Game industry business news

Following predictions earlier this month, Blockbuster has apparently informed a number of its key partners that it will be entering into a pre-planned bankruptcy” agreement in mind-September. LA Times reports that the retailer’s chief executive Jim Keyes flew to LA last week to meet representatives from studios such as 20th …

The UK games industry faced a textbook media storm in a teacup on Monday when for all of about four minutes it looked like the Government wanted to ban the new Medal of Honor. It doesn’t, of course. Angry comments published overnight about the game’s Taliban content by Defence Secretary …

Art Academy is a sell out. A number of High Street chains have told MCV they have no more copies of the game left. GAME is among the video game retailers that have been hit by the shortages and are waiting for a new batch of stock to arrive. Nintendo’s …

Ubisoft has axed nearly forty staff at its Red Storm studio, the publisher has confirmed. The group insists those affected by the cuts have the opportunity to consider positions in other Ubisoft studios” – though it appears that North Carolina-based Red Storm is the only Ubisoft studio in the US. …

Big names in gaming have joined BBC Worldwide as the firm prepares to announce its first wave of titles. Former THQ and Disney Interactive exec Paul Joffe has joined as VP of production, while Ben Badgett is the firm’s new creative director – Badgett was previously director of gaming at …

CLICK HERE FOR MCV’S FULLY UPDATED, COMPREHENSIVE RELEASE SCHEDULE. August ends with a bang this weekend, with a strong line-up of new products hitting shelves today. Leading the charge is 2K Games’ Mafia II, a gangster action game with a storyline that stretches across the classic Mafioso era of the …

With FilePlanet and the GameSpy tech suite, IGN is attracting new swathes of developers

Square Enix has revealed that it will be implementing new measures in upcoming MMO Square Enix that are designed to narrow the gap between hardcore players of the genre and more casual players. Kotaku reports that the game will allow players eight hours of unrestricted play. Once that barrier is …

With plenty of noise being made about the rampant success of the BBC iPlayer on the PS3 and Wii, Microsoft has taken time to point out that its own IPTV offering is also performing very strongly. Last October the platform holder launched its console-adapted version of the Sky Player, which …

This year’s Gamescom pulled in a record 254,000 visitors – 9,000 more than last year’s show. It also played host to 505 exhibitors attending the event in Cologne, up from 450 last year. A host of celebrities also appeared including Harry Potter’s Weasley twins Oliver and James Phelps, Formula One …