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

This week we’re going to look at playing habits for Call of Duty using the GameVision Brand Map. The Brand Map is available to download from the MCV?Reports page online. We asked 6,722 gamers about the games, of whom 1,789 had played one in the last six months; 556 of …

Studio head Brendan McNamara personally owed AU $250,000

There’s only a week left for you to make sure your favourite games industry rising star gets the recognition they deserve in this year’s 30 Under 30. Every year this hugely popular feature highlights the achievements and exertions of the industry’s younger execs working across the UK. It is sponsored …

Consumers prepare to die as the "toughest game ever" arrives on shelves, courtesy of Namco Bandai. Dark Souls is available today and follows on from the PS3 cult hit, Demon’s Souls. The game challenges players to navigate a series of boobytrap-laden dungeons where death is a varied and all-too-regular experience. …

The market value leaped 94 per cent week-on-week to 53.8m following FIFA 12’s release – the biggest week for games retail so far this year. Units are up 73 per cent to over 1.5m. FIFA 12 beat FIFA 11’s launch week with 18 per cent more games sold. And retail …

The first UK review of the UK-made Batman: Arkham City arrives on the doormat of GamesMaster subscribers today. And Future’s multi-format mag has awarded the title a colossal 97 per cent. The score is in line with much of the secretive industry chatter surrounding the title at the moment, with …

An online report suggests that Sony could be on the verge of an aggressive move into the mobile phone market by buying out partner Ericsson from their joint mobile business. The Wall Street Journal reports that the move will cost Sony between $1.3bn and $1.7bn. Sony Ericsson has been a …

The next trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 airs tonight during the England vs Montenegro European championship qualifier. The new video is a single player gameplay trailer and will air first in the UK before getting a global rollout. It is due to go out at 9pm during …

Industry body GamesAid is asking members to vote for the charities it will support this year. Nine charities are in the running, all of which generate less than 5m in turnover per year. Voting closes on October 21st. The final few will receive at least 20,000 and be revealed at …

Simon Maxwell has been promoted to group publishing director responsible for entertainment (games and film) brands at Future Publishing. A memo to staff from Future UK MD Mark Wood sent last week said Maxwell will be responsible for leading the multi-channel expansion of our brands in this group, in particular …