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

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has unveiled a number of new features and capabilities of the firm’s Windows Phone 7 the firm plans for later in the year. Beyond the ‘copy and paste patch’, the exec revealed a number of other enhancements including Twitter integration into the People Hub and Office …

On Friday, February 18th, Bizarre Creations’ Liverpool studio will turn off the lights, lock the windows and close its doors for the final time. The group made around twenty games over 15 years, growing to around 200 staff at the peak of its success. The studio officially formed in 1994 …

Ubisoft’s dance portfolio collectively achieved a global sell-in of 10.5m units in the final quarter of 2010. Just Dance, Just Dance 2, Michael Jackson: The Experience, Dance on Broadway and US-only title Just Dance Kids were identified as some of the publisher’s key sellers for the three months ended December …

More than 6.5m copies of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood have been sold into retail globally since the game’s release in November. The figure was announced in Ubisoft’s latest financials, and shows strong sales momentum since last month’s revelation of Brotherhood’s 6m sales worldwide. The follow-up to last year’s Assassin’s Creed II …

Ubisoft has reported sales of €600m for the three months ended December 31st, 2010. The publisher’s third quarter sales show a increase of 21.2 per cent when compared to €495m recorded during the same period last year. This exceeded initial forecasts of €520m. Sales for the first nine months of …

Ubisoft has conquered 21 per cent of the Kinect market in Europe. According the firm’s third quarter financials for the three months ended December 31st, 2010, titles such as Your Shape: Fitness Evolved mean Ubisoft accounts for more than one fifth of the motion controller’s games sales. The company’s European …

PlayStation owners who have previously downloaded PSN content will have to re-purchase any content they wish to access on their Xperia Play. The new Android handset will be compatible with a range of emulated PSone software as well as Android games from a number of publishers. "Xperia Play owners will …

DICE says sequel to adventurous action title was in development but poor sales scuppered plans

Three new crewmembers at Newcastle-based indie outfit

Test Drive Unlimited 2 has more than doubled the week one sales of the original. The MMO racer debuted at No.1 this week and is the biggest launch in the Test Drive franchise, which dates back as far as 1987. It is the first ever All Formats No.1 for Namco …