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

Rift users have racked up over 285,000 years of play time since the game launched last month. Stats sent to IGN report that players have spent a combined total of 284,846 years in Rift’s world over the past 28 years –a period that is 84,000 years longer than it took …

Attendees at next week’s MCV Awards will be invited to donate towards industry charity GamesAid. A special envelope will be placed on each table at the sell-out event, and guests are encouraged to each put just 10 inside on the night. All of the money raised will be accumulated by …

Missed anything? Abandoned your desk when the sun came out? Hereâ??s the key info to take into April

This week attention turns to work in the Netherlands

Sony has released a collection of classic PSone titles on the Android Market. The five games are all compatible with the Xperia Play, the official PlayStation Phone that launched today. The range includes Cool Boarders 2, Destruction Derby, Jumping Flash, MediEvil 2 and Syphon Filter, according to Joystiq. These games …

Independent games retailers have urged the Government to make good on its promise to review the Channel Islands’ tax loophole. Plans outlined during the 2011 Budget last week include reducing the upper limit on VAT-free goods, publishing a report and holding a meeting in May to discuss whether to remove …

Morrisons’ entertainment distributor is on the hunt for retail and publishing partners in a bid to become a major player in the games market. Cinram – a big global distributor for music and DVD – was unveiled as Morrisons’ new supplier last month. The deal marks the firm’s first major …

Platform access levels to be tightened following fragmentation complaints

Over thirty employees working for THQ have been made redundant, the publisher has confirmed. A spokesperson said 17 workers are to leave New York studio Kaos, while 16 people are to lose their jobs at Illinois outfit Volition. THQ said it needed to adjust workforce numbers at Volition to fit …

Sony Online Entertainment has made deep cuts to its organisation today confirming previous rumours. 205 developers have been released as three studios – in Denver, Seattle and Tucson – are shut down. Spy MMO The Agency has also been dropped as part of the shrink, with teams now refocused on …