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

Gamers are spending over 20 every month on digital content. MCV’s survey into the habits and opinions of download-loving gamers showed that on average regular users of these services spend 24 on apps, virtual items, DLC, downloads and subscriptions. We surveyed 633 gamers that regularly use services like PSN, XBLA, …

The nominations are flooding in for this year’s Games Media Awards, with over 800 journalists, broadcasters, PRs, readers and viewers nominating their favourite mags, websites and more for one of the sector’s top accolades. If you haven’t lobbied, you have until Monday July 25th to make your views count. Simply …

A saving grace of the declining market and associated Wii slow-down has been the resurgence around music games. Activision may have sworn off its take on the category (over-priced DLC and cumbersome plastic peripherals will do that), but the likes of Ubisoft and Nordic Games have, as they say on …

There may be be no word on a release date yet, but games retailers are already excited about PlayStation Vita. Speaking to MCV, online and High Street outlets have praised the platform holder for the device’s announced pricing. Sony’s Kaz Hirai revealed during E3 that the WiFi-only model of Vita …

Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg is supremely confident in the Call of Duty online service the publisher is launching with Modern Warfare 3. In fact he thinks Call of DutyElite’s mix of community features, content updates and competitions will make it the best free gaming service available. At E3 we …

Based on the Visual C# 2005 Express Edition and .NET Compact framework, XNA Game Studio Express allows anyone with a Windows PC to develop a game, which can then be shared to other creators via the web or an Xbox 360-backed online Creators Club. Plus, Microsoft is launching a game …

Publisher Bethesda has lifted the lid on a brand new project that it hopes will appeal to gamers jaded by the onslaught of high-adrenaline titles that characterise the modern market. The game, called Dishonored, has been revealed by US mag GameInformer. Described as "the antithesis of a edge-of-your-seat roller-coaster ride", …

Sydney-based MCV Pacific will offer region-specific news and analysis

Fresh lick of paint for leading industry publication; Reports service added

Brand agency Splendid, perhaps best known most recently for its Smirnoff Nightclub Exchange Project campaign, has hired former Xbox brand marketing manager Alex Weller. Weller was part of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 launch team and was part of the successful Kinect UK launch team. We are absolutely delighted to have Alex …