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

Having bought full-game digital distribution to Xbox 360 earlier this year, Microsoft has now gone live with its games on demand service for PC platform Games for Windows Live. The launch line-up includes Codemasters’ Colin McRae Dirt 2, Bethesda’s Fallout 3, Eidos’ Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, THQ’s Red Faction: …

A guide to the latest 50 issues of Develop

Latest award means eight UK games courses are validated by Govt body; more invited to get involved

The Department for Culture, Media And Sport has revealed that it is to fast-track a Bill through Parliament that will close the loophole in the Video Recordings Act 1984 that meant it was no longer illegal to sell adult movies and games to children. Dubbed The Video Recordings Bill, the …

EA no longer part of the set up following the Zenimax buyout

£10k to winning startups, with the chance to pitch to SCEE, Blitz and Channel 4

ZeniMax Media has won the rights to publish Rage, the anticipated first-person shooter currently in development at id Software. The company, which parents both id and Fallout 3 publisher Bethesda, has revealed Electronic Arts will no longer be involved in the sales and marketing surrounding Rage’s release. Rage will now …

Electronic Arts’ executive vice president of western world publishing, Gerhard Florin, has elected to leave the company at the end of the current financial year (March 31st, 2010), MCV can confirm. Florin has been with EA for 15 years, initially playing a key role in establishing the publisher as the …

Western gamers still face a long wait for the release of Final Fantasy XIII, but the Japanese anticipation has reached fever-pitch ahead of the release of the PS3 version of the game this Thursday. Publisher Square Enix is well aware of the likely mania that will greet the game’s release …

The first game based on popular kids brand Zhu Zhu Pets will be released on DS in spring 2010 thanks to a new agreement between publisher Activision, GameMill Publishing and licence holder Cepia LLC. Black Lantern Studios is currently handling development duties. Zhu Zhu Pets success in 2009 speaks for …