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

Passwords 'were partially decrypted' in December 2010; Account names and online handles extracted; 'No evidence' of further hack

Games will not arrive on Xbox Live on the day they hit retail shelves any time soon, says Microsoft. The computer giant has not been influenced by Sony’s push to launch titles on its online PSN platform the same day they arrive in stores in boxed form. Many PS3 titles …

Dark Souls for PC and One Piece for PS3 will be available to download and buy on the High Street at the same time. Namco Bandai says the move is part of its bid to extend its games IP across multiple platforms. But US VP Carlson Choi expects retail will …

Some will say the likely death of Friday as the main release day for games is dispensation of a long irrelevant tradition. Others will cite it as more evidence of video games’ globalisation. The truth falls in between. Global Tuesday deployments or united Wednesday launches are borne of necessity, not …

Two more Sega Vintage Collection titles are on the way to Xbox Live Arcade, a premature reveal on Xbox.com has revealed. This time its two popular retro side-scrolling fighter series – Streets of Rage and Golden Axe. The download is likely to include all three Streets of Rage and Golden …

Company to offer new roles to some staff made redundant; Others to go

Traditional Friday game launches are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Publishers are ditching end-of-week releases as pressure mounts to make each and every game a global super-hit. Big Call of Duty-sized blockbusters have often arrived on Tuesdays to coincide with their US launches. But that’s now expanding to …

A free multiplayer map will be offered to all those who pre-order Max Payne 3 from GAME or Gamestation. It’s another good exclusive for the chain as it continues to rebuild after its turbulent start to the year. We are delighted to be Rockstar Games’ partner for the launch of …

Year-on-year revenues down 36%; 3DS system expected to again sell at profit-per-unit by September

EA’s Montreal studio is to layoff a very small number” of employees this week. "EA Montreal is reorganising some teams to focus on digital initiatives, including new mobile and social projects," EA corporate communications told Games Industry. "These are routine changes which address the cyclical nature of the game industry. …