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

Virtual reality is finally being released, but over half of UK games stores think that it is not going to take off in 2016. 55 per cent of shop managers believe that the new tech is not going to be a hit in 2016, with many saying that they predict …

What did UK games retail really think of 2015? Which companies helped them out the most, and what was their game of the year? Find all this out and more in MCV’s Annual Retail Survey in which we spoke to over 130 UK games stores. We also round up the …

Bullet Train for Oculus Touch unleashes new gameplay

For the second year running, Xbox has been voted the UK’s best publisher by retailers. In 2014, the firm was voted for by 26 per cent of stores, but this year this grew to 31 per cent of retailers asked. Store managers cited the platform holder’s strong first-party line-up, which …

Current EA COO Peter Moore has landed a new role at the publisher, heading up a brand new eSports division. Its official name is the EA Competitive Gaming Division (CGD), and Moore’s new title is Executive Vice President and Chief Competition Officer. His aim is to further the eSports aspirations …

Developers advise on how to best illuminate your games and create a rich atmosphere for players to get immersed in

The fourth episode of Minecraft: Story Mode is set to launch later this month, Telltale has revealed. Telltale confirmedthe first season’s penultimate episode will launch later this month across all platforms, adding that the fifth episode is scheduled for a vague 2016 window. More details are said to be on …

Finland-based mobile studio Traplight Games has closed a recent round of funding totaling €1.3m. Games Industryreports the second funding round brings the Big Bang Racing developer’s lifetime total to €2m. The studio’s racing game is based around user-generated content – which has gone well enough for the studio to prioritize …

Mighty Switch Force Academy has launched out of Early Access on Steam, developer WayForward has announced. The indie studio boasts the official release packs 20 new levels, five classic stages, as well as four-player co-op and competitive play. WayForward debuted its Mighty Switch Force property as a puzzle platformer release. …

Straight-laced, stiff upper-lipped, very-sensible middle class British High Street retailer John Lewis has got all modern, like, by adding a virtual reality headset to its shelves. It’s called the Freefly VR. It costs 49.95 and can be found on the fifth level of the store’s flagship Oxford Street outlet. The …