Game industry business news

The follow-up to Mass Effect 3 will arrive between late-2014 and mid-2015, a developer at Bioware has revealed. Speaking with Gamer Syndrome, Mass Effect 3 producer Mike Gamble said that the game will be revealed sometime in 2013. Last month, executive producer Casey Hudson had confirmed that Bioware had begun …

Petrolheads itching to get a glimpse of the new Nissan Juke Nismo (we’re sure this applies to someone somewhere) need only turn to their smartphones. The car manufacturer has teamed up with mobile publisher Gameloft to recreate the new model in iOS and Android racer Asphalt 7: Heat. Players will …

Microsoft hoping to reinforce developer and consumer confidence in digital marketplace

Preorders for Grand Theft Auto 5 had begun internationally a while back, and a few Indian retailers have now started accepting preorders too. Flipkart.com was the first to begin preorders, offering both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions for Rs 2,799. Shortly after, Game4u also listed Rockstar’s upcoming open-world title …

The publishing giant is rebranding its Play4Free label to add free-to-play games into its growing Origin offering. EA has announced plans to integrate established F2P portal Play4Free and its titles into its flagship download games service, eventually putting everything under the new Origin Free To Play label. Popular Play4Free games …

Online games retailer Nextworld doesn’t think we’re going to be around long enough to see Christmas, so it’s instead offering a sitewide ‘End of the World’sale. From now until 21st December, all products at Nextworld are being discounted anywhere from 6.66% to 15%. Simply use the EOW2112 promo code at …

HMV has warned it will probably breach its lender covenants in January. The firm reported a 36.1m loss for the 26 weeks ending October 27th. But says it is having ‘constructive discussions’ with its banks. This isn’t as severe as last year’s loss of 50.1m, and the firm says it …

Several games and DLC are now on sale as part of the PlayStation Store’s festive sale. Games available on discount include 007 Legends, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, The Amazing Spider-Man, F1 Race Stars and Prototype 2. DLC for Sleeping Dogs is also on sale. PlayStation Plus subscribers receive additional …

Update: EA has flat out denied they ever shared any such info to Gamer Syndrome, tellingCinema Blend that the entire piece was completely fabricated. "The posting has inaccuraciesin it… At no time did EA or BioWare provide any answers to questions from Gamer Syndrome," EA states. Apologies for passing information …

Humble Bundle’s AAA experiment with THQ has come to a close, and the results look very solid. The effort raised just under $5.1m by selling nearly 900,000 units across its two weeks of availability. Each sale allowed buyers to choose the split between THQ, Humble Bundle, and charity donation. The …