We always knew that Steam was a massive endeavor, continuously filling up the treasure chests in Valve’s basements. But we never really knew how big a chunk of the market it has, and now Stardock, one of its competitors, says that Steam has about a 70% of the digital distribution market share on the PC, which, as Kotaku points out, is about the same market share that Apple has in the digital music download sector.

This can only add to the criticism that Valve and Steam should be separated into different companies. But don’t count on that any time soon.

Demigod has been out for months now and yet we still haven’t seen a demo version of the game. Luckily, Stardock has today announced just that, a demo version of Demigod.

Players will reportedly be able to play through all 4 of the game’s multiplayer modes using four demigods; Regulus, Rook, Sedna and Lord Erebus. However, the only map made available for play in the demo is Cataract.

If you’re a fan of the RTS genre, Demigod is definitely a game you should check out. Head here to snag the demo.

The upcoming Windows 7 operating system apparently can’t get enough praise, even from game developers. Stardock CEO Brad Wardell said that one of the great features from Windows 7 was WARP (Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform), which allows offload of DirecX work from the GPU to the CPU, which greatly improves performance on systems with weak graphics cards. WARP is standard with Windows 7 and DirectX 11, which includes further GPGPU features which will help use the graphics card to do things a CPU normally does, like AI.

Seeing as how the launch for Demigod was a disaster for Stardock, all thanks to GameStop breaking the street date, the publisher has put forward an update from its CEO Brad Wardell, detailing the problems facing the RPG-RTS hybrid and the steps that are being taken to resolve them.

Multiplayer has been an issue for the game, as many players are facing difficulties getting online and connecting to games. Stardock notes that they are still working on the game’s multiplayer backend.

As penance for the problems, Stardock offers players the opportunity to play against its employees, who will offer tips and advice on how to better play the game.

It has recently come to the attention of the public that Game Stop had released Stardock’s PC RTS Demigod as early as last Friday when it was originally slated for a April 15th release date.

As displeased as they were, Stardock wasn’t as displeased as they were at the mass panic they had to endure when thousands of players began playing the game online:

it was Easter weekend. And many of us had just finished a good solid 8 weeks of massive crunch and were looking forward to the weekend to recover. Instead, we found ourselves back at work having to turn on and configure the multiplayer matchmaking servers (we had enough for a beta but not for thousands of people).

In lieu of this Stardock has decided to break the street date themselves and have given retailers the go ahead to begin offering the game to consumers.

Read (Kotaku)

Gas Powered Games sent out word that its action RPG/RTS Demigod has gone gold and will hit stores on April 14. It will also be available through Stardock’s Impulse digital distribution service.

The standard version will cost $40, with a $50 collector’s edition also available. It will come with a pewter figurine of the walking castle Rock demigod, a soundtrack CD and poster.

The game will have players battling in arenas as demigods to ascend to godhood, seeing as how a god has fallen and there an opening in the pantheon.

Steam has become the de facto standard in digital distribution, with Valve and major publishers now supporting it. However, there are quite a few competitors out there right now, and Stardock is one of them with their Impulse service. Company CEO Brad Wardell recently took exception to a Edge editorial proclaiming the “Age of Steam,” writing a defense of competition in the digital distribution market.

Wardell argues that it is 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.”

He added that Valve’s customers can partly be attributed to “shrewd business practices” such as acquiring Counter-Strike and its user base. Furthermore, he notes the use of Steamworks, which he points would have alarmed gamers if it were employed by EA, Microsoft or even Google.

"Steam does a lot of things right," admitted Wardell. "But there’s certainly room for improvement which viable competition encourages. After all, MySpace once looked unbeatable in the social networking world but such premature assumptions look quaint in ‘the age of Facebook’."

Stardock today announced that the first expansion to Sins of a Solar Empire has been delayed once again to February 25. This is due to the incorporation of beta feedback.

“The additional time will allow for Ironclad’s development team to incorporate feedback to date and allow for another round of beta testing,” said the company.

Ironclad’s Blair Fraser added: “It’s of paramount importance to everyone that what we’re releasing is the best and most robust content we can.”

Dubbed “Entrenchment”, the expansion will add defense platforms to each race, among other things. It is available for pre-order on Impulse, Stardock’s digital distribution platform, for $9.95.

In more delay news, VE3D carries confirmation that Entrenchment, the upcoming microexpansion for Sins of a Solar Empire, has been delayed to January 2009.

While the retail release may have been delayed, those who pre-ordered the game will get to take part in a beta test to help balance the expansion. However, no date for the pre-order beta has been given.

Entrenchment is the first in a series of microexpansions for the game that will add new ships, technologies and more to the core title.

Independent developer Stardock today revealed its next major project – Elemental: War of Magic, a turn-based 4X strategy game focused on exploration, expansion, exploitation and extermination.

The game casts players as the “only person in your kingdom with the ability to channel magic.” You will be able to engage in kingdom management, creating new cities and spells, political negotiations, dungeon-exploring and more.

Multiplayer modes will be included, as well as integrated modding support, offering new maps, creatures, items, and more to players when they start the game and connect online.

The game is due out Q1 2010; a public beta will begin in Spring 2009.