Stardock
Encyclopedia
Stardock Corporation is a software development company founded in 1991 and incorporated
in 1993 as Stardock Systems. Stardock initially developed for the OS/2
platform, but was forced to switch to Windows
due to the collapse of the OS/2 software market between 1997 and 1998. The company is best known for computer program
s that allow a user to modify or extend a graphical user interface
as well as personal computer game
s, particularly strategy games
such as Galactic Civilizations
, Galactic Civilizations II
, Sins of a Solar Empire
and Elemental: War of Magic
.
Stardock created and maintains WinCustomize
, a graphical user interface customization community, and developed the Impulse content delivery
system before its sale to GameStop
. Many of the skins
and themes featured on its site are for software that is part of Object Desktop
, their main subscription service. They are based in Plymouth, Michigan
.
. In 2008, Stardock released a third-generation digital distribution platform called Impulse, which allows streamlined patching and the ability to download purchased games to another computer owned by the user for free. Stardock Central has been phased out, and new patches are now only available through Impulse. Stardock has agreed to publish some games containing certain less intrusive versions of SecuROM
on Impulse.
. It is a set of desktop enhancement utilities designed to enable users to control the way their operating system looks, feels and functions. Originally developed for OS/2, the company released a version of it for Windows in 1999. The core components of Object Desktop include WindowBlinds
, IconPackager, DeskScapes, DesktopX
and others. In 2008, Stardock released Object Desktop in two editions, the traditional standard edition and a new "Ultimate" edition. The standard edition includes the core components. The ultimate edition adds additional programs designed for "power users", such as TweakVista
, Keyboard Launchpad and ObjectBar.
, Galactic Civilizations
, Galactic Civilizations II, Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar
, Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor
and The Political Machine
. The Dark Avatar expansion pack is the highest-rated expansion pack for a PC game on GameRankings. In August 2010, Stardock released Elemental: War of Magic
, a fantasy 4X
turn-based strategy
game.
game, Galactic Civilizations II, Stardock began publishing games developed by third-parties.
The first third-party game Stardock published was Sins of a Solar Empire
. The publishing arrangement worked out between Stardock and Ironclad Games
was unusual in that the two companies integrated their teams at every level. The game has an average score of 88 on Metacritic
and is a top seller at retail.
The second third-party game Stardock published is Demigod
, from developer Gas Powered Games
. It was released in 2009.
to digitally distribute its own PC titles, the company launched a service called Drengin.net in summer 2003. The original idea was that users would pay a yearly subscription fee and receive new titles as they became available. Initially, Stardock's own titles along with titles from Strategy First
were available. A year later, Stardock replaced the subscription model with a new system called TotalGaming.net in which users could purchase games individually or pay an upfront fee for tokens which allowed them to purchase games at a discount. TotalGaming.net targeted independent game developers rather than the larger publishers. In late 2008, new token purchases were discontinued.
In 2008, Stardock announced its third-generation digital distribution platform, Impulse. Stardock's intention was for Impulse to include independent third-party games and major publisher titles and indeed, the service now includes content from a variety of publishers. The platform was sold to GameStop
in May 2011.
. WinCustomize is best known for providing a library of downloadable content, such as skins, themes, icons and wallpapers.
including Multiplicity
, KeepSafe and others, designed to increase productivity and stability on Windows. Its most popular utility, ObjectDock
, provides similar functionality to the dock found in Mac OS X but with additional capabilities. The "Plus" version of ObjectDock includes tabbed categories.
Notable customers have included:
, Stardock began as a custom PC maker but quickly expanded into making software.
. Stardock never actually received any royalties from the initial sales of Galactic Civilizations due to publisher fraud, but the market had been created for subsequent addon packs including the Shipyards expansion, and Stardock later sold a significant number of licenses to IBM for part of its Family FunPak (under the name Star Emperor). Stardock went on to create OS/2 Essentials, and its successor, Object Desktop, which provided the company with a large base of users.
