Game industry business news

New Cloud Imperium Games studio to house up to 20 staff

If immersion is your currency, then it’s hard to imagine a richer setup than this. The video below depicts users playing Valve’s Team Fortress 2 using touted virtual reality headset Oculus Rift, a compatible gun controller and a prototype Virtuix Omni omnidirectional treadmill which, as the name suggests, allows users …

Sony’s Ratchet & Clank franchise is getting the big-screen treatment. The film, due out in 2015, is already in production at Blockade Entertainment and Rainmaker Entertainment. It’s being penned by T J Fixman, who was also the author behind the pair’s recent games outings. The truth is, we’ve wanted to …

The 3DS story has been one fraught with ups and downs. A high price, coupled with negative press reports, a poor launch line-up and confused advertising forced Nintendo to cut the console’s price just three months after launch. The 3DS’ unique selling point – a 3D screen – quickly lost …

Few will comment on the record, but an investigation into in-app purchases could impact publishers of kids games. The Office of Fair Trading last week expressed concerns that children are being misled into spending significant sums on games promoted as free, and said it will review this part of the …

Developer Lab Zero Games had to overcome payment firm PayPal to keep development of Skullgirls on track. The game was the subject of a successful crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo, raising just under $830k last month. However, PayPal froze the studio’s account and threatened to keep it locked unless it received …

Dead Space 3, Fable: The Journey, Resident Evil 6 – the industry isn’t short of big brands that have distanced themselves from their heritage in an attempt to reach a larger audience. Next on the list could be Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Ubisoft Toronto boss Jade Raymond has said that while …

Games tax relief needed to support production of culturally British titles, says Richard Wilson

Gamers can now order pizza directly through their Xbox 360 consoles. But perhaps more importantly, they can also design their own custom pizzas using Kinect and then have them delivered directly to their homes. They can also navigate the program using gestures and voice. The Pizza Hut app first and …

UK games industry charity GamesAid raised an impressive 3,295.92 at last week’s MCV Awards. The organisation was promoting the GamesAid Tenner initiative, which encouraged attendees of the event to hand over their cash to support a host of worthwhile charities. Attendees of the Awards were also treated to the second …