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

There seems to be no stopping Disney. One minute it is grabbing headlines for a $4bn buy of Marvel, the next it is signing up Bungie founder and Halo co-creator Alex Seropian to oversee its studios. Reporting to Graham Hopper, the head of Disney’s increasingly powerful games division, Seropian will …

Square Enix has just confirmed the rumours – Final Fantasy XIII will be released on PS3 in Japan on December 17th. The game will cost YEN 8,800 – that translates to around 60, which could conceivably point to a higher than normal RRP in the UK a la Call of …

As reported by MCV last month, SCEE is to add a number of new titles to its PS3 Platinum software range. The new titles joining the line-up are Guerrilla Games’ Killzone 2, Evolution’s Motorstorm: Pacific Rift and Insomniac’s Resistance: 2 in the 19.99 catalogue shortly in the UK. The exact …

Operations manager promoted a Mechscape draws near

Alex Seropian and his Wideload studio is acquired by Mickey Mouse firm

Another Electronic Arts exec heads to a casual gaming start-up

Numbers from La Tribune suggest that the PS3 Slim sold 37,000 units in its first week of release in France – an increase of 1000 per cent. The growth mirrors that seen in the UK according to ChartTrack, and the actual sales number is likely to be similar to the …

You can ‘pay what you like’ for Eidos’ new Championship Manager. A brave new step in games’ business model – or a headline-grabbing gimmick? Tim Ingham reports… You don’t get something for nothing. But for a penny? The world’s your oyster. Radiohead’s decision to ask fans to ‘pay what you …

Microsoft has defended its decision to hand over the development responsibilities of Crackdown 2 to Scottish startup studio Ruffian. Back in December, Realtime Worlds – developers of the original Crackdown – had explicitly contested rumours that Ruffian was working on the lucrative IP. I very much doubt that Microsoft would …

Broadcaster highlights the merits of smaller teams for its new educational games