At about this time, IBM
decided to abandon OS/2. However, they did not make this decision public, and Stardock continued to develop applications software and games for the platform, including Avarice and Entrepreneur. With the advent of Windows NT 4
, Stardock found that their core user base was slipping away, and was forced to reinvent itself as a Windows developer, but not before it lost most of its money and staff. A key revealing point was the failure of its game Trials of Battle, a 3D hovercraft fighting game, which Stardock expected to sell a million copies and instead sold in the hundreds. Brad Wardell
estimates that the death of OS/2 set the company back by about three years.
of its previous customers, who essentially purchased Windows subscriptions for Object Desktop in anticipation of the products it would consist of. Having put together a basic package (including some old favorites from the OS/2 era) Stardock began to bring in external developers to create original products.
Stardock's first major Windows success was with WindowBlinds, an application originated by a partnership with developer Neil Banfield. There turned out to be a large market for skinnable products, and Stardock prospered, growing significantly in the next five years. Although it is not true that Stardock was responsible for the msstyle skinning engine in Windows XP
, the release of this operating system
did stimulate sales in Stardock products, and despite growing competition proportional to the market the company remains in a strong position.
In 2001, they added a widget creation and desktop modification tool, DesktopX, based on Alberto Riccio's VDE. This has not had such a wide uptake as other products; some believe this is because it is harder to use and to create for, others because users do not understand the functionality that it offers. DesktopX competes with Konfabulator and Kapsules
in the widget arena. In 2003, Stardock became a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner with their "Designed for Windows" certification of WindowBlinds.
Stardock's success in the Windows game market has been mixed. At first, its titles on Windows were published by third parties: The Corporate Machine (Take 2), Galactic Civilizations (Strategy First
), and The Political Machine 2004 (Ubisoft
). While all three titles sold well at retail, Stardock was unsatisfied with the amount of revenue Windows games developers received. In the case of Galactic Civilizations, publisher Strategy First filed for bankruptcy without paying most of the royalties it owed. This ultimately led to Stardock self-publishing its future titles. Because of the success of its desktop applications, Stardock has been able to self-fund its own PC games and aid third party developers with their games as well.
In 2010 Q3, Stardock was forced into layoff
s due to the unexpectedly poor launch of Elemental: War of Magic
.
Other
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
in 1993 as Stardock Systems. Stardock initially developed for the OS/2
OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
platform, but was forced to switch to Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
due to the collapse of the OS/2 software market between 1997 and 1998. The company is best known for computer program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
s that allow a user to modify or extend a graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
as well as personal computer game
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
s, particularly strategy games
Strategy video game
Strategy video games is a video game genre that emphasizes skillful thinking and planning to achieve victory. They emphasize strategic, tactical, and sometimes logistical challenges. Many games also offer economic challenges and exploration...
such as Galactic Civilizations
Galactic Civilizations
Galactic Civilizations is a turn-based strategy computer game developed by Stardock and released in March 2003. The game is a remake of a vintage OS/2 series of the same name. An expansion pack entitled Altarian Prophecy was released in July 2004...
, Galactic Civilizations II
Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords
Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords is a 4X turn-based strategy computer game by Stardock...
, Sins of a Solar Empire
Sins of a Solar Empire
Sins of a Solar Empire is a science fiction real-time strategy computer game developed by Ironclad Games and published by Stardock Entertainment for Microsoft Windows operating systems...
and Elemental: War of Magic
Elemental: War of Magic
Elemental: War of Magic is a fantasy 4X turn-based strategy game developed and published by Stardock, released August 24, 2010.Stardock calls Elemental "a strategy game in an RPG world." The game revolves around exploration, city-building, resource management and conquest, but also incorporates...
.
Stardock created and maintains WinCustomize
WinCustomize
WinCustomize is a website that provides content for users to customize Microsoft Windows. The site hosts thousands of skins, themes, icons, wallpapers, and other graphical content to modify the Windows graphical user interface...
