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

During its post-fiscals conference call, Activision became the latest publisher to ring the death knell for big-bundle, hardware-based music games. The firm will release just two console games in 2010, across 10 SKUs. Music games accounted for 25 SKUs in 2009, when it launched the likes ofGuitar Hero 5 and …

No, it’s not a shocker: Activision has this evening confirmed that a new Call of Duty title will hit later this year. The publisher didn’t confirm if the game is a sequel to Modern Warfare 2 or, most likely, one of the historical versions of the franchise that visits famous …

Activision Blizzard has once again bucked the downward trend in the games industry by detailing better than expected Q4 and full year 2009 earnings. In fact the firm reckons 2009 was the most profitable year in the history of the company. For the full year Activision Blizzard’s GAAP net revenues …

Peter Molyneux, Mark Rein, Alice Taylor and Joseph Olin set for keynotes at the Newcastle event

Future Publishing’s revenues fell in its latest quarterly financials, with games magazines hit hardest. But the firm is optimistic that it can benefit from increased consumer confidence post-recession. In a trading statement issued today for the three months ending December 31st, the firm said that its special-interest portfolio had protected …

Disney Interactive suffered an expected 29 per cent decrease in sales during the final three months of 2009. The Disney arm reported revenues falling to $221 million, while operating profit results showed a $10 million loss. Those losses, however, represent an improvement for the business, with last year’s losses as …

Electronic Arts has announced that its Hasbro-branded titles have racked up global sales of more than eight million units within the last year. The publisher has launched 20 different Hasbro brands across 18 major platforms since the two firms formed a strategic alliance back in August 2007, including consoles – …

Disney Interactive Studios will cut down on the number of PS3 and Xbox 360 games it invests in, as the group shifts its focus to embrace more casual platforms. CEO Bob Iger said that there remains a huge opportunity” for Disney to enjoy healthy revenues in the game market, but …

Despite Disney trimming investment in high-end console projects, the firm’s CEO recognises that its newly-owned Marvel empire is well-suited to the Xbox 360 and PS3 audiences. CEO Bob Iger said yesterday that Disney Interactive would be very, very judicious” in how many high-end console projects it will green-light, focusing instead …

Bob Iger adds that the iPad could be a game-changer for the group