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

Namco Bandai has confirmed that the PC version of Dark Souls will be released on August 24th. The SKU – called Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition – will utilise Microsoft’s Games for Windows Live. And it seems that the move has already proved unpopular with fans. In fact, a …

A free-to-play browser game based on the Ice Age franchise is on the way from Bigpoint. The web specialist has reached an agreement with Twentieth Century Fox to produce the game, which will feature characters and locations from the franchise’s four movies. Players will assume the role of a sloth …

Movie tie-in to include social features such as friend lists and leaderboards

Playfish Beijing to operate Asia-targeted title; Tencent to host

Bethesda’s smash hit RPG The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is to introduce Kinect compatibility on Xbox 360 later this month. The update will be released via Xbox Live before the end of the month. Once installed it will introduce Voice Commands into the game. These can be used to access …

Rovio’s smash hit Angry Birds series has received perhaps the very highest praise available in the world of games development. Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary designer of Nintendo classics such as Mario Bros and Zelda, has admitted that he wished he had come up with the idea for Angry Birds himself. …

The PlayStation Vita version of Konami’s Metal Gear Solid HD Collection will not include MGS Peace Walker. The publisher confirmed this to Eurogamer, pointing out that early press for the SKU never mentioned Peace Walker as being part of the package. On the plus side, however, the game will include …

Sony’s PlayStation Vita continues to struggle to establish itself in Japan, with weekly sales of the console hitting an all-time low. The latest Media Create figures say Vita sold just 8,931 units last week in the territory – it’s the first time sales have fallen below 10,000. In comparison, the …

There’s only a week left until the biggest night in the trade’s calendar. The MCV Industry Excellence Awards will be held next Thursday (April 19th) at its new venue: the Lancaster London Hotel. Inbetweeners star Greg Davies will host the 10th Anniversary ceremony, which will celebrate the last decade of …

Beleaguered technology empire will attempt to slash operating costs by 30%