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Impulse, Spawn Labs Acquired By GameStop

by Adam Biessener on March 31, 2011 at 05:10 PM

4,825 Views

Retail giant GameStop is expanding its Internet business with the purchases of a digital distribution service and a game streaming company.

Impulse, Inc. is a subsidiary of Elemental developer/publisher and business software company Stardock. Its Impulse service functions much like Steam; it incorporates sales, distribution, matchmaking, and more for a wide variety of PC games. The company expects no interruption of service or changeover in personnel during the transition, according to an FAQ on its website. The acquisition is expected to be finalized in May.

Spawn Labs is a startup company whose technology offers high-definition game streaming over the Internet. According to the GameStop press release, "Once the Spawn Labs integration and testing on a new consumer interface is complete, users will have immediate access to a wide selection of high-definition video games on demand on any Internet-enabled device." Spawn Labs has often been called "Slingbox for games."

[Disclaimer: GameStop is the parent company of Game Informer.]

Email the author Adam Biessener, or follow on Twitter, and Game Informer.

Filed under: News, gamestop, Impulse, stardock, elemental, spawn labs

Comments

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by The guy who is meh Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 05:15 PM

That's cool. Now if only Gamestop could give us good deals...
by Psychotope Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 05:16 PM

This seems to fit in with GameStop's push to sell DLC and other digital content. I wonder if they will incorporate it with the store or if it will be it's own separate thing that will function independently.
by mew151 Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 05:22 PM

seems like a good fit for gamestop but I don't think they will be able to compete with steam.
by Richard Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 05:25 PM

This seems like a good fit.
by TJ Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 05:26 PM

Gamestop Is turning into the Monopoly of video game retail... SMH they own us now
by TJ Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 05:26 PM

Game stop Is turning into the Monopoly of video game retail... SMH they own us now..
by Ace Delos Santos Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 05:34 PM

sweet...
by Max Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 05:36 PM

"Slingbox for games"? What does that even mean?
by Nate77 Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 05:39 PM

Sweet.
Mod

by Warbuff Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 05:56 PM

The future. I see it.
by S.M.P_604164 Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 06:01 PM

That's interesting, because it's been obvious for sometime that gamestop needs to take steps towards preserving themselves in the inevitable digital future, and it seems theyre doing just that.
by D. Robinson Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 06:05 PM

They're taking over...
by dsi1 Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 06:17 PM

Hopefully it doesn't actually turn into something like GameStop, sadly it will, and sadly it'll be a piece of ***.
by bioshocker Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 06:31 PM

I'm really nervous about the future of physical discs :(
by TexasCries Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 06:53 PM

Well this is good news for GameStop cause honestly there websites are kinda weak.
by Luis E. Morales Falcon Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 06:57 PM

Anything for console gamers?
by poxopas Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 07:07 PM

Based on my experiences with Gamestop, both online and in-store, I weep for the future of Impulse :( However it is reassuring that they appear to be keeping all their personnel.
by Wraith31337 Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 08:45 PM

Always nice to see things going well for Gamestop.
by Alienmatt169 Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 08:58 PM

i thought gamestop was starting to lose themselves (the stocks went way down for a while). i hope getting this will lift them back up.