14 DAY TRIAL // Digital download services Impulse and GamersGate have announced that, like Direct2Drive, they will not be selling copies of Modern Warfare 2, the upcoming first person shooter from Infinity Ward and Activision, because of its use of the Steamworks service for things such as authentication and patch delivery.
The statement released by Stardock, the owner of the Impulse service, reads, “Impulse will not be selling Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 either. We share some of the same concerns as Direct2Drive over the bundling of the Steam client with the game. The most obvious issue is the forced inclusion of a competitor's store that blocks us from carrying the game.”
As Direct2Drive did last week, the company was quick to dispel any issue related to Activision as a publisher, saying that “Our issues with the game are solely with the Steamworks bundling. We enjoy a great relationship with Activision and would love to sell the title, but not with Steam.”
The big question is still whether the move from Steam's rivals will have the effect of actually putting them in a corner, limiting their audience and leading to actually bigger sales of the Steam version of Modern Warfare 2, which is offered as a digital download for those who are unwilling to actually get to a store and pick a boxed copy up.
The principle-based stand will probably attract some customers to Direct2Drive, Impulse and GamersGate, but it is unlikely that Valve will be pressured into eliminating Steam-related functionality from the Steamworks suite. There is already discussion about whether Valve's Steam is bundling amounts in any way to a monopoly attempt.
Modern Warfare 2 is set to be released on November 10 on the PC, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Activision has said that it sees the launch as one of the biggest in the history of videogaming.