Digital distributor Impulse, Inc. announced the addition of several new features designed to enable developers easily add “free to play” type features to their PC games. The next beta drop of its forthcoming game developer platform SDK, Impulse::Reactor, scheduled in March, is expected to include an in-game store experience, feature unlocking, and seamless downloadable content management all managed from an easy to use developer portal. Parent company Stardock Entertainment has begun to migrate all its titles to utilize the new features of Impulse::Reactor.

“The increasing growth of the free to play model along with premium downloadable content has created a lot of interest in the game development community for tools that make it easy to integrate these capabilities into their games,” said Brad Wardell, CEO of Impulse, Inc.

What makes Impulse::Reactor compelling is that it does not require an external client to be included with the game. Instead, the developer only has to include the Impulse::Reactor DLLs with their title and pick and choose which features of it they wish to make use of. The new features of Impulse::Reactor streamline the process of managing the selected features and content and vastly reduces implementation time as it integrates seamlessly with other SDKs. Because it doesn’t require an external client, it is more palatable to retailers and digital distributors since it is ‘vendor neutral.’

“This is particularly cool for gamers,” said Wardell. “When a gamer loads up their game, they will see an option called ‘Add Features.’ Choosing this option will take them to an in-game catalog that displays all features available. Some features may be content (maps, campaigns, levels, skins, items, quests, etc.). Other features may be extensions to the game itself (multiplayer, new game modes, etc.). This allows for greater selection and choice on the gamer’s end, and on the developer end, a more streamlined development experience with greater value add.”

Impulse::Reactor v1.0 is still in internal beta and is only available to select developers. Visit http://developer.impulsedriven.com to sign up for the beta.

General availability of Impulse::Reactor v1.0 is anticipated in summer 2011.