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

Publishing giant Activision Blizzard claims that its digital operations far outstrip those of social games phenomenon Zynga. During a conference call following the publisher’s Q2 financial results, executives told investors that the FarmVille firm posed no threat to Activision’s business, according to Reuters. "Last year, our digital business alone generated …

Publisher makes more than $400 million in three months through DLC

Luxurious add-on once cost $200, reports claim

Pre-orders for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 are on track to surpass those of last year’s Black Ops – and could soar higher with the newly announced Wii SKU. During an investors earnings call that followed Activision Blizzard’s better-than-expected Q2 results, the publisher confirmed that a Wii version of …

Activision Blizzard has announced a fourth map pack, Resurrection, will be released this month for Call of Duty: Black Ops. The news comes as the publisher reports that the game has sold more than 25 million worldwide since is launch in November. Resurrection – referred to as ‘Rezurrection’ by Activision’s …

Steam boss Jason Holtman to headline London industry event

Sony VP Kazuo Hirai has announced that PlayStation Vita won’t reach European and US shelves this year. It had been rumoured for some time that the device would miss its Q4 target, and now that has been confirmed. Retailers had previously told MCV they were hopeful the handheld would arrive …

The biggest digital distributor in games will address the trade at the London Games Conference. Jason Holtman, director of business development for Steam at US super-developer Valve, will present a keynote at the November event about the digital market. He will be joined by Sega’s John Clark, head of digital …

Activision Blizzard has posted better-than-expected revenues for Q2 2011, thanks largely to strong growth from its digital business. The publisher reported record net revenues of $1.1bn for the three months ended June 30th, up from $967m in the same period last year. This is ahead of the $985m previously expected. …

No man, no law and no war can stop this game from hitting store shelves. MCV can reveal a Rambo video game will arrive at retail next year, courtesy of UK-based publisher Reef Entertainment and supplier Creative Distribution. Reef fended off competition from other publishers to secure the game rights …