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

No longer just the Master Chief’s AI buddy, Cortana is rapidly becoming a complex and multi-talented virtual assistant. Her applications for general PC and mobile use are well known, but Microsoft is keen to educate developers on how she can be used in games. James Batchelor finds out more

Global video games retailer GameStop has said that like-for-like store sales for the nine weeks ending January 2nd were up 4.4 per cent. That represents 4.9 per cent growth in the US and 3.9 per cent internationally. Total global sales grew 1.8 per cent to $2.99bn, up from last year’s …

Yes, the rumours were correct. Deep Silver has announced that Homefront: The Revolution will be released on PS4, Xbox One and PC in the UK on May 20th. It will arrive in the US on May 17th. A couple of retail ‘leaks’ had already appeared to have pointed to a …

Just over 24 hours left if you want to have your say about the games jobs market in 2016

UK theme park Alton Towers has announced a new roller coaster that has its passengers wearing a virtual reality headset. Simulation rides have been around for yonks, but Galactica will be the first to combine an actual rollercoaster with a virtual reality experience. Passengers will lay face down and experience …

Hamlins LLP's Julian Ward offers advice on what studios need to think about if they're pitching for a famous licence

Ratchet & Clank will release slightly later in the UK than previously thought. Sony has said the PS4 platformer will arrive in the UK on April 22nd. Surprisingly, that’s just a week before the release of Sony’s Uncharted 4 on April 29th. Of course, the crossover between the game’s audiences …

The boss of virtual reality specialist Oculus has said that Nintendo’s failed Virtual Boy platform was harmful to the whole virtual reality movement. In a second Reddit AMA, Palmer Luckey rightly points out that the Virtual Boy was not really a virtual reality device in any sense of the word. …

Aspiring environment artist combines game and film visuals for university assignment

Money raised by game’s sales will be split between Morgan Adams Foundation and Family House SF