InstantAction Launches Web-Based Streaming Game Service

InstantAction launched its web-based streaming game distribution platform today with LucasArts' The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition. The new title, and future games like it, can run fully in any browser or social network thanks to an embeddable Java applet. The company says its service saves download time for consumers and lets publishers expand distribution through the ability to embed their games anywhere online wherever such objects are allowed, not only on Facebook but on personal pages like Blogger, Wordpress, TypePad and others. The platform also includes monetization options. Publishers can offer free trials, virtual items for sale, and pay-as-you-go formats if created for that particular game. (The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition has a free 20 minute demo and is then buyable for $9.99.) InstantAction first revealed its new plans at Game Developers Conference this year, which is the first major product launch since the IAC-backed game company added former Westwood co-founder Castle as lead exec in mid-2009. "Gamers not only get the try-before-you buy and rent-to-own benefits; they can easily embed full games into their social networks, accessing their friends’ lists and adding social features to games where they may not have existed," says InstantAction CEO Louis Castle. He adds: "The InstantAction platform provides a brand new way to get games from their creators to customers, thus avoiding obstacles to publishing and discovering new games that are inherent in the traditional brick and mortar model."