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

Epic's design director talks Natal, Nintendo, Levine and Gears

Ubisoft says the launch of its new UPlay service represents a significant shift in the way the publisher brings its content to consumers. Announced at E3, UPlay is a new in-game service that will appear across several of Ubisoft’s key future titles, providing content and community aspects to gamers online. …

Publisher Activision hopes to be part of the new playground sensation Bakugan with its upcoming video game tie-in. Entitled Bakugan: Battle Brawlers, the game is based both on the Spin Master-developed card game and Nelvana Enterprises’ cartoon series, and features a story mode with a plot devised by the TV …

Whilst the North American beta continues to impress on the other side of the Atlantic, Microsoft has announced that the UK version of Xbox Live multiplayer quiz show 1 vs 100 will be released in the UK on July 10th. The game, which was initially due to be released alongside …

Majesco has signed a deal with HarperCollins subsidiary William Morrow to create a game based on the bestselling book series The Daring Book For Girls. The title will reach Wii and Nintendo DS later this year and lets players ‘virtually experience activities straight from the popular book’. The full story …

The video game tie-in of popular Warhammer board game Blood Bowl will arrive in the UK this September. Published by Focus Home Interactive and developed by Cyanide Games, Blood Bowl is a violent mix of Warhammer fantasy and American Football, and will be released on Xbox 360, PC, PSP and …

Viral specialist expands platform remit

The game industry fails to understand the core properties and potential of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. That was the view offered by Mike Mika, an industry veteran of twenty years having been involved in over 120 game projects. In boardrooms across the world, people are using Facebook …

PS3/PSP production agreed with six Asian groups, dev costs subsidised by 40%

MCV’s vital weekly retail digest, RetailBiz is available to view online and download now. Our special six-page supplement offers an in-depth look at this week’s official Gfk-ChartTrack multiformat Top 40, dominated once again by EA’s Fight Night 4 – as well as all of the official UK single and multi-format …