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

Three new professionals have joined Namco Bandai’s PR and marketing team. Former Vivendi and Koch man Gary Chantler has joined the company as product manager, working on upcoming titles including Ridge Racer Unbounded, Inversion and other currently unannounced projects. He joins Blaise Rodier, who recently joined Namco Bandai and will …

Nordic Games is the latest firm to sponsor this year’s MCV Awards. The We Sing firm has signed up as Drinks Reception Host just as the final tickets were sold, once again making the MCV Awards a sell-out event. The MCV Awards lets us share the golden and often personal …

UK studio Rebellion has become the latest studio to tackle the lucrative social games business, by setting up an internal division to build product for various platforms such as Facebook. The move comes after the Oxford-based developer launched the beta of its free-to-play Facebook game, Evil Genius. Rebellion will still …

It enjoyed one of the lowest profile releases in the history of the franchise but Microsoft has claimed that Xbox 360 strategy title Halo Wars actually beat the company’s sales expectations. "It was a big critical success," the creative director of Halo-focused development studio Frank O’Connor told CVG. "It’s still …

Championship Manager 1980s Legends has been announced following the release of ‘70s Legends last year. The football management simulation arrives later this month on iPhone and iPod Touch. It features all the teams and players from the era including Gary Lineker and Glenn Hoddle. Like ‘70s Legends, players can manage …

Despite the fact that hardcore Kinect gaming has been a touchy subject for the platform holder since the device was first announced, but Microsoft has returned to the topic with a fresh promise that its traditional market will be served by Kinect. "There are many [hardcore games] coming," Microsoft’s interactive …

Aliens vs Predator developer opens Facebook division

Sony has won the right to acquire the online IP addresses of anyone who has visited George Hotz’ website over the past two years. Federal magistrate Joseph Spero granted Sony its request to obtain the information, which it said was necessary to prove Hotz’ distribution of a PS3 hack. It …

The small micro-studios 'will be PSP2 and Xperia Play heroes'

Studio 'has returned to its studio-friendly roots', Yoshida says