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

Chinese publisher Perfect World has closed Runic developer Torchlight and stripped down Gigantic creator Motiga, both of which were based in Seattle. Perfect World says that it will continue to sell Runic’s existing titles (Torchlight, Torchlight II and Hob) while Gigantic will continue under the stewardship of a small handful …

Activision’s Call of Duty: WWII is a hit, claiming a very firm UK No.1 on its debut week. The shooter bucked the trend of High Street declines by posting unit sales some 57 per cent higher than last year’s COD: Infinite Warfare. Revenue was up 21 per cent year-on-year. The …

Following the closure of Motiga, more jobs are lost as the publisher moves to games-as-a-service strategy

Develop asks Forza Horizon developer Playground Games for their top tips for creating fireworks in video games

Giantkillers Samsung Galaxy have won the League of Legends Worlds tournament, clutching victory over SK Telecom T1 (SKT) in a 3-0 sweep. Samsung Galaxy (SSG) had the toughest of brackets, defeating favourites Longzhou Gaming in the quarter-final matchup 3-0, before cruising to victory against SKT. Their victory wins them around …

StarCraft II is going free-to-play, Blizzard announced during their keynote address at Blizzcon. The game, originally released in 2010, will be going free-to-play starting on November 14, although some aspects will remain premium only. The Wings of Liberty campaign is free, the ranked ladder is a free unlock and commanders …

During Blizzard’s keynote speech at Blizzcon, they unveiled their newest Hearthstone’s latest expansion: Kobolds & Catacombs. This is the third and final expansion park for 2017, Hearthstone’s Year of the Mammoth. It brings 135 new cards themed around, well, kobolds and catacombs. It’ll launch in December, but players logging in …

The Pokemon Go developer buys the developer behind the app that lets you put photos on to 3D avatars to make your own movies

The free-to-play MOBA will continue under a small support team but the development studio will close and jobs lost

We’re still getting stuck into Call of Duty: WW2, but tucked away in the game’s Normandy Beach social space is a bizarre esports treat: the 1v1 pit. The Pit, situated out on the beach and sealed in from the player-soldiers running around on the beach by impassable wooden barriers and …