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

UK publisher PlayStack has hired Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe’s Charlie Hasdell as its new creative director. Hasdell brings more than two decades worth of experience to the role, including his time as one of the key creatives on the multimillion-selling SingStar franchise. Harvey Elliott, CEO of PlayStack, said: Charlieis an …

“Kel’Thuzad is one of the most requested heroes to date," says Kyle Dates, a hero designer on Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm. I’ve just asked him why Kel’Thuzad is Heroes of the Storm’s newest hero, and his answer is clear. Still, with so many heroes coming out, it wouldn’t surprise me …

Microsoft is bringing Halo to its Windows Mixed Reality platform. Developed by 343 Industries, the game will be one of the first pieces of content available for Windows mixed reality, and will be released as a full consumer product. In a blog post, Microsoft’s technical fellow and Kinect creator Alex …

Northern Gaming has been acquired by NRG Esports, Northern Gaming’s CEO Mike Maring has announced. Northern Gaming have had a rollercoaster ride, forming in Toronto last year and signing a roster of notable streamers, in addition to a Rocket League team that won June’s world championships. While Northern Gaming parted …

The post-international roster shuffle, a yearly event as reliable as Christmas, is well underway, but it seems to have brought back an organisation that’s long been absent: Team Leviathan. Team Leviathan was a well known North American team that last competed in 2016, failing to reach The International 2016’s regional …

Microsoft has officially ceased production of the original Xbox One, leaving the Xbox One S and the Xbox One X as the only remaining consoles in its line-up currently being made. Speaking to Glixel,a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed: "We stopped manufacturing the original Xbox One when we introduced the Xbox One …

GAME has announced a new partnership between its games event company Multiplay and Minecraft creator Mojang to bring BlockFest events to the UK. BlockFest events are community-based and aim at bringing the best of official Minecraft experiences to local communities around the world,” the announcement said. The exact format and …

Retailer CeX has suffered an online security breach. In an email to customers this morning, the retailer said it was investigating the breach "as a priority" and promised it was "taking a number of measures to prevent this from happening again." According to the email from managing director David Mullins, …

"We took a look at our live server, and we saw that our combat needed an upgrade." Adam Clegg, H1Z1’s senior designer, has a gift for understatement. The difference between battle royale shooter H1Z1 on its live server, and the test server currently hosting the Combat Update is like night …

Rainbow Six Siege’s next big expansion. Blood Orchid, is coming September 5th. The patch notes for the expansion have now been released, and it’s the game’s most expansive patch to date. "3 months ago, Operation Health was deployed as a major initiative to improve the game for the upcoming years," …