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

Danish developer Io Interactive has laid off 35 members of staff. The company behind Hitman, currently working on Kane & Lynch 2 Dog Days, employed around 200 people, according to local reports. Io, formerly owned by Eidos, was transfered to Square Enix ownership last year. The company released a statement, …

BioWare’s MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic is being lined up for a release on Xbox 360 – that’s the claim of VG247, which reports to have obtained a GAME release schedule detailing a host of unreleased announcements. The information points to a 2011 TBC release for the as-of-yet unannounced …

Electronic Arts has hinted that upcoming motion consoles Natal and Move could offer FIFA players a different experience waiting to be uncovered”. FIFA World Cup 2010’s producer Simon Humbler told VG247: Whenever any of these peripherals come out we think about what they could add to the football experience. I …

Activision’s current chief corporate officer and chief financial officer Thomas Tippl is to become the publisher’s chief operating officer, the company has announced. To facilitate the change he has resigned his position as COO, though he continues as CFO while Activision searches for a replacement. The official filing, as spotted …

A group of former Pandemic developers have laid into ex-employers EA via the description of their first ever solo title. Downsized Games, which officially opened its doors on March 10th, was founded by Manny Vega, Andrew Mournian, Zach Hefner and Ariel Tal, all of whom lost their jobs when EA …

Middleware provider and interface devs secure Ubisoft deal

Nintendo isn’t the only company eyeing innovative new 3D games technology. The firm behind the 3D elements in last Friday’s re-release of Batman: Arkham Asylum says its cheaper technology can drive rapid acceptance of games with added on-screen depth elements. Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition hits today, …

I would suggest a more pragmatic attitude. UK Interactive Entertainment is perfectly acceptable as the new name. UKIE? People will get used to it. After all, we dealt with Nintendo choosing Wii as a console name and that was proper mental. There are a variety of very good reasons for …

Blockbuster UK is not closing any stores and is a profitable business, insists MD Martin Higgins.The firm broke its silence after news emerged that its US parent could face bankruptcy. MCV recently reported that Blockbuster is looking to sell its UK arm. However, Higgins has denied analyst statements that the …

Microsoft is rumoured to be readying an Xbox 360 slim unit that could launch with Project Natal this year. The trimmed-down model would arrive to help prolong the lifecycle of the console, and could be released as a bundle at retail with Natal. Reports over a redesigned Xbox 360 surfaced …