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

Funcom’s chief financial officer Olav Sandnes has stood down from his position at the MMO to take up a role in a different sector publisher following the firm’s confirmation of losses in Q4 2008. He will remain in the role until a successor is found. In total, Funcom suffered an …

A lack of users for Sony’s Go!Messenger software on PSP has lead to the platform holder confirming that the service will be shut down at the end of next month. Go!Messenger was an internet telephone, or VOIP, service run in collaboration with telecoms giant BT that allowed PSP owners with …

Atari’s The Chronicles Of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena will be released in Europe on April 24th. The highly anticipated title contains a brand new campaign, as well as a HD remake of the critically acclaimed Escape From Butcher Bay and various multiplayer options, including the Pitch Black mode. Playable …

Is it too late to leave leave QA until the alpha stage? Testologyâ??s Andy Robson draws upon his experience to put forward the case for using testers to their full potentialâ?¦

Microsoft has announced that, following a successful trial last December, it is to resurrect its Xbox Live Arcade ‘Deal of the Week’ this year – and it begins today with a 33 per cent cut to the price of Jonathan Blow’s Braid. MCV’s sister site CasualGaming.biz has the full story …

Having teased a brand new title reveal last week, Capcom has confirmed that Lost Planet 2 is in the works. The announcement came via a movie download on Microsoft’s Xbox Live Marketplace service. The video suggests that the game will, unlike its predecessor, not be limited to snowy terrain and …

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American McGee's studio to return to Wonderland with console release

Music Box Leisure is on the prowl for new retail accounts – as Morrisons appoints the firm its long-term exclusive distribution partner. Morrisons told MCV that its future supply route would be handled by Music Box last week, after the company stepped in following the collapse of its former wholesaler …

Just Flight is optimistic about its business despite the loss of Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X developer ACES. Microsoft closed the studio last month, raising concerns over the future of its Flight Simuator series, for which Just Flight sells expansions. However, the studio’s closure is not a setback for the publisher. …