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

Nintendo today announced a new deal that will see its classic characters feature in games for smartphones. The company has formed a ‘business and capital alliance’ with DeNA, a web and mobile giant, that will see the pair working on new games featuring Nintendo IP plus a new cross-platform membership …

Microsoft is reportedly developing its digital assistance program Cortana as a standalone app for Android and iOS. Reuters reports the app is expected out on Google Play and Apple App Store in the fall, sometime after the launch Windows 10. The report cites people familiar with the project,” and adds …

Indie hit Octodad: Dadliest Catch will expand its platform stable later this year, as developer Young Horses have announced Wii U and Xbox One editions are in the works. Both are expected out this summer, with the Wii U version being co-developed by Young Horses and Panic Button Games. Young …

Steam has once again bested its concurrent user record, surpassing 9m active accounts for a stretch during the past weekend. VG247 reports Valve’s digital platform peaked at 9.06m concurrent users around midday Sunday, Pacific Daylight Time. The figure dethrones the previous best of 8.51m users logged at the beginning of …

Yet another company is to enter the toys-to-life category, according to online rumours. Videogamer claims to have word that Warner Bros is currently developing a toys-to-life game based on the lucrative LEGO franchise. The publisher declined to comment when pressed on the matter, although Traveller’s Tales’ associate producer Tim Wileman …

Indies invited to open days to discuss publishing their games on Xbox One and Windows 10

The ID@Xbox account manager discusses Windows 10, working with publishers and the new Xbox Live SDK

Crytek has signed a major licensing deal with a mystery firm as part of its strategy to put the company on a more stabe footing following its troubles last year. Speaking toDevelopat GDC, Crytek co-founder Faruk Yerli and head of PR Jens Schaefer said rather than securing funding from an …

Fnatic not only enjoyed a memorable victory at this year’s ESL One Counter Strike finals in Katowice, but it did so in front of a record online audience. The final of last year’s event was watched by 250k viewers. This year that number jumped to a massive 1m. Of that …

Publisher hopes to announce partner soon