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

Steam has seen multiple record-breaking spikes in concurrent user numbers over the past few weeks, peaking out at nearly 13.5m this weekend. Multiple reports – as well as Valve’sstats pagefor the service – show the game broke concurrent user record marks three times during the second half of October. The …

US servers for MOBA strategy hybrid Total War: Arena will go live next week, Creative Assembly has revealed. The North America closed beta for the free-to-play online multiplayer affair will open up on November 13th. The game is currently in open beta in Europe and Russia. To mark the occasion, …

Blueprint report launches at Parliament event in London, recommending more funding support and ‘games-as-culture’ promotion

Michael O’Dell, manager of Team Dignitas,toldBBC Newsthat the sale was close to $1 million, but he was unable to state the exact amount. The sale leaves Dignitas with just the one North AmericanLeague of Legendsteam, as the pro rules state that eSports groups can only manage one squad. Read more …

007 may have a licence to kill, but it was Master Chief that emerged triumphant in last week’s battle of the brands. Halo 5: Guardians generated 7.7m during its first 24 hours on sale, Xbox has announced, beating the Box Office opening for the new James Bond movie Spectre. The …

The narrative goes that boxed games retail is dying as the digital market thrives. The digital sector has, in many ways, lowered the barrier to entry in the games market and been one of the main factors in the booming indie movement. Oh course, the physical games market is still …

Organisations plan to expand volunteer network to teach kids to code

GAME’s latest midnight launch will be for Call of Duty: Black Ops III, with a special tournament taking place at its Westfield Stratford store. More than 300 of the retailer’s outlets will open in time for Activision’s latest shooter. They will be joined by flagship venues in Stratford, Birmingham Bullring …

Accessibility. In many ways accessibility has always been THE single biggest driving force behind the video games industry. Those who don’t abide by this principle are very much the exception. Consoles like the Atari 2600 and the NES popularised gaming in the home by freeing it from the clutches of …

In the build up to MCV and Develop’s indie pitching event Interface next week, we will be publishing interviews, insight and analysis about the indie development sector. In the coming weeks, expect daily online articles dedicated to indie development and publishing. It begins today with a piece on why digital-only …