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

But the firm says it won't tighten submission standards, and calls for more indies

German studio to adopt engine for multiplatform title Dead Block

Zynga’s has made a significant extension into the smartphone games space by hiring key contributors of open-source mobile tools. In a delicately arranged acquisition, Zynga has essentially taken some control of the open-source iPhone tool Cocos2d. It has achieved the feat, however, whilst keeping Cocos2d open and free to all …

Children's freemium MMO to re-launch in the summer

Echoing analysts predictions yesterday that Sony and Microsoft are preparing hardware price cuts, Activision boss Bobby Kotick has claimed that such a move is pending. We’ve more confidence in consumer spending," he told the Financial Times. "We feel like some of that has stabilised and there are price cuts on …

Thirteenth acquisition in twelve months as the Farmville group expands further

A host of independent retailers have told MCV they want to sell downloadable games. Retailers such as ShopTo, MyMemory and Barkman Computers are eyeing up moves to digital, although how they go about launching in this space is not clear. We’re looking at getting involved in the digital games market …

Several UK games publishers have signed up to support Pixwoo, a new gamer-centric social network. The site launched in February and is designed to bring platform holders, publishers and developers closer to consumers through dedicated company and game-specific profiles. UK firms that have already registered with the site include Codemasters, …

Bethesda is backing Brink with a premium ad spot during the FA Cup final on May 14th. TV activity will run throughout May and June. The Xbox 360, PS3 and PC shooter will also target movie goers before blockbusters such as X-Men and Hangover Part II. Outdoor ads will appear …

Publisher 'frustrated and upset', bemoans business loss due to ongoing PSN woes