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

'Too much intensity can kill the atmosphere', says Dear Esther indie Dan Pinchbeck

The world may be waiting for news of a new console, but Microsoft is focused on making 2012the biggest year in Xbox 360 history. The platform holder has told MCV it believes it can defy the economy and record a seventh straight year of growth with its ‘strongest portfolio’ ever. …

Developer focused on creating new Splinter Cell title and is not working on original IP, says Jade Raymond

We investigate the target demographics for the Top Ten TV game campaigns of 2012, up to February 19th. The higher each bubble is on the vertical axis below, the more male-targeted the campaign is. The further to the left on the graph, the younger the campaign’s target demographic. The size …

The push for enormous scale and cutting edge graphics in triple-A games is a ‘cancerous growth’ for the industry, says Assassin’s Creed creative director. As reported byGamespot, Alex Hutchinson, speaking at his session ‘Designing Games to Sell’, said that if developers don’t push to entertain and take an artistic approach, …

Witcher 2 'cracked within two hours of release' despite using SecuROM, says Marcin Iwinski

The PC is the most popular platform of choice for Elder Scrolls consumers, with almost half opting for it over consoles. The fifth and most recent entry in the Elder Scrolls brand – Skyrim – was released in November 2011 to widespread critical and commercial success. This week we are …

Traditional gaming giants Konami and Rebellion have signed up as partners for the new Zynga Platform. Zynga last week announced its intention to go live with its own content hosting platform, threatening the gaming base enjoyed by Facebook. The move could see the pair bring a host of high-profile core …

The steady drop in market value and unit sales continued last week, with UK games retail shifting nine per cent fewer games week-on-week. EA held the lion’s share of the market last week with nine games in the Top 40. The latest release in its long-running SSX snowboarding franchise finally …

'Devs should aim to educate, entertain and at least be artistic' says Assassin's Creed creative director