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

Epic Mickey creator Warren Spector hopes the original Wii adventure will head to HD consoles ahead of its musical sequel. The Wii game has sold millions of copies worldwide to date since its November 2010 release. With follow-up Disney Epic Mickey 2: Power of Two confirmed as a multiformat release …

Ubisoft will release three special SKUs of its 2012 blockbuster Assassin’s Creed III. The three collector’s editions will arrive alongside the game on October 31st and will be available for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. The Freedom Edition will come with a figure of new assassin Connor (pictured), an exclusive …

Minecraft man laments the demise of retailer GAME

UKIE is holding its first Scottish office event at Abertay University today. It takes place at the Hannah Maclure Centre in Dundee today, but it has already sold out. The event will focus on the funding opportunities available to interactive entertainment business, with speakers discussing venture capital, angel, prototype and …

France is one of the biggest gaming markets in Europe, and one still dominated by boxed sales. NPD figures released last month showed that French consumers purchase fewer downloadable games than neighbouring Germany. France has a strong retail network with mass merchandisers and specialised stores that allow publishers to target …

Angry Birds boss praises 'incredibly talented and experienced team'

Consumers have spent more than 7m on Rovio’s new iOS release Angry Birds Space in just five days. The 69p app went straight to the top of the App Store charts at launch on Thursday, March 22nd. But a quick check today shows Draw Something from OMGPOP is back at …

Warner Brothers International Entertainment has signed a deal for the distribution, sales, and marketing of the complete 2012 Codemasters lineup in North and South America. Codemasters’ distribution has previously been handled by THQ, which has hit trouble of late, closing several studios and laying off hundreds of employees. AsGamasutrapoints out …

Established Xbox rumour-monger ‘MS Nerd’ has claimed Microsoft will reveal a new Xbox Lite console at E3 in June. The device, he says, will be similar in design to Apple TV, containing an ARM-based architecture and retailing for something in the region of 100. It will focus on Xbox’s networked …

The indie phenomenon that is Minecraft has hit a stout $80m in revenues, with over five million copies sold. Along with the gaudy sales stats, the game also boasts a whopping 25m registered players. Five million new users have joined just in the past month. Developer Mojang currently employs 25 …