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

Pre-orders for Watch Dogs and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag are higher on Xbox One and PS4 than on current generation platforms, says Ubisoft. European chief Alain Corre told MCV that the transition to the next generation of consoles will be faster than expected. It follows comments from UK retailers …

PlayStation 3 was the No.1 console of the summer in the UK with some help from 2013’s second best selling game. The Last of Us has overtaken BioShock: Infinite as the UK’s No.2 game of the year so far, despite only being available on one format. It is only beaten …

Nintendo’s first foray into the world of NFC collecting is now available at UK retailer GAME. The chain is now selling blind-packed Pokemon Rumble U figures for 3.99 a shot. It looks as if all of the 18 figures that were released in Japan are included as part of the …

Analyst firm IHS Electronics and Media has praised Sony’s decision to lock multiplayer behind a PlayStation Plus paywall. Sony confirmed at E3 that PS4 owners will have to subscribe to PS+ if they wish to access online multiplayer – a function that is currently free for PS3 owners. Sony has …

Develop looks at Kalydo's new combined tools and services for cloud gaming

UK's single biggest games conference adds another leading name - takes place November 13th, tickets £199

SCEE’s Shahid Ahmad will joins experts from Twitter, Google, Twitch and as a London Games Conference speaker this November. Ahmad, who works on SCEE’s Strategic Content team and has signed a number of new and upcoming developers to make PlayStation games, will describe how fantastic tools, digital distribution and gaming …

The latest Humble Bundle has become the fastest selling in the charity’s history. The Humble Origin Bundle allows players to pick up six EA titles – Dead Space, Dead Space 3, Crysis 2 Maximum Edition, Mirror’s Edge, Medal of Honor and Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box – for whatever price …

Peter Molyneux's studio opts for cross-platform development tool

Microsoft’s strategic shift regarding Xbox One and Kinect will only stretch so far. The platform holder announced earlier this week that Xbox One will now be able to function without Kinect being connected. The firm had previously said that the console wouldn’t function unless the motion camera. But calls for …