Stardock games headed to Steam, starting with Sins of a Solar Empire

Remember Impulse?  They're no longer their own thing, after GameStop picked them up, but this is good news for Steam users who've always wanted to try Stardock titles.  Since Stardock's platform now belongs to GameStop, the company can begin offering their games through Steam and other digital distributors without any conflicts of interest.  The move begins with one of Stardock's most popular and long running series, Sins of a Solar Empire.  As of now, Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity -- a bundle featuring the core game plus the Diplomacy and Entrenchment expansions -- should be available through Valve's distribution platform.   Stardock CEO Brad Wardell included a statement with the announcement: "With the sale of our former PC digital download technology to GameStop earlier this year, we no longer have any conflicts of interest in offering our titles to other digital distribution channels.  We are starting with Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity, with other titles being made available over the coming weeks." Section: PC Games

Saints Row: The Third Ships

Spreading the good news today, THQ and Volition have announced that their highly anticipated open-world Action title, Saints Row: The Third, is now available in stores across North America. Here's the official word:

AGOURA HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 15, 2011-- THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) and Volition, Inc. ® today announced that Saints Row®: The ThirdTM, the biggest, most over-the-top guilty pleasure in gaming, is available today on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Saints Row®: The Third™ gives you control of the Saints at the height of their power, and you live the life to show for it. Now Steelport is ripe for the taking, and it’s up to you to make the city your own. Mold the skyline based on your choices, outfit your crew in classy gangster gear or furry costumes, and make life-or-death decisions that will change Steelport, and the Saints, forever. This is now your city. These are now your rules. Strap it on.

“There’s no way to describe Saints Row: The Third other than pure, over-the-top fun,” said Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President, Core Games, THQ. “In a sea of games that are doing the same thing over again, it’s incredibly refreshing to take Saints Row in a completely new direction, and incredibly satisfying to see the reaction from fans so far. Today, we all embrace the crazy.”

Media outlets too have embraced the crazy, as Saints Row: The Third releases to incredible critical acclaim, high review scores, and a number of editors’ choice awards. “One of the finest sandbox games ever made – 10” – GamesRadar "9.5" – Official Xbox Magazine "9.0" – Game Informer "The craziest game you'll ever play." – IGN "Wonderful, ridiculous insanity." – New York Post "Pulls no punches and makes no apologies." – Complex "Out GTA's GTA.” – Hyper Magazine

Today also marks the first day players will be able to import their created characters from the Saints Row Initiation Station into Saints Row: The Third and wreak havoc in Steelport as their favorite, crazed creations. Since November 1, the Saints Row community has created more than 1.5 million characters using the Initiation Station. Today, they are turned loose.

Saints Row: The Third is available today on Xbox 360 (SRP US$59.99), PlayStation 3 (SRP US$59.99) and PC (SRP US$49.99), and is rated M for Mature.

Saints Row: The Third is scheduled for release in Europe on November 18th.

The Secret World Screenshots

Treating us to a little eyecandy tonight, Funcom has released six new screenshots from their upcoming massively multiplayer online RPG, The Secret World. These latest screenies feature the Templar faction doing their thing. Enjoy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Secret World's release date is still TBA.

Gotham City Impostors Dated, Open Beta Next Month

Pinning down an exact release date for us this afternoon, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Monolith Productions have announced that their upcoming multiplayer shooter, Gotham City Impostors, will be available for purchase/download on January 10th, 2012. They also note that they'll be holding an Open Beta sometime in December. So if you're interested in helping squash some bugs, you can sign-up right here. Cheers! :D

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 sells over 6.5 million units in 24 hours

Once again, the Call of Duty series proves to be a valuable brand for Activision. It's estimated over 6.5 million units of Modern Warfare 3 were sold within 24 hours since its launch, bringing in more than $400 million in sales. The feat is more impressive when you consider Modern Warfare 3 was only sold in North America and the United Kingdom on its first day of sale. Modern Warfare 3 managed to significantly beat Black Ops' launch, which sold 5.6 million units in one day. Activision reports Call of Duty's life-to-date sales have exceeded worldwide box office earnings made by Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 has unlockable bonus item for Final Fantasy XIII players

With Final Fantasy XIII-2's release getting closer and closer, some fans might be worried about being left in the dark about the storyline. After all, it's been nearly two years since Final Fantasy XIII was released and you might have forgotten some important plot points. XIII-2 will provide some narrated scenes that detail what has happened to cast since the conclusion of XIII so you don't have to play through XIII all over again to get up to speed with the story. Also, XIII-2 has an unlockable item for those who played XIII and kept their save data all this time. Square Enix won't exactly detail what this item is though they do mention it won't break game balance, which may be a hint that this unlockable is meant for battle. Final Fantasy XIII-2 ships to retailers on January 31, 2012 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

SOE Planning EverQuest 2 Subscription Model Changes

Responding to community concerns about EverQuest 2's divided player-base, Sony Online Entertainment has announced plans to merge the standard edition of the game with the separate free-to-play "Extended" version. This new model should help make things a lot simpler by bringing everyone together under one membership structure. A Producer's Letter goes in to great detail about membership levels, what they include and the fees. Click here to learn more!