"We love Steamworks because it offers so many advantages for the player," said Dawn of War II lead designer Jonny Ebbert. "Gamers who purchase the game and register with Steam can install the game on as many PCs as they want, can play online or offline and no CD is required to play." "Best of all, if the player ever loses the CD, the game can be downloaded for free from Steam," he added.

Retailer GameStop recently halted preorders of Dawn of War II, leading some to speculate that GameStop was using slash-and-burn tactics to fight PC digital distribution competitor Steam. Neither Valve, THQ or GameStop have chosen to comment on the issue.

Dawn of War II is set for a PC release on February 19.