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.

A post on the Iron Lore Entertainment website announces that the Titan Quest developer is shutting down, having been unable to secure financing for its next project.

"We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who has helped us in the last seven years--our team who moved mountains to create such great games, our publisher THQ who has been a great partner through three product development cycles, and most of all our customers and fans," reads the statement.

"We owe all of the success we've had to you, and our greatest satisfaction has come from creating games that have given enjoyment to the community."

Publishers or developers interested in hiring Iron Lore talent are asked to contact pchieffo@ironlore.com; the same email address can also be used for inquiries on technology licensing.

In addition to Titan Quest and the Immortal Throne expansion pack, Iron Lore recently developed the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War expansion pack Soulstorm.

A new Titan Quest patch has been released, updating version 1.20 of the game to version 1.30. The new patch offers bug fixes, balance changes and also prepares the game for the Immortal Throne expansion pack.

Also at GameSpot is this preview of Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, which was being shown at THQ's press event last night. We recently posted an interview about the expansion pack, which is due out soon.

Launching next Monday is Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, the official expansion set for Iron Lore's Titan Quest. What new features have been added? I spoke with Mike Verrette, the game's producer, to find out.

Immortal Throne will feature over 20 new monster types throughout the new levels. These monsters range from the Anouran and dreaded Anteok in the Mediterranean levels to the Empusa, Epiales and Machae in the Hades underworld. We were able to take a fair amount of liberty in the creature design in Immortal Throne whereas in Titan Quest we tried to stick with the more commonly recognizable creatures from mythology. Some of my favorite monsters from the expansion are the bosses -- hands down. The boss battles in Immortal Throne are more closely tied to their environment and I find them to be tactically more challenging than many of the bosses in the original Titan Quest. I don't want to give too much away here -- but the first time I got into it with Charon, I was totally blown away.

Due out early March is the Titan Quest expansion pack Immortal Throne. FiringSquad has a Q&A on it, asking producer Michael Verrette about the new content and features.

The third Titan Quest: Immortal Throne development diary has gone up at GameSpot. This installment deals with the new underworld region.

THQ today announced that the Titan Quest expansion pack Immortal Throne has gone gold, and is off to manufacturing. It will ship to stores worldwide March 5.

1UP has been updated with a Titan Quest: Immortal Throne preview, taking a brief look at what this expansion pack will have to offer.

New at GameSpot is this Titan Quest: Immortal Throne preview. The article offers hands-on impressions and new screenshots.

Titan Quest: Immortal Throne -- Hades, part 1 is an IGN article taking a look at one of the new areas in the upcoming Titan Quest expansion pack. Includes new screenshots.

There's a Titan Quest: Immortal Throne Q&A on Titan Quest Vault, asking THQ's Michael Fitch about this expansion pack. Topics include the level cap, new monster types, starting with a new character, the Dream mastery and the upcoming 1.30 patch for Titan Quest.

The guys at GameBanshee had the opportunity to talk to Iron Lore producer Mike Verrette about the upcoming Titan Quest: Immortal Throne expansion pack. Questions are about the dream mastery, the new caravan system, new monsters, items and economy changes.

A second Titan Quest: Immortal Throne development diary is up at GameSpot. Quest designer Ben Schneider talks about the story and lore finding their way into this expansion pack. There's also a new video development diary.

GameSpot has a brief Titan Quest: Immortal Throne development diary, as producer Michael Verrette offers an overview of the expansion pack. There's also a four minute long movie with gameplay footage.

THQ today officially announced Titan Quest: Immortal Throne, the first expansion pack for Iron Lore's action RPG. Due out early 2007, Immortal Throne will feature the following

Developed by Iron Lore Entertainment, Titan Quest: Immortal Throne features a rich, original storyline with more than 12 hours of single-player content per difficulty level. New gameplay features include an all-new skill mastery that combines with existing masteries to form eight new playable character classes. Immortal Throne also adds dozens of terrifying new monsters, hundreds of unique weapons and an additional 10 levels of character and skill development.

Some screenshots can be found here.

FiringSquad has some more info on the upcoming Titan Quest expansion pack, which is featured in the latest PC Gamer. Titan Quest: Immortal Throne will feature 10-15 hours of gameplay, with more than 30 new quests and 20 new monsters. There will be eight new classes as well.

Word from a THQ conference call (Thanks FiringSquad) is that an expansion to Titan Quest is already in development and can be expected some time in the first quarter of 2007 barring any delays.

As expected, a new Titan Quest patch is now available updating the game to version 1.20. The patch offers more bug fixes and a number of balancing updates.

GENERAL:
- Fixed Ensnare to work while wielding a staff
- Several skill descriptions updated for clarity
- Fixed particle effect artifacts remaining on the ground when fighting Barmanu
- Fixed Ormenos so that he is no longer invincible if a player does not enter the combat area and engage him immediately
- Fixed characters freezing when using an item that grants the charge ability and dual wielding
- Fixed pets occasionally causing boss chests not to open
- Implemented the ability to turn the day/night cycle on and off. Day/night cycles are currently on by default.
To turn day/night cycle off, go to the \My Games\Titan Quest\Settings directory and open the options.txt file after changing any option in game. Find the setting called "dayNightCycle" and change its value to false. If the setting does not exist, add the line "dayNightCycle = false" to the end of the options.txt file.

This post on the TitanQuest.net forums outlines what's planned for an upcoming patch for the game. There will be some bug fixes, but mostly it will deal with balancing changes. Thanks Blues News.