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

Charlie Brooker’s Gameswipe TV special last night drew a respectable 361,000 viewers. According to a Media Guardian report, the show – which aired on the satellite and digital-only channel BBC Four – accounted for 2.2 per cent of the UK’s TV audience between 10pm to 11pm. The preceeding hour of …

In a move likely to challenge the view that games are oblivious to the power of considered narrative, UK developer Ninja Theory has tapped up acclaimed writing talent for new game Enslaved. Enslaved is the follow-up to PS3 title Heavenly Sword. It is a post-apocalyptic action-adventure title, according to the …

Joystiq is reporting that US retail chain Game Crazy will close 200 stores by the end of October. The outlet has approximately 680 locations throughout the US with some of the stores attached to rental chain Hollywood Video. However, the rental stores are set to remain unaffected by the closures. …

THQ has prepared a huge long-term marketing push to support the launch of its newest IP, World of Zoo – including a sponsorship deal of popular documentary TV channel Animal Planet. The Wii, PC and DS game is due on November 6th, and allows players to create and manage their …

Casual and advergaming specialist makes its second acquisition of the summer

EA's casual portal thriving at milestone

Windows 7 will be the PC gaming platform of choice, Microsoft has told MCV. The firm is confident that a host of new technological upgrades – which includes DirectX 11 and multi-touch screens – will finally give consumers a reason to upgrade to a new operating system. We believe Windows …

Publishers and developers need to be more open to flexible workforces and better management according to a new production studio. Outsourcing and support firm Supermassive Games Europe said that contract work will become more prevalent as the industry tries to make the best of rising budgets. The firm, spun out …

The UK games market’s rising stars are set to battle it out for industry recognition, as MCV lines up its annual presentation of the top 30 hot shots aged under 30. And you can have you say in the list by nominating your staff, a colleague or yourself by emailing …

Chinese developer praises both tech and Emergent's publisher networking