, a graphical user interface customization community, and developed the Impulse content delivery
Content delivery
Content delivery describes the delivery of media content such as audio, video, computer software and video games over a delivery medium such as broadcasting or the Internet.Content delivery has two parts:...
system before its sale to GameStop
GameStop
GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
. Many of the skins
Skin (computing)
In computing, a skin is a custom graphical appearance achieved by the use of a graphical user interface that can be applied to specific software and websites to suit the purpose, topic, or tastes of different users....
and themes featured on its site are for software that is part of Object Desktop
Object Desktop
Object Desktop is a software subscription service created by Stardock for OS/2 and relaunched for Windows in 1997....
, their main subscription service. They are based in Plymouth, Michigan
Plymouth, Michigan
Plymouth is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,132 at the 2010 census. The City of Plymouth is an enclave completely surrounded by Plymouth Charter Township, Michigan.-Geography:...
.
Software delivery
Stardock was one of the first companies to distribute its software via a free digital distribution program. The first one was called Component Manager. This was later replaced by Stardock CentralStardock Central
Stardock Central was a software content delivery and digital rights management system used by Stardock customers to access components of the Object Desktop, TotalGaming.net and ThinkDesk product lines, as well as products under the WinCustomize brand....
. In 2008, Stardock released a third-generation digital distribution platform called Impulse, which allows streamlined patching and the ability to download purchased games to another computer owned by the user for free. Stardock Central has been phased out, and new patches are now only available through Impulse. Stardock has agreed to publish some games containing certain less intrusive versions of SecuROM
SecuROM
SecuROM is a CD/DVD copy protection and digital rights management product developed by Sony DADC. SecuROM aims to resist home media duplication devices, professional duplicators, and attempts at reverse engineering software. It is most often used for commercial computer games running under the...
on Impulse.
Object Desktop
Stardock's best known product for PC users is Object DesktopObject Desktop
Object Desktop is a software subscription service created by Stardock for OS/2 and relaunched for Windows in 1997....
. It is a set of desktop enhancement utilities designed to enable users to control the way their operating system looks, feels and functions. Originally developed for OS/2, the company released a version of it for Windows in 1999. The core components of Object Desktop include WindowBlinds
WindowBlinds
WindowBlinds is a computer program that allows users to skin the Windows graphical user interface. It has been developed by Stardock since 1998, and is the most popular component of their flagship software suite, Object Desktop. It is also available separately, and as an ActiveX/COM component...
, IconPackager, DeskScapes, DesktopX
DesktopX
DesktopX is a shareware desktop enhancement program that allows users to build their own custom desktops. Amongst its features is a complete widget engine for Windows as well as a desktop object system. User creations can be exported as .desktop files or as widgets...
and others. In 2008, Stardock released Object Desktop in two editions, the traditional standard edition and a new "Ultimate" edition. The standard edition includes the core components. The ultimate edition adds additional programs designed for "power users", such as TweakVista
TweakVista
Tweak7 is a software tool for Windows Vista and Windows 7 that allows modification of various OS-specific functions, most notably the settings surrounding the Desktop Window Manager, User Account Control and startup programs. A beta version became available in July 2005, with a complete overhaul...
, Keyboard Launchpad and ObjectBar.
Game development
Stardock has an in-house game developer that has created PC games including The Corporate MachineThe Corporate Machine
The Corporate Machine is a strategy computer game from Stardock in which the goal is to create a corporation in one of four industries and eventually dominate your rival companies...
, Galactic Civilizations
Galactic Civilizations
Galactic Civilizations is a turn-based strategy computer game developed by Stardock and released in March 2003. The game is a remake of a vintage OS/2 series of the same name. An expansion pack entitled Altarian Prophecy was released in July 2004...
, Galactic Civilizations II, Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar
Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar
Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar is the first expansion pack to the turn-based strategy game Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords...
, Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor
Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor
Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor, released April 30, 2008, is the second expansion pack to the turn-based strategy video game Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords, following the first expansion pack Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar, released February 2007...
and The Political Machine
The Political Machine
The Political Machine is a government simulation game from Stardock, in which the player leads a campaign to elect the President of the United States...
. The Dark Avatar expansion pack is the highest-rated expansion pack for a PC game on GameRankings. In August 2010, Stardock released Elemental: War of Magic
Elemental: War of Magic
Elemental: War of Magic is a fantasy 4X turn-based strategy game developed and published by Stardock, released August 24, 2010.Stardock calls Elemental "a strategy game in an RPG world." The game revolves around exploration, city-building, resource management and conquest, but also incorporates...
