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

Trade bodies to join forces for two-day event

Jason Holtman, the chief of Valve’s digital distribution network Steam, has said that the success of the service is nothing but good news for retail. Last year MCV learnt that a number of key chains were considering a boycott of any Steam enabled games as they feared once purchased, the …

But the studio is unsure if it could apply MotionScan tech to its own content

Valve’s PC download service Steam is often championed, sometimes controversial – but it’s eternally popular. Rob Crossley visited the service’s chief Jason Holtman and marketing head Doug Lombardi in Seattle to find out more about the leading force in digital distribution… There are now 1,700 games on Steam. Has its …

Games industry trade bodies UKIE and TIGA have teamed up to deliver this year’s Edinburgh Interactive Festival. The event will run from August 11th to 12th, and will feature a range of free public screenings of new games and tech, plus public sessions on how to get involved in the …

Publisher EA has announced the first DLC for console and PC shooter Crysis 2. Called The Retaliation Pack, it includes four new multiplayer maps – Shipyard, Park Avenue, Transit and Compound. It will be released online on May 17th. No price has yet been announced. Of course, the PSN release …

Consumer site Joystiq claims to have accessed leaked documents saying that Microsoft will begin rolling out a spring firmware update for Xbox 360 next week. Beginning May 19th, the company is apparently planning to send the update out in waves running until May 30th. The update will provide compatibility for …

Valve explains its supple royalty system, and examines the platform's astounding growth

Microsoft is close to completing a deal to acquire Skype, beating out other suitors thought to include Google and Facebook. The Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft was set to pay between $7 and $8 billion for the cross-platform voice and video chat service. Skype has been a loss making …

Operating income at Namco Bandai rocketed by 767 per cent to YEN 16,338m for the year ending March 31st 2011, the publisher has reported. This compares very favourably with the 92 per cent decline suffered in the last finical year. Recurring income climbed 760 per cent to YEN 16,399. Net …