Game industry business news

Using the analog sticks on a controller is an action that might seem simple to many gamers. However, for Mark, whose Duchenne muscular dystrophy causes reducing muscle strength, something so apparently simple can be a huge barrier. But through the use of a smaller Xbox controller, modified to include an …

Small but mighty, indie games have become a hot point of interest for players, publishers and platform holders alike in the last few years. So much so, some even have merchandise. MCV takes a look Indie games are big news. Once moderately prosperous passion projects, independently-developed titles have been brought …

Alongside Tomb Raider, Halo and Quantum Break on stage at Microsoft’s Gamescom 2014 press conference was a pixel-art title called The Escapists. It’s an indie game set in a prison and has been developed by one-man studio Mouldy Toof, aka former roofer Chris Davis. Having my game shown to the …

Football video games may generate all of the record-breaking statistics and headlines, but another of England’s national pastimes has consistently attracted players to its latest virtualised offerings. While they might not rack up the sales figures of FIFA or PES, cricket games have built up a dedicated community of followers. …

Last week’s MCV and UKIE figures valuing the market for games in the UK showed a growth once more in consumer hunger for games. The consumer market grew by 13 per cent, reaching 3.944bn in 2014, almost on par with its value in 2008. The strength and geographical spread of …

Why are UK gamers so averse to spending money this year? It’s a question we’ve been asked, in varying forms, several times. And the answers are numerous: these consumers just spent lots on their consoles and they received loads of games with them. There actually haven’t been many games. And …

It might be easy to dismiss the success of Warner Bros’ video games division. Warner is an entertainment powerhouse with billion-dollar brands like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Batman. It can attract the biggest talent and spend significant sums of money to secure it. But that counts for …

Chinese mobile games publisher Allstar Games will launch in the UK this year, and is splashing $4m (2.6m) on the venture. The firm’s debut release will be mobile action strategy title Allstar Heroes for iOS and Android. The $4m spend is designed to promote both Allstar Games and Allstar Heroes. …

After years of decline, the number of physical shops selling games increased in 2014. 5,665 stores sold video game products last year, according to the Entertainment Retailer’s Association’s Yearbook. That’s an increase of 1.3 per cent year-on-year. And that number does not include every indie retailer, either. The surprise growth …

The Walmart-only Gold Mario Amiibo is selling for over seven times its RRP on eBay. The SKU was discovered on Nintendo’s website earlier this month and was this week confirmed as a Walmart-exclusive in the US. The $12.96 figure is reportedly already sold out across the country, with a large …