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

Russian concept art studio Grafit acquired in expansion push

John Riccitiello’s job at the helm of global games publisher could be under threat if the latest talk from US market analysts is to be believed. Earlier this week EA was forced to cut its financial forecasts for the second year in succession, leading investors to question the strategy being …

The Western aspirations of Japanese giant Square Enix have been demonstrated once again with news that it is to bring its successful Eastern free-to-play MMO Fantasy Earth Zero to the North American market later this year. The publisher famed for successes such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest is teaming …

This week’s Develop Jury Service has seen conflicting views from the development community, with both praise and concerns expressed on the potential of Natal. And while the praise was glowing, with some developers claiming that Natal will create new genres, others remain confused on what to expect from the motion- …

Developer trio backs Microsoftâ??s controllerless peripheral

The GAME Group hass announced the appointment of Dana Dunne as its new non-executive director. Dunne currently serves as the chief commercial officer for easyJet. He succeeds Jean-Paul Giraud, who has completed two terms of office and steps down after six years on the Group board. We are delighted to …

While some studios see it as a game changer, others call Natal a risk

D3Publisher is targeting Xbox 360 owners with the marketing campaign for its next Ben 10 video game. Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks will be the first title in the successful franchise to be released on Microsoft’s console when it debuts on February 5th, 2010. Namco Bandai Partners will distribute …

Peripherals specialist A4T has signed a three-year license deal with EA. Announced at CES, the agreement will see the firm produce a range of accessories under the EA Sports label, including fitness products for the EA Sports Active brand. Accessories will be made available for all platforms including the iPod. …

Nordic Games says the UK was a major part of its first year success in 2009. The company released games across a number of territories last year. Speaking to MCV, the firm’s sales and marketing director Nik Blower revealed that the publisher’s key titles recorded their best performances at UK …