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

Darkside Games, the studio working on the Xbox One reboot of Phantom Dust, has been closed. Kotaku reports that around 50 people have lost their jobs, with studio sources claiming that the move was as a result of the game’s cancellation. Phantom Dust was to be Darkside’s first solo project …

Microsoft to detail plans for console apps in April

Microsoft will reportedly turn retail Xbox One hardware into development kits and open up app creation to all developers. Sources said to be familiar with Microsoft’s plans have tipped The Verge that the company will detail its strategy in April – during its upcoming developer-focused Build conference. The report adds …

Paranautical Activity – the game that was banned from Steam when its creator threatened to kill Valve’s Gabe Newell – has returned to the Steam store. The game has endured several transitions since the threat against Newell was made, including the selling of its rights by original developer Code Avarice …

Monster Hunter 4G and its western release Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate have combined to ship 3m units, Capcom has announced. The figure includes both physical copies and units purchased through the 3DS eShop, but omits the original Monster Hunter 4’s 4m sales. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate launched earlier this month …

The Order: 1886 developers talk about game length, uncanny haterade and how YouTube is changing gaming.

GameMaker 2.0 expected to launch later this year

Re-Logic and Engine Software have announced a game that they describe as NOT Terraria 2”. It’s called Terraria: Otherworld and is set in an alternate dimension within the Terraria universe”. The game is designed to expand upon the existing title, exploring what might have been, and approaching gameplay in a …

Valve appears to be automatically monitoring the blocking the content of some Steam chat. Torrent Freak reports that mentions of KickassTorrents made via Steam’s in-built instant messaging tool are not delivered to their intended recipient. However, rather than censoring out the name of the site the message itself is completely …

Metacritic may be increasing falling out of favour, but Satoru Iwata is having none of it. The Nintendo boss dedicated a significant part of his investor briefing to talking up the reviews aggregator, highlighting the success that Nintendo is currently enjoying with the critics. Foreign website Metacritic.com is well known …