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

Lead designer of FarmVille, Civilization II departs staggering social gaming company

In a surprise move, Gameloft has shut down its Hyderabad studio, resulting in a loss of around 200 jobs. An inside source has told MCV that employees were informed of the closure on Tuesday. They were then asked to pack up and vacate the office and not report to work …

250 out of work as company boasts of revenue growth

Valve’s PC digital distribution platform Steam is currently growing 300 per cent faster than it was a year ago. PC Gamer reports Steam reached the high point of 6.6m concurrent users online this month, compared to 5m users in January 2012. The 6m mark was surpassed in November, meaning Steam …

Andy Schatz, developer of the upcoming award-winning indie Monaco, has expressed his concern with Kickstarter stretch goals – calling the idea total bullshit” when going about designing a game. Speaking to Penny Arcade Report, Schatz stated that while happy for the people that have found success on the crowdfunding platform; …

With Tomb Raider a little more than a month away from release, distributor E-xpress Interactive has kickstarted the game’s preorder campaign in India. The preorder DLC differs from retailer to retailer. While some retailers are offering the Combat Strike Pack on preorders, others are offering the Explorer Bundle Pack. Combat …

Disney has confirmed the closure of Junction Point, following last night’s murmurings that Warren Spector’s studio had gone under. The developer was responsible for the Epic Mickey franchise, which saw low sales numbers for its latest offering Epic Mickey 2. According to Joystiq, the game has sold just 529,000 units …

End of the line for US developer as Disney turns focus to 'fast evolving gaming platforms' and 'key priorities'

EGDF support and strong proposals mean scheme is likely to go through, says Richard Wilson

Search giant partners with foundation to encourage a new generation of coders