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

Google has opened up the internet giant’s social platform Google+ to the open public after three months of ‘field trial’ testing. "Google+ is still in its infancy, of course, but we’re more excited than ever to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software," wrote Google engineering chief …

The godfather of social games to return soon as company IPO hangs

EA CFO Eric Brown has told investors that the company is unlikely to announce a release date for BioWare MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic until the end of October. And while the company is still aiming for ‘holiday 2011′, it admits that a slip to 2012 is not completely …

Fans of Angry Birds can now embarrass themselves with a new range of themed Halloween outfits and headpieces. Costume Discounters is stocking 14 different bird and pig costumes from Rovio’s 350m-selling mobile game franchise, as reported by MacTrast. The costumes are available in both adult and child sizes, with RRPs …

Nintendo will release a 3DS version of Tetris on October 21st, continuing the long-running block-stacking puzzle series. Released as Tetris Axis in the US, the game will simply be known as Tetris in the UK and Europe, and will feature more than 20 variations on the classic handheld game. Naturally, …

Hardcore gamers become so immersed in virtual worlds that they turn to imaginary consoles to ‘zoom in’ to people in crowds or to pick things up from the floor.” That’s the opening to today’s Metro games-bashing piece. What it means MCV can’t tell you. If you have any idea than …

The Indie Stone's Andy Hodgetts explains why indie PC development was his studio's chosen home

Closed beta testing for the long-awaited Diablo III has begun, Blizzard has confirmed, as the game enters what it describes as the final stages of development”. The beta allows gamers to play through the entirety of Act I either independently or in co-op. Five hero classes are selectable. It is …

EA’s Star Wars: The Old Republic will, whenever it eventually arrives, be the last large scale” MMO to monetise itself via monthly subscriptions. That’s the opinion of Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley. We see some very interesting trends in subscription gaming,” he told GamesIndustry. In our cancellation surveys for …

The recent shutting down of EA’s Visceral Studios in Melbourne has led to coverage of the industry which makes the situation look overly bleak, and may not represent a realistic state of the sector. Giselle Rosman, spokesperson for the Independent Game Developers’ Association (IGDA) Melbourne felt that the Financial Review’s …