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

MCV and Koch Media round off Independent Retail Month with our final special feature focusing on the sector. This week, we look at five of the UK’s top stores. Seedee Jons Established: 1993Stores: 1Based: Jersey, Channel IslandsContact: 01534 769405Web: www.seedeejons.com Games now make up almost 70 per cent of this …

E3 organiser ESA has hit back at those who say the show has become irrelevant. Detractors have claimed the annual event is out-dated since its primary focus is on the struggling boxed games market. But the ESA says the appearance of Zynga and GREE at this year’s showcase is evidence …

Reports suggest Sony has struck a deal with Gaikai or OnLive

The changing rules of digital games and marketing will be laid bare at November’s London Games Conference. Returning for its fourth year, the popular conference and networking event will again examine emerging trends in digital games. LGC 2012 is run by Intent Media, publisher of MCV and Develop. The first …

Ubisoft assaults the FPS market with the long-awaited return of its flagship Tom Clancy shooter. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier equips players with the weapons of tomorrow and throws them into some of the world’s deadliest battlefield. The new Gunsmith mechanic allows them to craft more advanced weaponry, complete with motion …

Developers are now free to introduce subscription payments in their Google Play titles. The first title to use the feature is already live – Glu Mobile’s Frontline Commando. This allows games to offer monthly or annual subscriptions, expanding the options open to developers for monetizing their titles. Google says that …

BioWare has confirmed Mass Effect 3’s upcoming DLC the Rebellion Pack will arrive next week in North America and Europe. A leak from Playstation Asia originally unveiled the upcoming content last week. The multiplayer add-on hits PC and Xbox Live worldwide on Tuesday, May 29th along with a North American …

38 Studios and Big Huge Games have let go of their entire staffs, an internal memo reveals. The two studios employed 379 full-time workers combined as of March 15th. The memo, sent to employees, reads as follows: The Company is experiencing an economic downturn. To avoid further losses and possibility …

The first layoffs in GAME Australia’s administration process have begun, with 281 people being let go today. The company employed until today over 500 staff. Administrator PriceWaterhouseCoopers confirmed that of those who lost their jobs today, 264 of them were from retail stores and the other 17 were from the …

THQ has announced the release of Metro: Last Light’s live action ‘Enter The Metro’ trailer. The game is available for pre-order from shopTHQ, with a free copy of Darksiders going out to all who put down early for the PC version. Metro: Last Light is due out in Q1 2013 …