PC Universe at War golden, Steam'd

Shortly before the PC version of Universe at War: Earth Assault was to begin bombarding North American retail shelves in October, Sega revealed that its invasion plans needed a bit more consideration. "We wanted to give the game a little more time for polish so that gamers get the best UAW has to offer," said a Sega rep on the state of the game. Sega noted that developer Petroglyph is on track to conclude its spit-shine sometime in early December.

True to word, a Petryoglyph community manager has posted on the game's official Web site that Universe at War has gone gold and will arrive in the coming weeks. "The game is at the manufacturer as I type this, and we'll be hitting store shelves soon!" read the announcement. A demo featuring a tutorial and the first two missions of one of the game's campaign modes is available for download through GameSpot.

While a release date has not yet been confirmed for the T-for-Teen-rated game, retailers expect to offer the latest alien-invasion real-time strategy game from the studio behind Star Wars: Empire at War on December 4. The latest real-time strategy game from the studio behind Star Wars: Empire at War, Universe at War will invade retail on December 10. An Xbox 360 version is slated for the first part of 2008, and Petroglyph plans to integrate Microsoft's Games for Windows - Live service to allow for cross-platform play.

For those fearful of leaving the safety of their own home in case of an actual alien invasion, Sega announced today that Universe at War would be among several of the publisher's recent and upcoming releases to be available for download through Valve's digital distribution service Steam. Other titles currently available or soon to be added include The Golden Compass, Sega Rally Revo, Sega Rally, Worldwide Soccer Manager, and Futbol Manager. The publisher has previously supported Valve's downloadable game service with installments from the Creative Assembly's epic-scale Total War strategy series.