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

Nearly 13 years after it first hit the market, Sony Online Entertainment has decided to convert EverQuest into a free-to-play title. A number of new payment options will be introduced. Standard all-you-can-eat subscriptions will remain an option, but a F2P version supported by microtransactions will also be available. Those who …

Facebook games group denies culture of kleptomania

Trion Worlds has expanded the trial version of its flagship MMO, essentially making the game free-to-play. Rift Lite drops the time limit and lets new players enjoy the the game for free until they reach level 20. If they enjoy the game, they can sign up for full membership, with …

Flight simulators have been around since the early days of computer games, with the first one landing around 30 years ago. Technology and business models have advanced dramatically, but flying sims have always remained a more traditional part of the market. Lucrative, too: Microsoft releases new version, third-parties sell extra …

Assassin’s Creed icon Ezio will attract fans of other games to Soul Calibur V – and future fighters – says Namco Bandai. The Ubisoft character is playable in the fighting title as part of a collaboration between the two publishers. With the Creed franchise generating over 31m unit sales worldwide, …

Nintendo TV is now available to view in 3D. The show (which is handled by Future Publishing’s Official Nintendo Magazine team) was first made available on Wii 18 months ago, and has been viewed over 1m times. The 3DS version first appeared before Christmas and its second episode goes live …

Users can now browse store and interact with friends through iOS and Android

Free-to-play customers are spending up to 38 a month on virtual goods in games from publisher Spil Games, according to the social games company. It also claimed that since breaking into the casual games market in July 2011, it now has more than 170 million unique users playing its games …

Calling all industry cricket fans – the third annual Sega GamesAid Challenge Cup will be held this summer. The event will pit four teams against each other in 10/10 matches. It will be held at London’s Kew Green in May. Last year, industry cricketers raised 1,920 for the charity – …

Online chatter pointing to an impending announcement of significant layoffs at THQ is quickly gathering pace. Talk intensified last night after analyst Kevin Dent claimed that the publisher would soon be announcing 170+ layoffs spread across its various operations. Note, though, that Dent was also the source of claims that …