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

Hi-Rez Studios’ free to play first person shooter Tribes: Ascend is now available on Steam. The game remains free, although gamers do have the option of purchasing the Starter Pack. The 7.49 download (soon to rise to 14.99) includes a lifetime 50 per cent XP boost, two special classes, 12 …

A New Zealand judge has ruled that the search warrants used to allow the raids of Megaupload owner Kim Dotcom were invalid”. The file-sharing site was shut down in January and its owner, Kim Dotcom, along with four others were arrested. The BBC, however, reports High Court judge Justice Helen …

New outings for Metal Gear, Pro Evolution Soccer and Castlevania will all be available to play in Cologne this August. Konami will give consumers the chance to check out its biggest upcoming games for themselves, as well as live streams, trailers and interviews for anyone that is unable to make …

The strong reaction to the inclusion of what appeared to be an attempted rape in a recent trailer for Tomb Raider is disproportional, Ian Livingstone has claimed. Edge reports that the Eidos life president told the audience at the GameHorizon conference that the industry should instead be celebrating one of …

Brian Quigley, formerly GM of Sales at Nintendo and former lead of distribution for THQ, has started his own company,Turn Left Distribution. Turn Left will offer high-level service to top-tier publishers across Australia and New Zealand, and has announced its first partner in Disney Interactive Games, and its first title …

It was a surprise when the 3DS XL was revealed without a second circle pad – that it’s getting a Circle Pad Pro expansion is perhaps less of a surprise. Andraisang reports the company has confirmed such a peripheral, and that it will be released in 2012. However, considering the …

Norwegian studio to adapt iconic figures into online experience for all ages

Last year’s best selling toy line, LEGO Minifigures, are to be turned into an MMO developed by Norwegian studio Funcom. The studio has scored the licence to the range of collectible figures released in quarterly waves and sold for pocket money prices, inspired by LEGO’s iconic characters. In 2011, the …

Google has finally gone live with details about its first official tablet PC – the Nexus 7. The device will come in two SKUs – a 159/$199 8GB version and a 199/$249 16GB version, putting it squarely up against Amazon’s Kindle Fire in the market. It houses Nvidia’s quad core …

Valve has announced the beta release of its own movie creation tool to the general public. The Source Filmmaker has been used by the company to create in-house films such as Team Fortress 2’s ‘Meet the Team’ series. The Source Filmmaker can make a movie out of any game running …