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

Metal Gear man gave Spanish studio MercurySteam creative freedom

Speaking at Oracle’s OpenWorld conference today, Zynga’s CTO Cadir Lee has revealed a number of stats and details which show what an impressive infrastructure and vast operation it runs. The numbers include:* 10 PER CENT of the world’s internet population has played a Zynga game* 215 MLLION monthly users* Zynga’s …

The boss of THQ Brian Farrell has said that the games industry must explore different retail models if it is to remain competitive in a market that consistently expects lower prices. The idea of punters forking out anything up to 50 for console titles is one that is coming under …

Publisher EA has confirmed a release date for the open PC beta of Medal of Honor – and added that it hopes the release will help calm some of the concern that has dogged the game to date. The new beta will go live on October 4th ahead of its …

Bizarre Creations says big franchises will win out this Christmas

UK studio Bizarre Creations has warned that new IPs might suffer in the run-up to Christmas. The firm behind upcoming Bond game 007: Blood Stone believes recognisable names and licences are the only way to stand out against heavy hitters such as Call of Duty, Medal of Honor and Assassin’s …

Sonic creator to speak on current projects at October event

London Games Conference has gained another two sponsors in the form of Multiplay and AGI. The firms are Gold Sponsors of the UK’s premier games conference, this year entitled London Games Conference: Survival And Profit In A Changing Industry. Multiplay is a leading service provider for the industry and organiser …

Microsoft has hit back at criticism that it isn’t doing enough to support PC gamers. The platform holder says it should be its job to offer leadership in the sector, and will step up with three market-leading PC titles: Fable III, Age of Empires Online and Microsoft Flight. There’s been …

Super Meat Boy developer will pump new levels into the game without MS checks