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

New unit to focus on mobile; British games veteran Martyn Brown head-hunting for publisher

A battle is being fought on the High Street. GAME has closed 277 stores and its major rivals are scrambling to win its customers. Supermarkets and online giants are hoping to capitalise. Tesco’s bold ‘Home of Gaming’ press ad set out its belief last month that it has the specialist …

Train 2 Game questionnaire examines the importance of academia

Having already feasted on the joys of cross-promotion with film tie-in Angry Birds Rio, Finnish studio Rovio is to embark on a second licensed venture. As spotted by Pocket Gamer, Angry Birds Heikki is associated with former McLaren and Lotus F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen, who currently races for Caterham F1. …

In MCV’s weekly rundown of the hottest vacancies and latest personnel news, Gem is searching for a new web graphic designer and we look at the best job vacancies. Gem Creative seeking web graphic designerUK firm Gem Creative is looking for a web graphic designer to join its team. The …

The Hitman Sniper Challenge DLC is now being offered on preorders for Hitman: Absolution at select Indian retailers. Those who preorder Absolution can instantly download and play thestandalone DLC. Items unlocked within the Sniper Challenge will carry over to Hitman: Absolution when it hits stores for Xbox 360, PS3 and …

Sega’s Aliens: Colonial Marines has been delayed. Again. On the plus side, the Gearbox Developed shooter has actually got a firm release date for the first time, albeit for Q1 next year – February 12th 2013, to be precise. Sega now describes the game as being in its final stretch …

Sega and Nike have teamed up for one of the cleverer bits of video games cross promotion MCV has seen in a while. The TV short, called My Time Is Now, was aired during Chelsea’s famous Champions League victory over Bayern Munich in Germany on Saturday night. It features a …

Having already squared off against Steam in the triple-A sector, EA now wants Origin to hold its own in the indie game scene. The publisher has announced that it is to offer free distribution for games funded by crowd-source initiatives. This would include schemes such as Kickstarter, which has risen …

Also joining: Giselle Stewart, Nick Brown, Oli Christi, Adrian Hawkins, Mike Hawkyard