Stardock to ditch retail for upcoming games

Independent developer Stardock is abandoning retail for its two upcoming games, giving them digital-only releases following the success of the digital-only Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion.

Independent developer Stardock is abandoning retail for its two upcoming games, giving them digital-only releases following the success of the digital-only Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion smashed Stardock's existing records to become the fastest-selling title in the company's history. It was also the first major Stardock game to bypass retailers and was instead released on Steam, GameStop's online shopfront, and direct from Stardock. The game sold more than 100,000 units in its first month, beating the retail sales during the same period of the original Sins of a Solar Empire.

The success of Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion has led to the company releasing their next two games, The Political Machine 2012 and Elemental: Fallen Enchantress, via digital channels only.

The president and CEO of Stardock, Brad Wardell, said: "I remember it was somewhat dramatic in the community when we announced that Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion wasn't going to be at retail," said Wardell. "The reason was because we have moved away from having set release dates, which are largely announced for to kickoff presales, or for shareholders and retail distributors. Now we don't plan a release date until the game has reached a quality level where we feel comfortable doing so."

The Political Machine 2012 will be released on July 31st and Elemental: Fallen Enchantress will release this fall.