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

It may be the industry buzzword of the moment, but freemium games still have a long way to go before they take down retail. 216m will be generated in the UK by virtual goods sold in games such as FarmVille (pictured), League of Legends and World of Tanks, research firm …

CEO Ilkka Paananen talks about becoming part of the mobile hit parade

This week’s MCV isnow available to view online – and it is absolutely free. The issue is dedicated to the free-to-play games market and features the biggest names in freemium, including Wargaming, Nexon, Ubisoft, CCP, Crytek, InComm, Qinqo, Disney, EA, Gameloft, GREE, GameForge, Jagex, Trion Worlds, Square Enix, MarvelousAQL, Perfect …

Master Chief’s new stewards, Microsoft’s 343 Industries, has struck gold with its first Halo outing. Halo 4 reviews landed online this morning, delivering near-universal praise for the Chief’s latest adventure and likely his last outing on Xbox 360. At the time of writing the game has an impressive 91 per …

Comet, which is owned by GAME’s saviour OpCapita, is likely to enter administration today. The move endangers some 6,000 UK jobs across 240 stores at the UK’s second largest electrical retailer, with losses for the year ending April expected to hit 35m. The decline has been expedited after trade insurers …

Kurt Sutter pitches popular biker drama to Grand Theft Auto studio

Open-source console to use Android 4.2

Better visuals don't necessarily mean a higher price tag, says Take 2 CEO

Take-Two Interactive has revealed its second quarter financials, with standouts Borderlands 2 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown driving the publisher past its predicated outlook for the period. Gearbox’s Borderlands 2 has shipped 5m copies to date, while XCOM is, according to the firm, ‘proving to be a critical and commercial success.’ …

Ahead of Halo 4’s launch next week, Microsoft has revealed several figures for its blockbuster FPS franchise. For starters, the series has sold 46m copies to date since the launch of Combat Evolved in 2001 – resulting in $3bn generated across all Halo titles. Xbox Live has seen over the …