Game industry business news

The Ghost Recon: Future Soldier first DLC pack Arctic Strike has been pushed back to later in July. The map pack, which was originally set for a July 3rd release, has been delayed for some additional polish. Ubisoft has yet to set a new release date but still plans to …

Paid-for service brings in $40 million

If a publisher’s confidence in an upcoming title is any measure of how good it is, then PES 2013 could turn out to be a very solid title indeed. So much so, in fact, that Konami’s UK PES team leader Jon Murphy has pointed the finger at rival licence FIFA, …

One word. Four letters. With a very powerful meaning. Crystal Dynamics executive producer Ron Rosenberg used the word ‘rape’ to describe an attack of heroine Lara Croft in the new Tomb Raider game. It was accurate, reflecting what we’d seen in the trailer. But in the light of the Hitman …

Gem has been signed as the exclusive UK distribution partner for THQ. The publisher’s titles were previously handled by Advantage but will switch to Gem starting with the release of Darksiders II on August 21st. "We are delighted to have appointed Gem Distribution to work as an extension of our …

LEGO Batman 2 remains the UKIE GfK Chart-Track All Formats No.1 this week despite stiff competition from a trio of newcomers. Activision’s The Amazing Spider-Man debuts in second place (with 56 per cent of sales for the Xbox 360 version) ahead of Take-Two’s Spec Ops: The Line at No.3. Sega’s …

EA has confirmed that its paid-for multiplayer Battlefield 3 expansion Battlefield Premium has sold 800,000 subscriptions in its first two weeks. That equates to something in the region of $40m in revenue. Battlefield Premium offers members a numbers of perks including early access to multiplayer map expansions as well as …

Confirming MCV’s exclusive report last month, Sony has acquired cloud gaming firm Gaikai for $380m. At the end of May, MCV revealed that Sony’s rumoured interested in cloud gaming tech went beyond what many had suspected and would lead to an acquisition. Gaikai soon emerged as the front-runner, only for …

The Resident Evil 6 Collector’s Edition will be available exclusively at Game4U, the specialist retailer has announced. The Collector’s Edition will be available for PS3 and Xbox 360, and will be priced at Rs 10,450. The contents include: Resident Evil 6 Game Zombie Steel Book Hardback artbook Avatar DLC code …

MMO developer Funcom is taking a break from its mature-themed titles to work on a licensed Lego MMO game, the company has confirmed. The Age of Conan and Secret World developer is hoping for an offering that will appeal to a more ‘family-friendly’ audience, one that will be more broadly …