MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry

Video game tournaments are a $500-million global business, but they have a long way to go before they can justify the big investments game-makers, team owners and others are making in them. That’s because it’s not yet clear how video game competitions, known as eSports, will take shape compared to …

Let’s see a show of hands: how many of you wanted to play video games professionally when you were young? I can’t actually see you raising your hands, but I’m betting there’s a lot of you. Many have gone on to play games professionally as the field has become more …

These days, Adam "Armada" Lindgren is constantly locked in a non-stop, back-and-forth battle for the most important title in professional Super Smash Bros. Melee. Every tournament he attends, the pressure is on him to beat every other top player in attendance and keep his crown. Armada is the best Melee …

Harry ”MaSsan” Cheong’s split from Cloud9 is only the latest development in the Hearthstone streamer’s saga of Twitch bans and viewbotting allegations. Twitch and C9 have been tight-lipped throughout the drama, while Reddit sleuths and competing streamers have fed a frenzy of accusations and speculation. In the faint hope of …

Nintendo will next week launch an official Mario-themed content pack for the Wii U version of Minecraft. The free download includes a pre-made Mario world full of the company’s recognisable characters. There will also be themed music and textures based on titles such as Super Mario World, Mario 64 and …

Since the platform launched, YouTube has become a major force within the games industry. Millions of people spend billions of hours watching their favourite personalities do Let’s Plays – videos of them playing games. This content has become influential and the opinions of these people are held in high regard …

Study will investigate job opportunities, industry trends and working conditions for audio experts

Artist Alan Quah and writer George Mann reveal what makes a game suitable for adaptation, the pressure of working with beloved IP and what Dark Souls and Marvel have in common

Geomerics’ global illumination tool now being used to sell houses

Like many great ideas, Wipeout began at the pub. Developer Nick Burcombe was drinking with Jim Bowers, his colleague from Liverpool-based studio Psygnosis, at Oxton’s The Shrewsbury Arms. A dev kit for Sony’s first PlayStation console had recently arrived at the office, and the duo was trying to think about …