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

This week we focus on the US and the UK after THQ's decision to close studios in both

EA and BioWare is giving Commander Shepard’s female iteration a stint in the limelight when Mass Effect 3 is released. The developer’s marketing director David Silverman confirmed that Ms Shepard – or "FemShep" as she’s known to the fans – will star in an official trailer leading up to the …

Smaller, more agile developers can thrive in Britain, Sega exec says

Zelda fans hoping for to pick up a commemorative collection of the pointy-eared hero’s adventures this year will be disappointed. NintendoWorld’s translation of the latest Iwata Asks interview reveals that the Nintendo of America team had proposed to mark the Zelda series’ 25th Anniversary with a special compilation disc, but …

A record number of exhibitors will flock to Gamescom 2011 when it kicks off in August. Companies attending include big-name publishers such as Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, EA and Ubisoft, as well as online and browser game firms such as NCsoft and Trion Worlds. Developer Valve will make an appearance following …

It was one of the few E3 surprises, but Paramount is silent over its plans to release Star Trek in the UK. MCV understands that the publisher is considering moving away from EA, who handled the UK release of its Rango movie tie-in earlier this year. Star Trek was one …

Activision’s Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure will hit UK shelves on October 14th. The multiformat game allows players to use toy figures which can transform into in-game characters via a bundled Portal of Power peripheral. Both the game and the toy packs will be available to buy from day one. The title …

Barely a day has gone by this month without the words "hack" or "breach" appearing in headlines. And we want to know what effect that has had on the trust people place in digital download platforms and other online gaming services. You can take part by clicking here. Having reported …

Sega has today opened its third UK studio, formed from key staff that headed up the now-defunct Sega Racing Studio. The new group is formed of six talented staff that, in 2008, were given the chance to remain at Sega when the racing studio was shut and sold off. The …

Maybe those execs were all just hungry. After all, you can spend so much time in E3 meetings that you don’t get to eat. But the analogies have a point: the market is evolving, and games are fracturing into different sizes. So why was that message absent from the showfloor, …