Stardock CEO Brad Wardell has stated that while his company’s Impulse distribution service claims 10% of the PC game digital delivery market, Steam remains on top, with 70% of all digital distribution taking place on Valve’s popular service. Wardell asserts that Steam’s early jump on the digital distribution market - the service was launched in 2003, while Impulse was first released last year - has played an important role in Valve’s domination of the market.

Specifically, Steam operationalized processes for DRM management and international pricing, two areas where Impulse still faces obstacles with individual publishers and countries. While Stardock plans to make progress in streamlining its distribution systems with the looming release of Impulse Phase 5, it’s safe to assume that Steam will continue to retain the lion’s share of the digital delivery market for the forseeable future.