Game industry business news

Oculus Rift has secured an additional $75m from investors to help bring the VR headset to market. VentureBeat reports investment firm Andreessen Horowitz provided the funding in a deal which offers an Oculus Rift board seat for the company’s co-founder Mark Andreessen. The capital will be put toward the completion …

The digital games market exceeded $1bn in total sales last month, according to research collected by SuperData. The [a]list daily reports on SuperData’s findings, which show a 25 per cent increase in digital sales in November compared to the same period in 2012. The research firm notes that the freshly …

NPD has released its November 2013 US retail report, revealing total game sales increased seven per cent year-over-year to $2.74bn. Thanks to the arrival of the next-gen consoles and strong Wii U sales, hardware had its best November in recorded history – spiking 58 per cent to $1.3bn for the …

Planetary Annihilation is to receive a physical retail release thanks to a new publishing deal with Nordic Games. Nordic also assumes non-exclusive partnership duties on the digital version. "Nordic Games is helping us deliver the next-generation of real-time strategy gaming to our Kickstarter backers and global fan base," CTO at …

Microsoft has announced a European release date for Xbox 360 RPG remake Fable Anniversary. The game will be released in Europe on February 7th, having hit America a few days beforehand on February 4th. The game is a 1080p revisiting of 2005 Xbox title Fable: The Lost Chapters, which itself …

Crysis developer CryTek has announced a CryEngine-powered mobile game called The Collectables. Made in conjunction with mobile powerhouse DeNA, the free-to-play title features over-the-top gunfights” and larger-than-life action heroes” along with an upgradable cast and selection of weapons. "DeNA offers unparalleled experience in the mobile gaming space, and we’re excited …

Microsoft says it’s urgently looking to help independent retailers who have been left in the dark over their Xbox One stock allocation. A number of High Street and online outlets have told MCV that the lack of information over their Xbox One stock has severely damaged their ability to sell …

As was exclusively revealed by MCV yesterday, all remaining Blockbuster stores will close next week. That means the closure of 91 stores and the loss of 808 jobs, with the last doors to be shut on Monday December 16th. All remaining stock will be sold off at a significant discount …

New SteamOS to also be made available for download

Russian studio with credentials on Heroes of Might and Magic gets a funding boost