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

Future has announced the shortlist for this year’s GamesMaster Golden Joystick Awards 2011 presented by Alienware. Voting is open now and will remain so until October 14th. There are 14 categories to vote on in total. 20 games are in contention for the big prize, the Ultimate Game of the …

Namco Bandai has revealed a host of extras available to those who pre-order Ace Combat: Assault Horizon from the UK’s leading High Street retailer GAME. Buyers will get three free multiplayer perks – Enhanced Dog Fight Mode, Enhanced Air Strike Mode and a Plus version of Machine Gun Cool Down. …

Conflicting reports estimate that three million, or perhaps 250,000, game codes have been stolen

Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure is probably the most retail-friendly game out this Christmas. It has DLC you can only buy in a shop. When the game talks of cross-platform play, it doesn’t mean online multiplayer between a 360 and PS3, it means taking your toys round a mate’s house.It’s innovative in …

Britain’s number one tennis superstar Andy Murray can be the Wayne Rooney of Grand Slam Tennis 2, says EA. The publisher has acquired the in-game licence for players including Roger Federer and Murray. And these tennis aces will be used to push the game ahead of its 2012 release on …

Video games media is not living up to its extraordinary potential”, says IGN. The online giant’s ambitious president Roy Bahat says gaming media ought to be as big as movies and sport, and that it’s down to IGN to make it happen. We have this vision of a new kind …

Less than 48 hours before its scheduled release in Japan, Square Enix has announced a surprise delay to the game. Andriasang reports that while no specifics have been given, the delay relates to the discovery of content in one area of the title that contravenes the requirements of the Japanese …

Playfish boss says new smartphone studios have a huge opportunity to be successful

Senior Microsoft director was given red light on 'crazy' project

The developer of Dead Island has said it is looking into claims that it released the incorrect version of zombie thriller Dead Island on Steam. Users of Steam’s forum highlighted some lines from the game’s code which suggest that the version available to purchase was actually a developer build. Furthermore, …