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

Halfbrick has just sent word that over one million Playstation owners have now taken flight with Jetpack Joyride. The news comes at the same time as an update for the Vita version of the game, which adds Twitter support amongst other assorted upgrades. "We want to extend a massive thanks …

The developers of Kickstarter-backed tactical shooter Takedown: Red Sabre have struck a deal with publisher 505 Games. The game is being made by former Ghost Recon creative director Christian Allen at his studio Serellan and is being very much pitched as a successor to the likes of Rainbow Six and …

Industry veteran Ken Fee delves into why game development courses deserve more credit, and support

The Activision-published Angry Birds Trilogy has passed 1m unit sales at retail. There are two ways to interpret that stat. On the one hand, many scoffed at the idea of selling games that can be downloaded for 69p on smartphone at a far higher RRP on a disc. On that …

Key new releases in film, music and games will still be sold in the remaining HMV stores after an agreement was reached with suppliers. Crucially, this will mean that Monday’s James Bond release Skyfall will be available on DVD and Blu-ray. We are pleased that these agreements are now in …

EA has decided to give age-old puzzle classic Tetris a free-to-play makeover. Tetris Blitz is described as an innovative new twist on the world famous puzzle game” that contains fresh new features and stunning visuals for the ultimate Tetris experience”. In much the same way as PopCap altered the rule …

Studios need to constantly improve tech pipelines to keep costs reasonable, says Ted Price

Kai Zhao to lead developer relations and technical direction North America expansion

Touchscreen need not play second fiddle to physical controls in the first person shooter sector, DeNA’s Ben Cousins argues. And the former exec intends to prove it with upcoming release The Drowning. The game will shun virtual joystick controls in favour of a gesture-based affair. Shooting is handled by the …

Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider to discuss sexism and sexuality in games