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

New video games trade-in site GaBoom enjoyed a welcome piece of mainstream TV coverage last night when founder Jess Ratcliffe appeared on BBC2 show Dragons’ Den in an effort to secure investment in the website. GaBoom.co.uk first emerged in July. The site offers users the chance to swap their used …

Halo studio Bungie is edging into production on new internal tech for its next ten-year Activision project, the studio has confirmed. Studio communications manager Brian Jarrard revealed in an interview with Develop the studio will not be licensing a third-party engine to develop its new game, despite Activision’s relaxed rules …

Publisher Square Enix has revealed that Call of Duty: Black Ops, a title it is publishing in Japan, will see some of the violence featured in the Western release cut out. More specifically, the game will omit the inclusion of any limbs being blown off characters, a feature that Japanese …

The Unreal Engine flaunts its power on iPhone and iPad

A fresh question mark hangs over the viability of the pre-owned software market this morning after a ruling in the US Court of Appeal upheld a developer’s right to prevent the resale of its software. Gamasutra reports that Autodesk has successfully won a case in which defendant Timothy Vernor had …

Unreal Engine vendor finalising licence deal structure

Casual gaming giant PopCap will expand its business into Asia after striking a new partnership with local publisher NCsoft. The two groups will unite to launch PopCap World; an online game portal hat will initially boast 13 PopCap games – each one adopting the free-to-play model. PopCap World will debut …

One of the biggest releases of the year has finally made its worldwide debut, and store workers across the country put in a late shift last night to usher in the arrival of Halo Reach in style. At GAME’s leading launch event at the Westfields London Shopping Centre, two Noble …

PS3 owners will be able to play Heavy Rain with a new Move-compatible control scheme as early as next week. Through its EU PlayStation Blog, Sony has announced a free downloadable patch that supports the motion controller will be available on September 22nd. Alternatively, those who have yet to pick …

Sound outsourcing group partners again with Creative Assembly