Stardock announces Sins of a Solar Empire is gold, and that Ironclad Games' 4X real-time strategy game will appear in North American stores on February 4:

PLYMOUTH, MI -- JANUARY 29, 2008 -- Stardock announced that its new PC strategy game, Sins of a Solar Empire, has gone gold. Developed by Ironclad Games, Sins of a Solar Empire is a real-time strategy game that adds an extreme amount of depth normally only seen in turn-based games. The game will be released digitally on Stardock’s digital download service, TotalGaming.net (www.totalgaming.net) and will be available at most retail outlets in North America on February 4. The game lists for $39.95. A collector’s edition is available directly from TotalGaming.net for $49.95 and includes a CD sound track, a poster, and other non-game content.

“What’s amazing about Sins is that thanks to its innovative user interface, there’s very little micro-management needed which allowed Ironclad to integrate features like diplomacy, culture, more sophisticated economics, and unique tech trees per race,” said Brad Wardell, president & CEO of Stardock. “This gives the player more time for action sequences and more time to produce, create and upkeep their race in order to most effectively conquer the universe.”

Stardock and developer Ironclad collaborated for over a year to optimize the game mechanics to ensure that the game would have both an outstanding multiplayer and single player experience for players. Multiplayer games can be saved and resumed later allowing for far more epic games than typically seen in an RTS. Single player games, by contrast, features near-human AI which makes single player game play as invigorating as multiplayer.

With innovative features such as the empire tree (which allows players to manage all their ships and planets on-screen at once) and the ability to put bounties on other players to encourage pirates and others to attack them, Sins of a Solar Empire is set to bring a new milestone to the genre.

Visit http://www.sinsofasolarempire.com for more information and pre-order information.