Gamefly breaks into digital distribution, will offer unlimited PC and Mac downloads

By Jeff Hughes August 9, 2011

Video game rental company Gamefly has announced they’ll be launching a digital game downloads service later this year during the holiday shopping season. The service will be available for both PC and Mac gamers.

The company’s by-mail video game rental subscription service is similar to the pre-streaming Netflix of old. Gamefly focuses primarily on current gen consoles such as the Wii, PS3 and the Xbox, allowing console gamers to try as many games as want for a monthly subscription and giving the option to buy the titles that customers can’t bear to part with.

Sadly, Gamefly has had to neglect PC gamers for practical piracy reasons, but the upcoming service aims to make amends to that gaming market. The new digital client’s main feature will allow subscribers to download and play as many of the 1,500 and ever-growing library of Mac and PC titles as they desire.

“It’s kind of like a Spotify or Rhapsody or a Napster,” Gamefly co-founder Sean Spector told Game Hunters. “You have access to the content as long as you are a subscriber, but when you are no longer a member, the content then disappears.”

Alongside the unlimited play, the new service will allow subscribers to conveniently download digitally or order by mail, pre-order upcoming console and PC releases or purchase game titles. Also, users will have access to a game organizer, gaming headlines and a social component allowing discussion and sharing of collections with other users.

The closed beta will be launched in Los Angeles on September 8, 2011; beta codes will be handed out at the event. Further information and a beta invite can be obtained from the website.

This new feature follows the company’s acquisition of the PC download service Direct2Drive three months ago. Gamefly is entering a digital distribution service domain filled with many competitors including Steam, OnLive and EA’s recently launched Origin platform.

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I'm a SF Bay Area-based writer/ninja that loves anything geek, tech, comic, social media or gaming-related.

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