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

Gamescom is almost upon us, and so MCV in association with Xbox One has put together an extensive guide to the show. And it’s absolutely free. As well as maps of the halls and the location of all the exhibitors, our Gamescom 2013 guide features times of the conferences, hints …

The NPD Group has released its retail sales report for July, confirming another year-over-year decline across the board. Hardware sales brought in $99.4m for the period – a 34 per cent decrease versus the $150.9m earned over the same stretch in 2012. Accessories saw just a three per cent loss …

Seemingly keen to soften the blow for gamers in Nordic and Benelux, Microsoft has pointed out that Xbox One can be imported. The move represents another U-turn of sorts – Xbox One was at one stage designed to be region locked and its previous online-centric approach had previously meant it …

Microsoft will shut down Games for Windows Live and cease selling products through the PC games marketplace, the firm has announced. The company confirmed the news on the Games for Windows Live Facebook page, adding that users will still be able to download and play games through the Games for …

Xbox.com PC Marketplace joins Microsoft Points as casualties of online overhaul

Charitable sales platform is on mark to break records with 1m units sold

PopCap’s tower defence phenomenon Plants vs Zombies has made its long awaited return. As with most of EA’s popular mobile franchises, Plants vs Zombies 2: It’s About Time has gone free-to-play, and this time around, the game will take players through multiple historical time periods. The developers plan to roll …

Rift, Defiance developer closes second studio in a week

Grand Theft Auto 5 will let you and your friends ride your dirt bikes off a cliff and parachute down to the ground in tandem. That and a whole lot more is possible in Grand Theft Auto Online. Yesterday, Rockstar Games showed off the online features of GTA 5, revealing …

The rumours claiming Arkane Austin is working on Prey 2 are true, they just don’t want anyone to know about it yet. In an internal email obtained by Kotaku, Arkane’s creative director Ralph Colantonio stated that the Texas-based studio would be developing Prey 2, and that it would be a …