggest issue preventing PC gamers today from having an optimal experience is a failure to update their video card drivers," said Stardock CEO Brad Wardell.

Continued Wardell: "For many users, updating video drivers has been a complicated and sometimes confusing experience. As PC game developers ourselves, we recognized those concerns and, in partnership with Nvidia, have taken a step to make the process more accessible."

"It would be good if everybody switched to Windows 7 as quickly as possible," Brad Wardell, CEO of Demigod publisher and Impulse operator Stardock, has said.

Speaking with Gamasutra, he cited the WARP (Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform) feature of the new operating system as a major boon, as it allows the CPU to handle DirectX acceleration if a dedicated video card isn't up to snuff, or even present.

"We want the game to look incredible on high-end systems, but I want people to be able to play this on their three-year-old laptop on the airplane," he explained.

In addition to running the digital distribution platform Impulse and... Read more

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.

"We ended up with 140,000 connected users, of which about 12% were actually legitimate customers," reads a status update from Stardock CEO Brad Wardell. An earlier message had put the percentage of pirated users at about 85%.

While pirates are unable to partake in multiplayer, the initial version of Demigod pinged a server for updates when the game started. That was changed in yesterday's patch.

"We spent a lot of time today trying to isolate out the warez users from the legitimate users," Wardell wrote, noting "it would require a lot of surgery to actually break them and even if we did, there'd be no friendly 'ha ha pirate' message which... 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.

As penance for the problems, Stardock offers players the opportunity to play Demigod with Stardock employees, receiving tips and advice and enjoying all-round good games.

Demigod's launch got off to a bumpy start when retailer GameStop began selling copies before the release date, sending Stardock staff scrambling into the office over the Easter weekend to set up the matchmaking servers so the game was actually playable.

Elemental: War of Magic developer and Sins of a Solar Empire publisher Stardock today unveiled Goo, a new technology that the company claims will solve common publisher and consumer complaints with digitally distributed games and DRM.

Short for "Game Object Obfuscation," Goo will let developers "encapsulate their game executable into a container that includes the original executable plus Impulse Reactor, Stardock's [suite of developer tools], into a single encrypted file."

The first time a player runs a "Goo'd" game, they will need to enter their e-mail address and serial number for online activation. The game is then tied to a user's account, with Stardock adding that "the game never needs to connect to the Internet again."

"[Goo] finally makes possible a way for gamers and publishers to transfer game licenses to players in a secure and reliable fashion," said Stardock CEO... Read more

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?"

Correct. Star Control? Yes. Definitely King's Quest. And who doesn't know that's Ultima?

"These games were once mainstream games," said Brad Wardell, CEO of Sins of a Solar Empire publisher Stardock, speaking of them fondly as he cycled through screenshots. "How long has it been since you've seen an adventure game at retail? Exactly."

But the subject of Wardell's GDC lecture was not how low the PC market has sunk, but rather how these sorts of games can still be made--and do very well.

Digital Distribution
As a case study, Wardell released sales statistics of Stardock's latest products as proof that the market for hardcore PC games can be a profitable one.... Read more

Stardock CEO Brad Wardell recently took exception to a recent Edge editorial proclaiming the "Age of Steam," writing a stiff defense of competition in the digital distribution market.

Wardell's company maintains Impulse, a service similar to Valve's Steam that launched in 2008. And while Steam has taken a lead in the digital PC gaming marketplace, Wardell argues that it's still too early to name a clear winner.

"I must confess that I am surprised to see Edge, or anyone else for that matter, imply that Steam's early lead in digital distribution translates to permanent dominance," said Wardell, who quickly made the case that Valve's 20 million accounts and half-million daily visitors can partly be attributed to "shrewd business practices," such as acquiring Counter-Strike and its user base.

"As new titles come out bundled with Steamworks, which requires a user to become a Steam user in order to play the game (something I would normally think that the press would raise alarm about if this were being done by say EA... Read more

Helped in part by generous Michigan tax breaks, developer/publisher Stardock (Sins of a Solar Empire, Demigod) is planning a $900,000 expansion of its headquarters to accomodate development of a new PC roleplaying game.

The expansion will create some 53 jobs, pushing the company's workforce to well over 100 employees--an impressive number for the once-modest Plymouth, Michigan based studio.

Stardock is readying to ship its collaborative effort with developer Gas Powered Games', the PC strategy title Demigod, in March of this year. The company is also hard at work on the fantasy-strategy game Elemental: War of Magic (PC), due for a February 2010 release.

The Michigan tax breaks, enacted last April to attract jobs in the... Read more

Stardock CEO Brad Wardell has his eye on a few classic gaming franchises and wants to bring them back--and he wants to do it right, if the rights holders will allow him the chance.

"I actually pitched [rights holder] Atari on a whole idea for a true successor to Star Control," said Wardell, referring to succeeding Toys for Bob's Star Control II. The PC space strategy game from 1990 is said to have influenced Stardock's Galactic Civilizations (PC) and Ironclad's Sins of a Solar Empire (PC), which Stardock also published.

As for 1996's Star Control 3, developed by Legend, "We just pretend that never happened," quipped Wardell to Gamasutra.

