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

Gamescom 2013 officially kicks off tomorrow, but just like E3, the big press conferences will take place a day earlier. Microsoft held its brief press conference earlier in the day, announcing that all European Xbox One preorders would receive FIFA 14 free, plus some exclusive FIFA Ultimate Team content for …

Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Dead Rising 3, Watch Dogs and Forza lead release slate

More people are talking about PS4 than Xbox One, says communications firm Way To Blue. The firm’s stats reveal that ‘mentions’ of PS4 on Twitter, news sites, forums and blogs stand at 5.24m, while Xbox One lags behind in second place with a still decent 3.99m mentions. But it is …

Virtual reality firm aims to improve developer experience through online community

Activision’s best-selling shooter will be available bundled with Xbox One, Microsoft has announced. During its pre-Gamescom press event, the platform holder confirmed Call of Duty: Ghosts would feature in a premium console bundle, which will include the Xbox One, Kinect, a copy of the game and bonus DLC, according to …

Ubisoft’s Kinect-controlled Fighter Within has been confirmed for Xbox One. The brawler title will be a sequel to Fighters Uncaged and will offer full Kinect control. Fighter Within first surfaced last week following domain name registrations and a Google cache snapshot of the site, which detailed the Xbox One title. …

As we announced yesterday, European consumers who pre-order Xbox One will receive a copy of FIFA 14 for free. Microsoft announced it today at its pre-Gamescom press conference. The move is designed to appease customers who feel Xbox One’s 430 is not good value for money. EA has a partnership …

Free devkits and no game update fees puts MS back into indie fold

Electronic Arts’ downloads store Origin will now allow customers to request full refunds if they’re not satisfied with one of the publisher’s games. There are, of course, certain requirements. Refunds can only be requested within the first week of purchase, or within the week of launch if the game was …

Microsoft has announced its new indie games developer programme in a bid to win over small studios. Independent Developers @ Xbox (or ID@Xbox as the press release likes us to call it) is a programme build following consultation between Microsoft and 50 developers, the platform holder claims. The self-publishing programme …