, a fantasy 4X
4X
4X games are a genre of strategy video game in which players control an empire and "explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate." The term was first coined by Alan Emrich in his September 1993 preview of Master of Orion for Computer Gaming World...
turn-based strategy
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
game.
Game publishing
In 2006, following the commercial success of their first self-publishedVideo game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
game, Galactic Civilizations II, Stardock began publishing games developed by third-parties.
The first third-party game Stardock published was Sins of a Solar Empire
Sins of a Solar Empire
Sins of a Solar Empire is a science fiction real-time strategy computer game developed by Ironclad Games and published by Stardock Entertainment for Microsoft Windows operating systems...
. The publishing arrangement worked out between Stardock and Ironclad Games
Ironclad Games
Ironclad Games is a Canadian PC game developer. The company was founded in 2003 by former employees of Barking Dog Studios/Rockstar Games. Ironclad is located in Burnaby, British Columbia.-Titles:...
was unusual in that the two companies integrated their teams at every level. The game has an average score of 88 on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and is a top seller at retail.
The second third-party game Stardock published is Demigod
Demigod (video game)
Demigod is a Dota based game developed by Gas Powered Games for the PC platform. The game was significantly influenced by the popular Warcraft III custom map Defense of the Ancients and is widely considered as the first stand-alone game title in the "DotA subgenre". The game's title refers to the...
, from developer Gas Powered Games
Gas Powered Games
Gas Powered Games is a video game developer located in Redmond, Washington. The development studio was started in May 1998 by Chris Taylor, creator of Total Annihilation, and several other ex-Cavedog Entertainment employees....
. It was released in 2009.
Digital distribution
Having developed Stardock CentralStardock Central
Stardock Central was a software content delivery and digital rights management system used by Stardock customers to access components of the Object Desktop, TotalGaming.net and ThinkDesk product lines, as well as products under the WinCustomize brand....
to digitally distribute its own PC titles, the company launched a service called Drengin.net in summer 2003. The original idea was that users would pay a yearly subscription fee and receive new titles as they became available. Initially, Stardock's own titles along with titles from Strategy First
Strategy First
Strategy First is a software company based in Montreal, Canada. Founded in 1988, the company has published numerous well-known games, such as the Disciples series, Jagged Alliance series, Space Empires series, and Galactic Civilizations....
were available. A year later, Stardock replaced the subscription model with a new system called TotalGaming.net in which users could purchase games individually or pay an upfront fee for tokens which allowed them to purchase games at a discount. TotalGaming.net targeted independent game developers rather than the larger publishers. In late 2008, new token purchases were discontinued.
In 2008, Stardock announced its third-generation digital distribution platform, Impulse. Stardock's intention was for Impulse to include independent third-party games and major publisher titles and indeed, the service now includes content from a variety of publishers. The platform was sold to GameStop
GameStop
GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...
in May 2011.
WinCustomize
Stardock owns and operates a number of community-centric websites, the most popular of which is WinCustomizeWinCustomize
WinCustomize is a website that provides content for users to customize Microsoft Windows. The site hosts thousands of skins, themes, icons, wallpapers, and other graphical content to modify the Windows graphical user interface...
. WinCustomize is best known for providing a library of downloadable content, such as skins, themes, icons and wallpapers.
Utilities
Stardock develops a line of utilitiesUtility software
Utility software is system software designed to help analyze, configure, optimize or maintain a computer. A single piece of utility software is usually called a utility or tool....
including Multiplicity
Multiplicity (software)
Multiplicity is a computer program that enables one keyboard and mouse to access two or more client computers from a host computer. It was developed for Stardock as part of their ThinkDesk subscription service, but is now available separately....
, KeepSafe and others, designed to increase productivity and stability on Windows. Its most popular utility, ObjectDock
ObjectDock
ObjectDock is a dock similar to that in the Aqua GUI. It is distributed by Stardock for Windows 2000, 2003, XP, Vista and 7, and comes in Free and Plus versions.- Features :...
