Downloadable Games for Windows to arrive day-and-date

Making software digitally available on launch day is a practice that content delivery warehouses Steam, Impulse, and others have embraced. Microsoft is the next to enlist, now promising to release new PC titles in a timely fashion via its Games on Demand hub.

Microsoft announced today a broad partnership with 2K Games, Capcom, Microsoft Game Studios, Rockstar Games, THQ, and Ubisoft to make the studio's newest software available in accordance with respective official launch dates.

Microsoft's punctual approach begins today with the release of Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, which officially launched today for the PC. The game has been available on other platforms since May 18. But as of press time, the title has not appeared in the Games on Demand page.

Additionally, the publisher will release new non-Live Games on Demand titles every week and promised to add over 100 games by year's end. Added to the library today were seven new titles, including Age of Empires III, Assassin's Creed 2, Borderlands, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl.