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

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 …

Rumours that this week’s big releases will not be available in GAME are untrue, MCV can confirm. Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Soul Calibur V are currently being processed by the retailer, despite claims circulating in the consumer press. However, MCV can also confirm that GAME …

Konami has announced that former US president Shinji Hirano has replaced Kunio Neo as its European president. There’s no word yet on Neo’s new role. Hirano will work from Konami’s Frankfurt HQ and liaise closely with the London, Paris and Madrid offices. He will oversee business strategy for core games …

The most bankable games studios in the world today, measured by retail sales data

3DS owners can now access free Wi-Fi at over 5,000 hotspots across Europe thanks to a deal with free-hotspot.com. Providing the correct settings are in place, the handhelds will automatically connect when within range of a compatible hotspot. free-hotspot.com has partnerships with companies such as McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Subway, …

Facebook has added new features to its interface to get more people discovering and playing its social and browser games. The gaming activity of users’ friends are now combined into one list that appears in the news feed, listing the titles that people have been playing. This has also been …

Movie tie-in will only launch on PC at retail, Kalypso Media claims

Free-to-play giant 'attracting 250,000 new players a day'

John Browett, former CEO of Dixons Retail, has left the firm for a new role at Apple. He will leave in April to take up his new position as senior vice president of retail for the iPhone and iPad manufacturer. His role at Dixons will be filled by current group …

More than 250m users have signed up for Bigpoint’s free-to-play PC browser games in the ten years it has been producing them. The online games giant now has over 1,000 game portals across social networks and media sites. Plus, a quarter of a million new players are drawn to its …