We told you, the future was digital download. You did not listen, and now look. The future has arrived.

Digital River, Inc. a leading provider of global e-commerce solutions, announced that it has signed THQ Inc. as a client. As part of an e-commerce agreement between the companies, Digital River is hosting and managing a THQ online store, located at http://store.thq.com/. The new U.S. store supports digital download sales of THQ’s PC games, including popular titles such as Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II and Red Faction: Guerrilla. THQ Inc. is a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software.

“Our proven e-commerce infrastructure and portfolio of best-in-class technologies and services are designed to help publishers build relationships, drive traffic and generate revenues,” said Jeff Hemenway, group vice president of games for Digital River. “Using our world-class e-commerce solution, more game publishers, like THQ, are diversifying and growing their revenue streams while catering to the increasing consumer demand for both direct and digital purchase options.”

For immediate game play, PC gamers can easily purchase and download THQ’s action, strategy and family PC games directly from the THQ online store. The entire store, which operates using a Digital River e-commerce solution, is branded for THQ and helps the publisher build and maintain the strength of its brand across its U.S. consumer base. For the store, Digital River is utilizing its merchandising tools to help drive average revenue per user as well as processing transactions, serving PC game downloads, and supporting related customer service and fraud prevention screening.

“By marketing and selling our PC games through the THQ store, we can take advantage of the expanding popularity of online purchasing and downloading among gamers,” said Adrienne Lauer, THQ’s national sales director, market development. “Working with Digital River enables us to not only provide a consistent and reliable purchasing experience, but also concentrate on developing leading games rather than the complexities of running a 24X7 e-commerce operation.”