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

A big new player will enter the virtual reality arena next week. Valve has confirmed that it will use GDC to reveal what is described as a "previously-unannounced SteamVR hardware system". Although nothing is known of the new hardware as of yet, Valve’s dominance in the PC games sector means …

Greg Zeschuk has announced his return to games, with the Bioware co-founder chairing Vancouver-based studio Biba. The developer focuses on creating mobile augmented reality apps that work alongside playground equipment. Game experiences are designed for kids, though the apps are primarily intended to be used by parents through refereed play.” …

Xbox One’s March update will offer a few new features, including the ability to take screenshots directly from the console’s dashboard. The update is already available to participants of Xbox One’s preview program, and is prepped to add screenshot support, a suggested friends list, and the ability to share your …

Machinima has landed another round of funding led by Warner Bros, though it hasn’t stopped the multi-channel network from cutting a chunk of its staff along with a few programs. A total of $24m has been raised for the network by Warner Bros, Redpoint Ventures, MK Capital, Coffin Capital and …

Streaming video leader YouTube has released a smartphone app designed to provide kids with a safe viewing environment. YouTube Kids, which is currently only available in the US, is built from scratch to provide a safe, simple environment for kids to access a curated selection of content. Videos will auto-expand …

Nintendo says it could have sold more New 3DS XL units in the US were it not for an ongoing labour dispute that is disrupting West Coast shipping. The first [New 3DS] shipments to Europe and the United States sold most stock that made it to shelves in the first …

We continue our round-up of this year's contenders with a look at the narrative category

Climax may not be a company you’d associate with being an ‘indie’ developer. Over its 25-year-plus history, the company has actually worked with some of the industry’s most iconic video game IP. Starting out with console ports of Diablo and Warcraft, before moving onto its original Silent Hill games (Origins …

PlayTech ‘the first investor who didn’t want to alter our vision’

Graphics card giant Nvidia has found itself in legal hot water over what it has now confirmed to be the misleading specifications it released for its GeForce GTX 970 card. The company had marketed the card as having 4GB of video RAM. While technically this is true, it failed to …