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

Part 3 of Developâ??s week-long special on some of Londonâ??s most successful studiosâ?¦

The UK government has confirmed that the nation’s gross domestic product fell by 1.5 per cent in the final three months of 2008, and following the 0.6 per cent drop in the previous quarter it means that the UK is now officially in recession. The drop off is the most …

Eidos has confirmed to Develop that it has close its Rockpool Games studio in Manchester. Around 14 Rockpool staff have been made redundant as part of the move. The publisher bought the studio in February 2007 to boost its presence in the casual games sector. Developmag.com has the full story …

Following the news that Microsoft is to shed some 5,000 jobs in the next 18 months, with 1,400 of them happening immediately, sources are claiming that its Xbox division could be a potential victim of the culls. ZDnet is reporting that Microsoft is directly targeting its Entertainment and Devices Division, …

The unfortunate job-cutting spree in the games industry seems to be continuing today with news that EA studio Black Box has, after weeks of speculation , lost 200 members of its staff. MCV’s development-orientated sister-site Developmag.com has the full story – click here to head over there.

The world’s leading game companies are reeling on the stock exchange in the wake of the recent spat of financial reports, with French publisher Ubisoft suffering particularly badly. Following yesterday’s Q3 report, Ubisoft’s stock price has since dropped by 23.5 per cent on the Paris exchange, most likely as a …

Criterion and Bright Light unaffected by publisher's cut-backs, say insiders

EA-owned developer of Need for Speed and Skate 2 sees over half its headcount let go

Along with its financial results and confirmation of a new outing for Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft has also confirmed that its next-gen sandbox shooter Far Cry has now sold 2.9m copies worldwide. In addition, Shaun White Snowboarding has sold 2.3m copies and can claim the crown of being the second best-selling …

As part of yesterday’s positive financial filing from Ubisoft , it was confirmed that the much-rumoured Assassin’s Creed 2 is in development and will be out before the end of the publisher’s financial year – or more likely – in time for Christmas. Along with the new Altair title, it …