GamersGate AB

Aktiebolag

Aktiebolag is the Swedish term for "limited company" or "corporation". When used in company names, it is abbreviated "AB" or "Ab"...

 is a Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

-based online video game store offering PC games, Mac games and electronic guides via direct download. It is a competitor to online video game services such as Valve

Valve Corporation

Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...

's Steam, Direct2Drive

Direct2Drive

Direct2Drive is an online game store offering PC videogames via direct download. On May 25, 2011, Gamefly acquired Direct2Drive from IGN Entertainment Group .- Competition with Steam :...

 and Impulse.

GamersGate sell games for over 250 publishers and developers, including Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...

, THQ

THQ

THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...

, Atari

Atari

Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...

, Bethesda Softworks

Bethesda Softworks

Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland...

, 2K Games

2K Games

2K is a global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games. 2K Games is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, which also owns Rockstar Games notable for the Grand Theft Auto series...

, Ubisoft

Ubisoft

Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....

, SEGA

Sega

, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

, Capcom

Capcom

is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...

, Paradox Interactive

Paradox Interactive

-External links:*...

 and Epic Games

Epic Games

Epic Games, Inc., also known as Epic and formerly Epic MegaGames, is an American video game development company based in Cary, North Carolina. Its most recent success has been the Gears of War series of games, although it is also known for its Unreal Engine technology. It is the parent company of...

 but also smaller independent video game development

Independent video game development

Independent video game development is the process of creating video games without the financial support of a video game publisher. While large firms can create independent games, they are usually designed by an individual or a small team of as many as ten people, depending on the complexity of the...

 developers such as 2D Boy

2D Boy

2D Boy is an American independent video game development company founded by Kyle Gabler and Ron Carmel, former Electronic Arts employees who left their jobs to form an independent development and production company....

, Jonathan Blow

Jonathan Blow

Jonathan Blow is an independent video game developer. His game Braid won the "Game Design" award at the Independent Games Festival in 2006. He is currently developing The Witness, to be released in 2012....

 and Amanita Design

Amanita Design

Amanita Design is an independent Czech video game developing company that was founded in 2003 by Jakub Dvorský. The company has made several Webby Award-winning games, as well as educational and advertising minigames and animations, all using Adobe Flash. Clients include BBC, Nike and The...

. As of August 2011, there are over 3000 games available through GamersGate.

History

GamersGate was formerly operated by Paradox Interactive. It was started with the intention of providing cheap distribution of their games to countries that did not offer them in physical retail stores. GamersGate commenced trial operations in April 2006 and officially launched (entitled "Gamer's Gate") on November 20, 2006. In 2008, after other publishers requested that GamersGate distribute their games as well, Paradox decided to separate GamersGate into its own company.

Client Free

GamersGate initially required a software client for its customer to download their purchased games, but on January 28, 2009, the company began allowing customers to download their purchased games through a micro-download. The system uses a small program downloaded for every game that only works for getting the install files to the customers computer. Upon completion, the user installs the game and the downloader may then be removed from the computer. CEO Theo Bergquist has touted the client-less feature of GamersGate as a way to distinguish it from more dominant video game distribution platforms like Valve's Steam.

Mac OS Games

In June of 2009 GamersGate launched support for Mac games. The service first only sold the Mac versions of games separately, but it now offers both PC and Mac versions of selected titles at no extra cost. As of August 2011, there are over 400 Mac titles available on GamersGate.

Downloadable content

GamersGate were among the first to sell Downloadable Content

Downloadable content

Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...

 for PC games, starting with downloadable content for the Hearts of Iron

Hearts of Iron

Hearts of Iron is a grand strategy computer game developed by Paradox Interactive and published by Strategy First, set in the years 1936-1948. In the game you can control any one nation as World War II unfolds. It was released for Windows-compatible PCs in 2002. A Macintosh version was also...

 and Europa Universalis

Europa Universalis

Europa Universalis is a grand strategy video game released on March 14, 2000 by Paradox Interactive and distributed in North America by Strategy First...

 series. The service currently offers downloadable content for many of its bigger titles. It also offers developers a free In-game Downloadable Content API, called MicroSuite, which allows game companies to insert transactions into gameplay. MicroSuite is incorporated in games such as Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim

Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim

Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim is a real-time strategy game developed by 1C:Ino-Co and published by Paradox Interactive. The game was announced on April 18, 2008 and was released on September 18, 2009. It is a sequel to Cyberlore's Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim.A Mac OS X version of Majesty...

 and Hearts of Iron III

Hearts of Iron III

Hearts of Iron III is a grand strategy wargame developed and published by Paradox Interactive that is the sequel to the previous Hearts of Iron games. It was announced on August 20, 2008 and was released on August 7, 2009....

.

External links

• GamersGate Website - Official website
• GamersGate On Twitter
• GamersGate Facebook Fan Page