, provides similar functionality to the dock found in Mac OS X but with additional capabilities. The "Plus" version of ObjectDock includes tabbed categories.
Business partnerships
Stardock's dominance of Windows desktop enhancement technology has led to many companies licensing its technology to improve the "Windows experience".Notable customers have included:
- HP, who distributes Stardock Fences Pro and MyColors on their HP ENVY line of laptops
- DellDellDell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
, whose new Windows experience initiative leverages Stardock's dock technology - MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, who contracted Stardock to provide the default animated wallpapers for Windows Vista Ultimate - AlienwareAlienwareAlienware is an American computer hardware subsidary of Dell, Inc. It mainly assembles third party components into desktops and laptops with custom enclosures for high-performance gaming. These products also support graphically intense applications such as video editing, simulation, and audio editing...
, which distribute PCs with Theme Manager OEM (branded AlienGUIse) - ATIATI TechnologiesATI Technologies Inc. was a semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, Canada, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985 as Array Technologies Inc., the company was listed publicly in 1993 and was acquired by Advanced Micro...
, which use DirectSkin for their CATALYST Control Center - The University of MichiganUniversity of MichiganThe University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
and Florida State UniversityFlorida State UniversityThe Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, two MyColors participants - The NBA, also a MyColors participant
History
Founded by college student Brad WardellBrad Wardell
Bradley R. Wardell , commonly known as Brad Wardell, is an American businessman, programmer and author residing in Michigan...
, Stardock began as a custom PC maker but quickly expanded into making software.
OS/2 era (1993–2001)
Stardock's initial software product was a computer game for OS/2 called Galactic CivilizationsGalactic Civilizations
Galactic Civilizations is a turn-based strategy computer game developed by Stardock and released in March 2003. The game is a remake of a vintage OS/2 series of the same name. An expansion pack entitled Altarian Prophecy was released in July 2004...
. Stardock never actually received any royalties from the initial sales of Galactic Civilizations due to publisher fraud, but the market had been created for subsequent addon packs including the Shipyards expansion, and Stardock later sold a significant number of licenses to IBM for part of its Family FunPak (under the name Star Emperor). Stardock went on to create OS/2 Essentials, and its successor, Object Desktop, which provided the company with a large base of users.
At about this time, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
decided to abandon OS/2. However, they did not make this decision public, and Stardock continued to develop applications software and games for the platform, including Avarice and Entrepreneur. With the advent of Windows NT 4
Windows NT
Windows NT is a family of operating systems produced by Microsoft, the first version of which was released in July 1993. It was a powerful high-level-language-based, processor-independent, multiprocessing, multiuser operating system with features comparable to Unix. It was intended to complement...
, Stardock found that their core user base was slipping away, and was forced to reinvent itself as a Windows developer, but not before it lost most of its money and staff. A key revealing point was the failure of its game Trials of Battle, a 3D hovercraft fighting game, which Stardock expected to sell a million copies and instead sold in the hundreds. Brad Wardell
Brad Wardell
Bradley R. Wardell , commonly known as Brad Wardell, is an American businessman, programmer and author residing in Michigan...
estimates that the death of OS/2 set the company back by about three years.
Windows era (1998–present)
The newer, smaller Stardock was heavily reliant on the goodwillSocial capital
Social capital is a sociological concept, which refers to connections within and between social networks. The concept of social capital highlights the value of social relations and the role of cooperation and confidence to get collective or economic results. The term social capital is frequently...
of its previous customers, who essentially purchased Windows subscriptions for Object Desktop in anticipation of the products it would consist of. Having put together a basic package (including some old favorites from the OS/2 era) Stardock began to bring in external developers to create original products.
Stardock's first major Windows success was with WindowBlinds, an application originated by a partnership with developer Neil Banfield. There turned out to be a large market for skinnable products, and Stardock prospered, growing significantly in the next five years. Although it is not true that Stardock was responsible for the msstyle skinning engine in Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
, the release of this operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
did stimulate sales in Stardock products, and despite growing competition proportional to the market the company remains in a strong position.
