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

Publisher Activision Blizzard is free of its former parent Vivendi. After its plans for a buyout were initially blocked, the company announced this weekend that it had at last completed the transaction. To do so it had to acquire 429m shares and certain tax attributes” from Vivendi at a total …

Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V has claimed it’s second UKIE Gfk Chart-Track All Formats UK No.1 after two weeks at the top for EA’s FIFA 14. Nintendo’s 3DS RPGs Pokemon X and Pokemon Y debut in third and fourth place respectively, with week one sales doubling last year’s Black 2 …

Main competition deadline is October 19th, student competition closes October 31st

Mad Catz confirms feature, but consumers will have to wait until after launch

Dual-trackpads prove quite flexible across genres

A free-to-play version of NetherRealm Studios’ upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins is in development for iOS and Android, publisher Warner Bros. has announced. The brawler pits Batman against a number of DC Comics’ most deadly assassins,” with victories earning players unique” Batsuits, in-game currency, and other rewards. No word yet how …

Nintendo will allow Wii U and 3DS developers to implement cross-platform multiplayer with other consoles and devices, according to indie developer Ripstone. Ripstone’s co-founder Phil Gaskell told Eurogamerthat Nintendo recently agreed to the studio’s request to include cross-play for its title Pure Chess – which is already out on PS3 …

Civilization V is out in front of yet another Steam weekly software sales chart filled with aging hits on special. Civ V’s Gold Edition finished first, while its Brave New World expansion grabbed the sixth spot. Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise also filled multiple chart positions, with a discounted Assassin’s Creed …

After the inaugural season of the Logitech G Championship Series in partnership with Frag-Nation, Logitech is continuing its focus on e-sports in India with Logitech G Free2Play. The two-day event will take place in Bangalore on 19th and 20th October, and will feature Counter-Strike, DOTA 2 and League of Legends …

World Rally Championship 4 will release in India later this month through distributor Origin Games. This year’s game features several additions over WRC 3, including the new classes – WRC Junior, WRC, WRC 2 and WRC 3. WRC 4 includes almost twice as many cards as its predecessor and implements …