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

PS3 owners who rushed out to buy Codemasters’ new racer Dirt 3 yesterday have found that they are unable to access the online modes because of the ongoing PSN outage. Users need to redeem the in-box VIP Pass to unlock the title’s online features such as competitive multiplayer and YouTube …

A brand new game based on The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is in development. The small amount of information available can be found on the official website. It is being developed by Hothead Games, which is the team behind RPG title Deathspank and the Penny Arcade Adventures. There’s no …

A new distribution deal between THQ Partners and Codemasters will see the former handle the US release of Dirt 3, F1 2011 and more. While Codemasters will continue to orchestrate its own marketing campaigns, THQ Partners will distribute the Britsoft publisher’s big four 2011 games throughout North America. The deal …

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures will be remodelled as a free-to-play game this summer. The MMO will be be relaunched digitally as Age of Conan: Unrated, and will allow players to either play for free or subscribe for access to extra content. Funcom will introduce an in-game store that enables …

The anticipated Android version of Mojang’s PC hit Minecraft is to enjoy a period of times exclusivity on Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play. Mobile versions of the game for iOS and Android were announced in February. It’s not the first time Sony Ericsson has struck an exclusivity deal on a big …

Wall Street awaiting initial public offering of online games giant

Sony has confirmed reports of a security breach on some of its Greek Sony Music Entertainment sites. "Sony Music Entertainment Greece learned late Sunday about a data breach involving certain Sony Music Greece websites," a statement read. "These sites, which were artist websites allowing fans to sign up for newsletters, …

[Sponsored feature] Intel shares some top tips on creating great games from the GameCamp conference

Sam and Dan Houser, the masterminds behind Rockstar’s greatest creations, have extended their deal with publisher Take-Two. Long-term employment agreements have been struck with Sam Houser, Dan Houser, Rockstar North’s reclusive Leslie Benzies and other key members of the creative team. Take-Two described the deal as containing "substantially similar economic …

Spil Games have introduced a new activity feed feature to their social gaming portals.