Nothing kickstarts a grim Northern day quite like a bit of digital retail news. It’s the stuff that really gets my blood pumping and makes me realise how much I love this land called Interactive Entertaindom. You may remember that Impulse, the download service previously operated by Stardock, was purchased by Gamestop earlier this year. This led to some gnashing of teeth but the ski slopes of Hell remained out of commission.

Now, Sins of a Solar Empire has appeared on Steam, leading me to visibly flinch this morning as if reality had fallen out of joint. It hadn’t. Explanations below.

These words from Brad Wardell, Stardock CEO, explain all.

“With the sale of our former PC digital download technology to GameStop earlier this year, we no longer have any conflicts of interest in offering our titles to other digital distribution channels. We are starting with Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity with other titles being made available over the coming weeks.”

So. Hurrah?

I can’t find a reason to be angry or upset about this, which is strange because I’m on the internet. Maybe if I allow for the fact this is all a consequence of the Impulse sale. Yes, that makes me mildly disgruntled. But Stardock on Steam seems like a jolly good thing, if only for the wider exposure and the possibility of inclusion in enormous sales.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity is currently £9.74 on Steam. It’s £9.53 on Impulse.