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

The man who launched Xbox gets the rapid-fire question treatment

Cutbacks at Activision will result in 500 jobs lost at the publisher, Develop reports. The firm this evening confirmed a restructuring effort to focus on a reduced slate of titles going forward, including the death of the Guitar Hero franchise, some near-completed projects, and layoffs at (and potential closures of) …

Publisher will shell out up to $50m in severance costs to lost staff

As well as the shock scrapping of the iconic Guitar Hero franchise this evening, Activision has delivered another shocker – the first word of an online-only spin-off to the Call of Duty universe. Details are scant and come from the ongoing investor conference call. The publisher has lifted the lid …

The reports are correct. There will be no more Guitar Hero games. "Due to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing’s Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011," a statement in Activision’s financial report, filed tonight, reveals. Earlier …

[Update:Activision has confirmed around 500 job losses.] Publisher Activision will later today announce severe and sweeping cuts across its global organisation, reports claim. The Call Of Duty owner is thought will make an unknown number of staff at London and Leamington Spa studio FreeStyleGames redundant, while the future of Canadian …

Guitar Hero and True Crime projects abolished, with multiple studios braced for cuts

The price of the hotly anticipated Nintendo 3DS has dropped even further today, with Tesco slashing its pre-order price to 197. The offer is only available until tomorrow, but customers who order the device can use a voucher code to save 20 on their purchase, knocking the price down from …

Future Publishing has hired two new publishers for its Entertainment portfolio. James Kick has been promoted to associate publisher for OPSM, PSM3, Firstplay and the Golden Joystick Awards, while Don Ditri returns to the company as associate publisher digital, taking responsibility for CVG, GamesRadar and the ONM and OXM websites. …

Develop's monthly dissection of a recent hit game