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

Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are going all-out in their approach to this year’s Black Friday. The three platform holders have cut prices across the board to under 230 for their flagship consoles and bundles. Tesco is offering a 500GB Xbox One with Rare Replay and Ori and the Blind Forest …

Developer Jon Hare has announced that the crowdfunding effort for Sensible Soccer spiritual successor Sociable Soccer has been axed. Hare launched a Kickstarter for the game on November 12th with a goal of 300,000. But following a slow start that saw the game make 32,498 from 1,767 backers, Hare opted …

Blizzard today announced their plans for Hearthstone eSports in 2016, including an inflated prize pool of $1.9m. The World Championship tour of Blizzard’s eSports card game will culminate next year in a $1m global final at BlizzCon 2016. Prior to that final stage, three seasons of $100,000 championships will be …

Code.org using Force Awakens characters to teach children about computer programming

Sensible Soccer dev now in discussions with unnamed publishers

Microsoft’s Agostino Simonetta says despair within the indie scene is a case of unrealistic expectations

CCP Games shares its experience and advice on version management and Continuous Delivery

Developer behind A Day in the Woods secures publishing contract worth $50,000

The last few years have been great for indie developers. They have gone from being bedroom coders hidden at the back of the big games expos to being placed front and centre in Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo’s press conferences. Yet indie development hasn’t been without its challenges. Recently, the notion …

UK independent retailers say the cost of stock this Christmas is seriously harming their ability to compete. Trade pricing has long been an issue for smaller outlets, but one indie says that the situation is ‘worse than ever’. It follows the recent launches of Call of Duty: Black Ops III, …