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

Battlefield Hardline spent its fourth week in pole position of the GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top 40. It managed this in spite of a 56 per cent sales decline. EA’s shooter was nearly No.2 this week as FIFA 15 came extremely close to taking the top slot with less than …

Microsoft has issued a statement about the energy consumption of the Xbox One following criticism from an environmental group. Late last month, Noah Horowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council posted a blog accusing the Xbox One’s ‘Instant On’ mode – which keeps the box in a lower-power state when …

Recent Xbox One and PC release Ori and the Blind Forest was able to turn a profit in just a week’s time, developer Moon Studios has revealed. Games Industry reports on the studio’s CEO Thomas Mahler statement to fans, in which he claims Microsoft is quite pleased with the title’s …

Following up on its recently announced plans for expansion into new business segments such as mobile and tablet games, NCSoft has invested $5m into Vancouver-based mobile startup This Game Studio. Speaking with Games Beat, NCSoft West executive Michael Chang explained the acquisition strengthens the company’s continued expansion into the western …

Pre-orders kept Grand Theft Auto V on top of Steam’s best selling products chart ahead of its PC release this week. Recent Steam arrival Elite: Dangerous was the closet to dethroning the chart’s recent champ, climbing up the charts from its fourth place debut last week to the runner-up spot …

Aranda Morrison talks to us about launching a multiplayer game out of Perth, Australia

The operators of a website that sells four and five star reviews for Amazon products is being taken to court by the online retail giant. GeekWire reports that Amazon has accused Jay Gentile of selling fake ‘verified reviews’ to suppliers and even supplying advice on how they can trick Amazon …

Valve hopes to bring PC gaming to the masses in the form of its console-like Steam Machines. Ahead of the arrival of the first boxes later this year, MCV asked four manufacturers – Webhallen, Zotac, Materiel.net and Falcon Northwest – about placing their bets in the battle for the living …

A photo posted online by an event caterer appears to name the next Tony Hawk’s game as simply Tony Hawk 5. The picture in question, which was allegedly taken at a behind-closed-doors event for the game, has since been removed from Instagram – but not before it was captured by …

Focus Home Interactive has nailed down the first official details for The Technomancer. The post-apocalyptic RPG, which is set on Mars, is being developed by Bound By Flame’s studio Spiders. Players take on the role of a Technomancer on the run from the secret police. Much of the action revolves …