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

Your essential guide to July's key event for European game studios

UK games retailers enjoyed its busiest weekend yet last week, thanks to BioShock and Tomb Raider. The two blockbuster releases of the last month dominated the Chart-Track Top 40 last week, with BioShock Infinite becoming the fastest selling game in the series to date. 743,045 games were sold in the …

Final curtain for Medieval II: Total War developer after significant layoffs last year

New Android user interface will help improve app discoverability, says social network

HMV has revealed a list of the 141 stores that will be saved from closure. The remaining stores are listed below. The firm was acquired by Hilco UK this morning in a deal worth 50m. In total 81 HMV outlets have been closed from a store estate of 222. We …

In an increasingly fractured market there are less and less outright villains in the games business, save for one business model: free-to-play. Those that don’t find F2P creatively satisfying, or who see it as a challenge to their business, are the most vocal. Most recently that debate has spilled over …

But community manager Felix Caffier stresses 'this is not the end' for the development platform

Reports claim the Xbox 720 may use an ‘always-on’ connection to prevent players from using second-hand games – and it’s not sitting well with the High Street. We spoke to several retailers – both national and independent – to find out what impact the rumoured technology would have on their …

HMV will emerge from administration, with 141 stores and 2,643 employees. The firm has officially been acquired by Hilco, and will be led by Ian Topping. Topping was the former CEO of Steinhoff Group. Paul McGown, Hilco CEO, will be the company’s new chairman. HMV had 222 stores before its …

This latest MCV–which isnow available to view online– contains a detailed story on the new Blockbuster UK and its plans for video games. We also speak to Ouya and its bid to be a major digital retailer, and Koch Media’s Craig McNicol tells MCV why he feels the firm is …