Sharpen your world domination skills, prepare your spell book and get your wizarding robes on: the anticipated PC fantasy strategy title Elemental War of Magic from independent publisher and developer Stardock has gone gold! The Limited Edition ($69.95) and the standard edition ($49.95) will hit national retail stores on August 24. Elemental War of Magic can be pre-ordered at Stardock’s digital distribution platform, Impulse or via the game’s web site.

(www.impulsedriven.com) (www.elementalgame.com)

Elemental War of Magic opens a world of magic and ancient lore as players begin the game as one of the few beings in the world still able to channel power from shards of magic – a series of mystical artifacts left over from a great cataclysm. You must decide how much of your power to imbue into your heroes as you build cities, explore dungeons, learn spells of ever-increasing power and negotiate with friends and foes.

The game also includes integrated modding tools that allow players to create their own fantasy maps, monsters, tiles, effects and much more. The game’s story-driven campaign, written by Random House’s writing team, was made exclusively with the built-in modding tools.

“We wanted to make a game that players would be able to keep adding into for years to come,” said Brad Wardell, president & CEO of Stardock and the game’s lead designer. “With the built-in tools, players can create whole new worlds and share them with others players seamlessly from within the game.”

Besides including the sand box game and campaign, Elemental also includes a multiplayer mode in which up to 16 players can play online while taking simultaneous turns. Players can save their multiplayer games online and return to them to continue in order to support players who wish to play more epic-sized games.

In addition to the PC title hitting stores on August 24, the novel ELEMENTAL: DESTINY’S EMBERS, written by Elemental: War of Magic Executive Producer Brad Wardell, will also be available at bookstores nationwide from Random House’s Del Rey publishing division. Customers who purchase a copy of the book ELEMENTAL: DESTINY’S EMBERS will be able to download the additional, exclusive video game campaign, Elemental Destiny’s Embers. The campaign will release in four stages, with the first component being released in September.

“Elemental has been a labor of love; a project we’ve wanted to do for many years at Stardock. Since we began development, our artists, developers, programmers and support staff have been incredible and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve accomplished,” said Wardell. “This project has defined our company as a seamless team of dedicated, creative professionals. Elemental is by far our finest project to date and one we’ve had an incredible amount of fun creating.”