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

Downloads for Rovio’s Angry Birds Stella spin-off series have now hit 30m, the Finnish games giant has said. The release of Angry Birds: Stella Pop last month has helped it past the milestone, thanks to five million downloads of its own. The company will also soon launch an update to …

It’s looking increasingly unlikely that the pioneering virtual reality headset Oculus Rift will launch this side of Christmas. We have not announced any specific plans for shipment volumes in 2015 related to Oculus," Facebook CFO David Wehner told analysts, as reported by Gamasutra. Oculus is very much in the development …

One of the most recognisable computer mice producers is to move away from the sector, citing declining demand for PC accessories. Reuters reports that Logitech has recorded a 34 per cent drop in operating profits for the year quarter ending March, falling to $14.5m. Net sales were down 4.7 per …

SCE Strategic Content boss and indie champion will discuss how devs can fight for attention

2015 will see the return of Codemasters’ action RPG franchise, Overlord. Overlord: Fellowship of Evil is the first entry in the series since the triple-hit of Overlord II, Overlord: Dark Legend and Overlord: Minions in 2009. The new game will see Tomb Raider (2013) writer Rhianna Pratchett come back to …

UPDATE: Argos is offering the same 289.99 deal as GAME. Sony has seemingly reacted to the recent Xbox One price cut by reducing the PS4’s UK price yet further. As spotted by GameSpot, a number of retailers are currently offering the machine for under 290. Tesco, Amazon and Argos are …

Episodic spin-off picks optimisation tool for speedy development

Firm offering lucrative publishing deal to games that deserve a larger audience

Tickets are now available for Endemol’s Legends of Gaming Live, which takes place this September at Alexandra Palace. The event takes place at Alexandra Palace from Friday September 4th, with tickets available for the morning and afternoon sessions. They cost 21.99 per person and grant access to the expo hall …

The BFI has released figures for the first full year of UK games tax relief, reporting a UK spend of 14m towards the production of approved titles. That’s just shy of the 15m that was budgeted for tax breaks between April 2014 and March 2015. Tax breaks for UK games …