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

The latest firmware for PS3 has been pulled by Sony. That’s following widespread reports that the 4.45 update, which users are prompted to install whenever the console connects to PSN, is bricking some machines. We’re aware of reports that the recent PS3 update (4.45) has caused,” an official statement confirmed. …

Alex De Rakoff signs on as creative director for upcoming titles

Activision’s Skylanders property was last night named as best licensed programme of the year at LIMA’s International Excellence Awards. Held on the first day of Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, Skylanders also walked away with the award for best character or toy brand. Other big winners included The Very Hungry …

Latest round of cuts reportedly affects fewer than 20 workers

Sony president Kazuo Hirai hopes to keep the corporation’s entertainment and electronics divisions unified going forward. A Nikkei report reveals Hirai’s stance against the split – despite significant noise over the past several weeks that the company is heavily considering just the opposite. It was also reported a few weeks …

The impending arrival of the next generation of consoles poses not threat to Nintendo. Wii U, the company’s American boss has argued. Asked specifically about the impact the $400/349 PS4 may have on the already struggling Wii U, Reggie Fils-Aime told Kotaku: "It puts no pressure on us at all. …

Steel Diver announced as Nintendo's first excursion into untested waters

Firaxis XCOM: Enemy Unknown hits iOS devices this Thursday, and it doesn’t intend to fit into the mobile platform pricing mold. The game will run for $19.99 and works on iPad 2 and beyond, iPhone4S and beyond, and fifth generation iPod touch devices. The relatively high price shouldn’t come as …

Valve appears to be looking into allowing Steam users to share their digital purchases with friends. Kotaku reports on a few lines of code dug up from the latest Steam client beta, revealing a ‘shared game library’ that gives users the ability to let other accounts borrow” a game – …

Latest figures show number of game developers is less than half that of 2007