Wardell had a similar idea for the Master of Orion turn-based strategy series, another 90s cult classic owned by Atari. "We'd like to do a Master of Orion 4," he explained. "It would be an updated Master of Orion 2."

The CEO appears to have an aversion to the number 3, but more accurately he fears sequels developed by studios that didn't make the original... Read more

Sins of a Solar Empire (PC) publisher and The Political Machine 2008 (PC) developer Stardock today revealed its next major internal project, Elemental: War of Magic (PC).

A turn-based 4X strategy game focused on exploration, expansion, exploitation and extermination, Elemental sees players cast as the "only person in your kingdom with the ability to channel magic," allowing them to engage in traditional kingdom management, such as crafting new cities and spells, political negotiations, or exploring dungeons.

A variety of "ground-breaking" multiplayer modes will be included, such as a persistent universe mode in addition to the traditional skirmish modes.

Similar to EA Maxis' Spore (PC), Elemental includes integrated modding support, seamlessly delivering new maps, creatures, items, spells, and so forth to other players when they start the game and connect online.

Like all Stardock releases, Elemental: War of Magic will include no on-disc DRM when it arrives in Q1 2010 at $49.95, with a public beta beginning in spring 2009.

Based on the "amazing level of support from the publisher and developer community" that Stardock received from the initial Gamers Bill of Rights, CEO Brad Wardell has issued an interim edition in the latest Stardock Customer Report (3MB PDF here).

The revision addresses the need for more specific wording in order "to get to a place that most users and most publishers can agree on."

In addition, Wardell examined the common complaints regarding controversial DRM practices, breaking them down into legitimate, borderline, and illegitimate categories. He also noted that while Stardock will continue to release titles with no DRM, owners will need to download meaningful updates directly from Stardock.

The CEO further revealed that Stardock will soon add "IP protection services" to its digital distribution platform Impulse "so that publishers at least have an alternative to methods like SecureROM, Tages or Steamworks. As a practical matter, most game publishers who want to protect their IP have few options right now."

"There is no solution to the issue of protecting intellectual property (IP) that will satisfy all parties," explained Wardell. "There are customers who will accept nothing less than publishers acquiescing to a quasi-honor system for purchasing software. That doesn't work."

DRM Complaint Examination

Legitimate Complaints
• They don't want the copy protection to interfere with their enjoyment or use of the software or game.
• If a program wants to have a limited activation system, then it needs to provide a way to de-authorize other computers (ala iTunes)... Read more

In an effort to create standards for PC games and increase consumer confidence, publisher Stardock and Demigod developer Gas Powered Games today unveiled a document titled "The Gamer's Bill of Rights."

"As an industry, we need to begin setting some basic, common sense standards that reward PC gamers for purchasing our games," explained Stardock CEO Brad Wardell. "On the PC, publishers can release games that are scarcely completed, poorly supported, and full of intrusive copy protection."

The Gamer's Bill of Rights
We the Gamers of the world, in order to ensure a more enjoyable experience, establish equality between players and publishers, and promote the general welfare of our industry hereby call for the following:

1. Gamers shall have the right to return games that don't work with their computers for a full refund.
2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
3. Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game's release.
4. Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
5. Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum... Read more

The Sins of a Solar Empire world will expand with several expansions during the next year, publisher Stardock announced today.

The first expansion is titled Entrenchment and will be available later this year for $9.95.

Entrenchment will add a Starbase defense platform to each race--giving them armored bases with a variety of weapon, and upgrades that make them capable of defending an entire planet--along with turrent upgrades, mine fields and a "Subspace Inhibitor platform" which will slow down nearby enemy ships.

Other micro-expansions in development will add new diplomacy features, as well as additional technologies and ships. Development of all these expansions is being handled by series creator Ironclad Games.

The expansions will be available from the Sins of a Solar Empire website as well as through Stardock's Impulse digital distribution platform.

Publisher Stardock today announced the launch of Impulse, a new PC gaming digital distribution and retail platform for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Impulse is available for download now on the platform's official website.

"Impulse is a platform first, a store second. Our primary objective with Impulse is to address the issues users have with their Windows experience today," said Stardock CEO Brad Wardell.

Essentially rebranded version of the company's previous digital distribution solution Stardock Central, Impulse is bundled with today's retail release of Stardock's Political Machine 2008. All titles registered on a user's Stardock.net accounts are available via Impulse.

Supporting all types of PC software including games, applications and utilities, Impulse does not require its users to be online to play single-player titles. Stardock... Read more

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.

Developer Stardock Entertainment has announced the second expansion pack for its ambitious 4X effort Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords.

Titled Twilight of the Arnor, the new content acts as the final chapter in the series' Dread Lord wars. It adds a new campaign, the star-destroying Terror Star unit, new technology trees, new ships to the game, along with a new 3D map editor, new scenario editor, new campaign editor, a bigger galaxy, and more.

Requiring either Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar or Galactic Civilizations II Gold Edition, Twilight of the Arnor will be available in November at $29.99 and can be pre-ordered from TotalGaming.net for the reduced price of $24.95.

Master Of The Galaxy is a Gamasutra interview with Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock. There are questions about Stardock's attempts to obtain the Master of Magic license, the Galactic Civilizations 2 expansion, MMO plans, and copy protection.