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

Nintendo has confirmed an October 22nd release date for Professor Layton and the Lost Future. The game is the third outing for the handheld puzzle-adventure and sees the Professor and Luke dealing with a future threat to London. It includes 165 new puzzles and several new mini-games – as well …

Mark this one down strictly as unsubstantiated rumour, but games site MaxConsole claims to have word from a source” regarding the paid-for multiplayer components that Activision is expected to announce shortly for Call of Duty: Black Ops. It claims that alongside the traditional multiplayer options – which will remain free …

It was reported earlier this week that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 motion camera Kinect will be able to recognise sign language – it seems, though, that the version making it to retail cannot. In a statement released to Kotaku a Microsoft rep claims: We are excited about the potential of Kinect …

German AI middleware firm expands business on home soil and in France

What follows is 600 (yes, all the red numbers really add up to 600) games, consoles, companies and deals that have shaped the industry throughout the last 12 years… HIGH-PROFILE BIRTHS, DEATHS & MARRIAGES Over the last 12 years, the games industry’s leading businesses have danced around like a game …

Rising Star Games has announced it will be publishing Deadly Premonition on the Xbox 360 in PAL territories. The game will be released in the UK this autumn and follows an FBI agent, who must fend off supernatural creatures while investigating the brutal murder of a little girl. Deadly Premonition …

Buyers of Activision’s Wii remake of Goldeneye 007 will have the chance to grab a golden joystick of their own when it hits shelves later this year. The Goldeneye 007 Classic Edition comes bundled with a copy of the game and a gold Classic Controller Pro, as inspired by 1974 …

UK headquartered outfit sets out plan to grow overseas office

UK developer Lionhead may be inundated with speculation regarding a certain boy-talking Kinect game, but Peter Molyneux reckons the third Fable game will generate the biggest buzz come October. The development maestro has told MCV he expects Fable III to grow into the biggest selling game of the series so …

Scott Steinberg speaks to industry luminaries to find out why