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

Publisher Activision has denied allegations that it has a sexist development agenda that forbids the use of female lead characters in its titles. The claims come from a speculative report on Gamasutra that cites a number of unnamed sources. Games with female leads don’t sell,” it reads. At least that’s …

Blitz Games CTO claims new software techniques will eliminate any noticeable lag issues

Activision has at last released a demo of smash hit FPS Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The download, which includes the entire Cliffhanger level, is now available to download for free on both Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. However, it’s unlikely that there are many people left who …

EA Sports’ FIFA 11 Fixtures Guide to the upcoming Premier League season is available to download now. Published with today’s issue of MCV, the Fixtures Guide is a handy reference tool for all the matches in this season’s Premiership. It’s been created in association with EA Sports’ eagerly-awaited FIFA 11, …

It seems that upcoming RPG Fable III will not now support Xbox 360’s motion camera Kinect, delivering a big blow to the peripheral’s hardcore-audience credentials. It was announced in October 2009 that the game would include some sort of Kinect functionality. Since then the Lionhead title had been more or …

Publisher EA has said that its first two titles to include an Online Pass – an in-box DLC code that is required to access some of the online features of the game – have both seen higher rates of online play than last year’s iterations. Though Tiger Woods 11 and …

Search engine company buys Slide, continues move into gaming market

There’s just one day left to make sure your magazine, website or writer of choice makes the shortlist for this year’s Games Media Awards, taking place at the Bloomsbury Ballroom on Thursday, October 14th. Here’s a quick reminder of the categories: * Games Magazine* Games Website* Specialist Writer, Print* Specialist …

The Hut and Incomm have joined IGN, Screen Digest and ELSPA in backing the UK’s biggest games industry conference. Following on from last year’s enormous success, the London Games Conference is focusing on shifts in revenue streams. Special attention will be paid to the impact of digital distribution, multi-player online …

The Conduit studio reduces headcount by at least 20 following difficult release