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

The world’s biggest kids franchise has included a new innovation this year in the form of ‘traps’. In a role reversal to bringing the ‘toys to life’, players of Trap Team can now capture in-game villains and transfer them to the little plastic traps that can sit on the portal …

The Steam Holiday Auction has been suspended just hours after it began. The scheme allowed Steam users to trade digital items such as trading cards for Steam Gems, which in turn can be used to bid on games. However, as noted by Reddit some users quickly acquired a huge number …

Having reached its Kickstarter targets last summer, Satellite Reign is now available on Steam. The 20.69 download (temporarily down from its full price of 22.99) is quite limited in scope for the time being, hence its release as an Early Access title. It includes four player agent classes, some upgrades …

The latest news to stem from the ongoing storm surrounding the Sony Pictures hack involves a possible new Mario film – made by Sony. Buzzfeed unearthed evidence that Sony producer Avi Arad secured the rights to an animated Mario film and sending a picture of himself with Mario creator Shigeru …

Nintendo has said that unit sales of its Amiibo figures are nearing 710,000 in the US. IGN reports that the platform holder added that Amiibo sales are roughly the same as unit sales of recent Wii U release Super Smash Bros. Link has proved to be the most popular figures, …

Assassin’s Creed is Ubisoft’s flagship IP and has sold 73m units worldwide since its debut in 2007. Its popularity has seen the series turn into books and – coming in 2016 – a movie starring Michael Fassbender. There are toys of the characters and entire clothing ranges based on the …

6,800 – that was the return one punter saw on their 19.94 investment as the rush to get hold of Sony’s 20th Anniversary PS4 sweeps Ebay. Sony revealed the machine last week, saying that it would be limited to 12,300 units worldwide. The console quickly sold out in the US …

Storytelling is becoming increasingly important in the world of games as the medium continues to evolve. Craig Chapple talks with the industry’s leading writers on where strong narratives can take games in future

Two special edition versions of Sony’s PS4 title Bloodborne have been revealed. The Collector’s Edition, which has a European RRP of €79.99, includes the game in a steel case, premium art book and digital soundtrack. The Nightmare Edition, meanwhile, offers a fair bit more. For €119.99 gamers get all of …

PPLLAAYY founder Konstantin Elgazin reflects on the biggest change in his games development career