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

2K Games has lifted the lid on an alternative way to play upcoming shooter BioShock Infinite that it hopes will ensure the game sells to the hardcore audience. Called 1999 Mode, the publisher says it requires substantial commitment and skill development” and that it is designed for gamers who long …

Schoolboy Conner Haines inviting cancer patients to request ideas for future titles

Real money invested into in-game virtual currency irredeemable and not transferable to other titles

Online retailer Play.com is considering the introduction of a payment-on-delivery offer for its customers. The service is commonplace in Japan, and the site’s new Japanese owners Rakuten are keen to make Play.com the first to offer it in the UK. The idea is to attract customers who are uneasy about …

Seven weeks to go; Book your place at gdconf.com; Develop out in force at the San Francisco event

Sony Ericsson has seen its status slip from fourth/fifth biggest OEM in the world to the ninth. It was hoping an focus on Android would turn its fortunes around, but that switch didn’t make too much difference as the Xperia range failed to match sales of rivals like Galaxy and …

Ubisoft’s Just Dance 3 Autodance has been downloaded more than one million times in the UK on iOS and Android devices. The app was released to promote the best-selling dance game back in November, and allows users to create music videos from short clips they film with their smartphone’s camera. …

Renowned piracy advocate The Pirate Bay has issued a lengthy statement saying that the proposed SOPA legislation would do nothing to stop it operating. They want to make the internet into a one way pipe, with them at the top, shoving trash through the pipe down to the rest of …

Triple-A giants disclose plans to work on new systems

New Tiga report claims Britain's dev workforce has fallen 10% since 2008