EA releases some Steam
Ritual Entertainment and Valve have announced that the first episode of SiN will gain a retail presence in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand as part of a new distribution agreement with Electronic Arts.
Ritual Entertainment and Valve have announced that the first episode of SiN will gain a retail presence in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand as part of a new distribution agreement with Electronic Arts.
Powered by the award-winning Source engine and available via digital distribution through Valve's Steam service, SiN Episode 1: Emergence will now also be available for purchase in stores from May 12th, priced USD 19.99.
Building on its success with titles such as Counter Strike: Condition Zero and Black Hawk Down: Team Saber, and not wishing to relinquish the creative control that inevitably comes from a publisher-funded game, Ritual decided to fund SiN on its own and partnered with Valve to create episodic content, utilising the digital distribution model to deliver what is already a hugely anticipated title.
Whilst Valve's Steam distribution service is proving to be a successful channel for developers to release their games to market, a traditional retail presence can enable developers to access a much wider audience and drastically improve on sales figures. Several titles available through Steam have attracted the attention of software publishers, including the IGF Awards winner Darwinia, which has recently been secured for retail release by Cinemaware Marquee.