In 2001, they added a widget creation and desktop modification tool, DesktopX, based on Alberto Riccio's VDE. This has not had such a wide uptake as other products; some believe this is because it is harder to use and to create for, others because users do not understand the functionality that it offers. DesktopX competes with Konfabulator and Kapsules
Kapsules
Kapsules is a freeware desktop widget engine for Windows. It makes use of the Windows Scripting Technology, allowing widget designers to use any scripting language that has an ActiveScript engine. Those widgets are then made available on Kapsules' website. , widgets are available in eight...
in the widget arena. In 2003, Stardock became a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner with their "Designed for Windows" certification of WindowBlinds.
Stardock's success in the Windows game market has been mixed. At first, its titles on Windows were published by third parties: The Corporate Machine (Take 2), Galactic Civilizations (Strategy First
Strategy First
Strategy First is a software company based in Montreal, Canada. Founded in 1988, the company has published numerous well-known games, such as the Disciples series, Jagged Alliance series, Space Empires series, and Galactic Civilizations....
), and The Political Machine 2004 (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....
). While all three titles sold well at retail, Stardock was unsatisfied with the amount of revenue Windows games developers received. In the case of Galactic Civilizations, publisher Strategy First filed for bankruptcy without paying most of the royalties it owed. This ultimately led to Stardock self-publishing its future titles. Because of the success of its desktop applications, Stardock has been able to self-fund its own PC games and aid third party developers with their games as well.
In 2010 Q3, Stardock was forced into layoff
Layoff
Layoff , also called redundancy in the UK, is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or a group of employees for business reasons, such as when certain positions are no longer necessary or when a business slow-down occurs...
s due to the unexpectedly poor launch of Elemental: War of Magic
Elemental: War of Magic
Elemental: War of Magic is a fantasy 4X turn-based strategy game developed and published by Stardock, released August 24, 2010.Stardock calls Elemental "a strategy game in an RPG world." The game revolves around exploration, city-building, resource management and conquest, but also incorporates...
.
Litigation
Stardock has been involved in litigation in relation to their business:- In 1998, they were sued by Entrepreneur Magazine for use of the trademarkTrademarkA trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
name "Entrepreneur" for one of their games. Stardock claimed that their use of this word was not related to the magazine's business, but did not have the money to fight the case—the name was changed to Business Tycoon; a later version was rebranded as The Corporate Machine. - In December 2003, TGTSoft sued Stardock and Brad Wardell for declarative reliefDeclaratory reliefDeclaratory relief is a judge's determination of the parties' rights under a contract or a statute, often requested in a lawsuit over a contract. In theory, an early resolution of legal rights will resolve some or all of the other issues in the matter....
, claiming that they should be able to use the IconPackager .iptheme file formatFile formatA file format is a particular way that information is encoded for storage in a computer file.Since a disk drive, or indeed any computer storage, can store only bits, the computer must have some way of converting information to 0s and 1s and vice-versa. There are different kinds of formats for...
without charge. Many open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
programs do read and write proprietary file formats without paying royalties—for example, OpenOffice.orgOpenOffice.orgOpenOffice.org, commonly known as OOo or OpenOffice, is an open-source application suite whose main components are for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, and databases. OpenOffice is available for a number of different computer operating systems, is distributed as free software...
reads and writes WordMicrosoft WordMicrosoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
, ExcelMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
, PowerPointMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft PowerPoint, usually just called PowerPoint, is a non-free commercial presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite, and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating system...
and other Microsoft OfficeMicrosoft OfficeMicrosoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
files. However, Stardock maintained that they should be entitled to royalties or a license fee on such software, particularly as TGTSoft was charging money for their products and because it was considered likely that their users would use the WinCustomize libraries, which are run with help (monetary and otherwise) from Stardock. The case was eventually settled out of court, with TGTSoft licensing the format for use with their products.
External links
Official- Official website
- [irc://irc.stardock.com/ IRC server] (main channel: [irc://irc.stardock.com/stardock #stardock])
- 10 years of Stardock/Stardock's 10-year anniversary
- Stardock's OS/2 history
- OS/2 product timeline
Other