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

Free UK magazine ShortList is celebrating a gaming first this morning. Today’s issue features what editor Martin Robinson describes as the world’s first playable gaming cover”. Using augmented reality app Blippar, the cover can be turned – or ‘blipped’ – into a playable version of ‘80s title Chuckie Egg. There’s …

People don’t want to pay for games. That’s what MCV was told repeatedly at E3. And indeed many of this year’s high-growth or most controversial games – World of Tanks, League of Legends, CSR Racing amongst others – were absolutely free. Of course anyone that has followed this market as …

Sebastian James, group CEO of Dixons Retail, has told Radio 5 Live this morning that the firm hopes to offer Comet staff around 2,000 jobs over Christmas. Comet,which went into administration last week,is currently still trading, but its 7,000 employees all risk losing their jobs before the holidays. James commented:"Comet …

The iOS version of Microsoft’s Smartglass is now available to download on the Apple App Store. The Android version was released last week. The App allows you to use your smartphone or tablet as an additional input device for the Xbox 360. In some cases it will allow you to …

Valve has announced a partnership with UOL BoaCompra to allow Steam users to pay for products with Brazilian currency. To start only Boleto (billing slip) will be accepted as payment, though other local methods are planned in the coming months including deposits, account transfers, and local credit cards. The addition …

Ubisoft has reported its earnings for the first half of its fiscal 2012. During the period running from April 1st through September 30th of this year, the company saw gross profits of around $247m – a 21 per cent increase from the same six months in 2011. That said, with …

Publisher Future US has revealed it will be shutting down Playstation: The Official Magazine. The end will be swift for the publication, with its Holiday 2012 special scheduled as the final issue. "Future US can confirm it will end production of PlayStation: The Official Magazine with the last issue slated …

Microsoft's Xbox app arrives on Apple devices

A gaming-focused Xbox Surface tablet could be on the way from Microsoft. The Verge reports that the firm is finalizing designs for a 7-inch device that will run a custom version of Windows, which would confirm the validity of the specs sheet leaked earlier this year. The tablet will pack …

The latest in the Assassin’s Creed franchise is off to a great start at retail. As part of Ubisoft’s half-year earnings report,CEO Yves Guillemot announced that AC3 has racked up 3.5m units sold in its first week. Guillemot specified that the figure relates to the number of purchases by consumers, …