Will anyone win the toys-to-life war? Find out in this week’s MCV

With Skylanders, Disney Infinity, LEGO Dimensions and Amiibo, the toys-to-life space has never been so competitive. But who is going to lose out?

We speak to some of the genre’s experts to find out.

We also look back at the winners of this year’s MCV Awards in pictures, including a triumphant Warner Bros – who took away the Best Publisher gong, as well as Sales Triumph and PR Team.

And as Fable decides to go free-to-play, we speak developer Lionhead to find out why the action RPG series has taken this route.

The digital edition of MCV is available here.

And the full contents of this week’s issue are below:

• IN PICTURES: Last week more than 500 industry figures gathered at the MCV Awards to hail 16 different winners – including a jubilant Warner Bros. We look back at the night
• COVER: Pre-order crisis looms as 3.4m UK gamers hold off
• COVER: ‘Absolute madness’: retail bemoans shooter pile-up
• NEWS: Nintendo pledges more stock after Amiibo ‘smashes’ expectations
• NEWS: Middle Eastern eSports league launches
• NEWS: EA ‘still believes’ in free-to-play, despite shutting down four games
• NEWS: Indie GamesNation details South West store expansion plans
• FEATURE: The toys-to-life market has become more competitive and congested as LEGO Dimensions enters the fray. But who will win? MCV speaks to the experts
• INTERVIEW: The legendary action RPG series has taken some experimental turns over its time, but now Fable is going free-to-play. We speak to Lionhead Studios to find out more
• INDIE INTERVIEW: Relentless – best known for its PS2 Buzz series – abandoned consoles in 2013 in favour of mobile. But now it’s back – why?
• APPOINTMENTS: Ubisoft unveils new-look PR team
• SHELF LIFE: Christian Le Cornu of Jersey-based Seedee Johns on the benefits of changing locations and why he almost gave LEGO Dimensions a pass
• MARGIN MAKERS: Bethesda has made some of the most talked-about titles in games. We round up some of the best products themed around the publisher