There will be a replacement for Impulse to manage SD's apps (a la Component Manager or Stardock Central).  Just a matter of when & what they call it.  I'm sure their agreement with Gamestop provides for Impulse to continue as the distribution & update vehicle until SD's ready to replace it so I don't think we'll run into an 'sell by date' issues.

There was a, uh, relatively active thread about it a little while back.  I tried to fish it out for you but can't find it, so you'll have to settle for my seriously abridged version for now.

GameStop is a game retailer.  They didn't have a digital distribution platform, just brick and mortars.  They bought the Impulse piece of Stardock to get the game digital distribution.  A group of employees related to Impulse that used to be working for Stardock are now working for GameStop.

Don't know for sure, but I'd think that both Stardock and GameStop would somewhat anxious to get the desktop customization stuff split out of Impulse.  Makes sense that GameStop wouldn't particularly want to be bothered by it, and it seems like getting it out would simplify Stardock's life as well.

Think that's pretty much the gist of it.

Oh..... that lot.  I bought my collectors boxed set edition of Riven and Myst from them... the outer box looks like one of the Riven books.

Thanks for the lowdown, Dave, that explanation pretty much covers it.  Still, I find it strange that Brad would relinquish control of the digital distribution platform he seemed so proud of just a short while ago.  I suppose, though, money talks and Stardock can always develop another digital distribution platform based on the same idea.