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

BBC Worldwide has released its first Android app: a port of iOS game Doctor Who: The Mazes of Time. Originally developed by Scottish firm Tag Games, the game sees the Doctor and companion Amy Pond battling Cybermen, Daleks and Silurians. It came out on iPhone and iPad in December 2010. …

They’ve laid down their dumbells, taken off their running shoes and reassumed their position on the couch, but how are they looking? If you missed the latest issue of MCV, then you won’t have come across this stunning display of athletic physiques – the first wave of After photos from …

Zynga has made another acquisition of a mobile social games developer: New York firm Astro Ape. The deal has not been officially announced, but US site Business Insider hasspottedthat Astro Ape’s executive team have changed their LinkedIn profiles to reflect new employment at ‘Zynga NY’. Astro Ape CEO Chieh Huang …

GAMESCOM: Assassin’s Creed, Rayman Origins and Michael Jackson: The Experience are just some of the big games Ubisoft has planned for PS Vita. The publisher will also release Lumines, Asphalt and Dungeon Hunter Alliance for the device, as well as a number of new IP not yet revealed. PlayStation Vita …

Ubisoft’s The Smurfs & Co has become the fastest-growing Facebook game in the past two weeks, picking up 4.1m monthly active users. The town-building adventure game went live on July 29th and is currently the No.1 licence-based social game in the world, according to AppData. The Smurfs & Co will …

iOS port marks first excursion of lucrative BBC IP to Google platform

GAMESCOM: Nintendo has dated a number of potentially blockbuster games as part of its Gamescom press avalanche. Chief amongst them is Wii title The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which will be released in Europe on November 18th. The company has also confirmed that Super Mario 3D Land will hit …

LinkedIn profiles reveal purchase, company name change to Zynga NY

Japanese puzzle game Catherine has already been released in North America and Japan, but now looks like it’s heading down under as well. GAME and EB Games have both listed Catherine on their web sites, carrying a release date of some time in October, and distributor QV Software has the …

UK trade body sides with European Games Developer Federation on funding initiative