Conquest Modes, I truly believe, are the best thing to almost happen to video games. There was a weird, brief time when it looked like they might happen around 2005, seemingly off the back of a wave of appreciation for Total War, when they started popping up in everything from other RTS games to the original Star Wars Battlefront 2. But then - poof! - gone.

I would very much like them to come back. It's taken me a while to realise but conquest modes are often the secret ingredient to some of my most beloved games, home to my most beloved pre-adolescent memories. Not to be confused with the tickets-and-control-points Conquest mode in Battlefield, which is fun but not what I'm on about, the conquest mode I'm talking about is where you get a big, often slightly silly layer over the top of the "actual" game itself, in the form of a map with regions or planets or whatever that you strategize over capturing, and fight over down on the real-time ground itself. A metagame, if we must use that word: a driving, continuous reason to keep playing the game, but essentially one that is also a game itself, as opposed to just a path of XP unlocks or a paid-for pass.

A favourite of mine - if we're excluding Total War, which is sort what you get if you make an entire series of conquest modes, where the mode itself is fleshed-out and maximised to its logical conclusion - is the one that came in the Dawn of War: Dark Crusade expansion, which frankly had no right to be so good. The story here, if you chose the Space Marines, is that you've landed on some xeno planet and just about every other intergalactic race (there are seven of them) just happens to show up as well. If you play as the Necrons, it's a bunch of rowdy neighbours moving in and waking you up. If you're the Tau then apparently you think this planet's yours. Everyone's here, basically. Orks! Imperial Guard! Chaos! More! For some time since, quoting the hyper-committed narrator's "...and then the Eldar came!" has been a running joke with friends.

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Dawn of War and Space Marine developer Relic Entertainment will continue to invest in PC game development despite the recent spate of high-profile video game leaks.

But the Canadian studio has admitted PC piracy "is always a concern".

"It's always a concern as a company, but it's not one which is driving the decision to make PC," Relic marketing manager James McDermott told Eurogamer.

"For us, the drive to make PC is, really big, established, DOW community, they're PC gamers, there's probably going to be crossover to Space Marine. It felt like it made sense to make a Space Marine game for PC."

Square Enix is currently in the process of suing a group of Italians it believes were responsible for the leak of upcoming sci-fi action role-playing game Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

The Japanese company reckons the game was obtained through a Steam press account normally reserved for game journalists.

It was the latest in a string of leaks this year that have caused some to question the viability of creating PC versions of multi-platform games.

Relic is right now discussing how to handle the process of allowing game journalists early access to Space Marine.

"One of the things that's come up is the concern about the PC and the protection for it, because it doesn't have any major protection," McDermott continued.

"It's obviously going to have the keys and stuff for when it launches, but the actual code base, you could rip out the executable and stuff like that.

"It's just ensuring everyone is trusted partners. The conversation's just started on that. On PC, with that, there's always going to be that challenge."

If Space Marine was leaked, "It would definitely be soul destroying," McDermott said.

Relic has seen impressive results on PC, and expects its success on the platform to continue with the multi-platform Space Marine.

"THQ has quite good traction with PC sales," McDermott revealed. "Steam numbers continue to be really good for us.

"Relic have been into PC games for a long time. We're still seeing a lot of good numbers can come from that market. We still think it's viable.

"We've already seen pre-orders are pretty high for PC on Steam.

McDermott said Relic remains unconcerned by the apparent doom and gloom around PC gaming, calling the PC a "great platform".

"Some people just think it would be easier if PC went away. I just get that sense sometimes. It's because PC is such a tailored market in terms of the kind of platform you have to have. The barrier to entry is a lot higher than just, go and buy a console.

"It just seems like there's more complexity to it, which is probably somewhat true. But it is a great platform. For first-person shooters, that's still where I want to play."

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THQ has signed a new "multi-year" extension on its exclusive Warhammer 40,000 licensing agreement with brand owner Games Workshop.

A more specific timeframe wasn't put on the deal, but it covers all relevant platforms including "core, social and mobile rights."

The announcement also noted that the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War RTS titles have now sold 6.5 million copies.

"The complex, futuristic war-torn universe created by Games Workshop equipped THQ's award-winning development teams with the material to create one of the most loved PC franchises - Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War," said THQ CEO Brian Farrell.

"Our envisioning of the Warhammer 40,000 universe will continue to grow with top quality games across all platforms, including the upcoming launches of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online."

Games Workshop boss Mark Wells also chimed in, adding, "We know that the depth of the storylines, characters and imagery of the Warhammer 40,000 universepositions the IP to excel across many media platforms.

"Extending our agreement with THQ will help ensure that Warhammer 40,000 maintains a strong and growing presence in the video game space."

Space Marine, trailered below, is due out on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Q3 2011, while the Dark Millenium Online MMO is still without a confirmed launch window.

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