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

Midway has unveiled a new cost reduction plan which will see it reduce its headcount by 25 per cent – which amounts to some 180 developers. The publisher will close its Austin, Texas studio and also see lay offs at its San Diego office. Click here to see the full …

25 per cent of US studio staff gone; Austin team shuttered; but 'cost-reduction' method leaves firm strong says CEO

Kesa Electricals has revealed that its UK chain Comet made a half-year loss of 8.1m for the period up until October, with the retail chain blaming deteriorating market conditions for the results. That was in stark contrast to its 10.6m profit for the same period in 2007. MCV’s sister publication …

When Atari’s new CEO David Gardner and president Phil Harrison this summer told MCV that they were planning to rebuild the company around online games and not boxed product, there must have been a large contingent of readers who thought that this effectively meant the restructuring publisher was cutting its …

It has been claimed that Sandi Isaacs, Paramount’s senior VP of interactive and mobile, is to leave the firm, according to Variety . Paramount has to date focused its efforts on licensing its film IPs to mobile and casual games developers, though it has previously expressed its intentions to move …

Current climate â??not an appropriate time to go independentâ??

Konami will finally release Silent Hill Homecoming, the latest iteration in the company’s long-running survival horror series, on February 27th next year. The eagerly anticipated game is the sixth in the series and will be released on both PS3 and Xbox 360, marking the franchise’s first appearance on current generation …

Mobile phone specialists Phones 4U and sister company Dial-a-Phone have launched new e-tail games sites in conjunction with The Hut. Entitled Games 4U and Click-a-Game, the websites sell a range of new and back catalogue Wii, DS, PC, PS2, 360, PlayStation 3 and PSP titles, as well as consoles and …

A retrospective look at the biggest game development stories of the year

ATARI is looking for more staff and an increased market share in the UK, as its rebuilding process prepares to kick in during 2009. Alberto Gonzalez Lorca is now managing director of the Atari Atlantic region, which includes the UK as well as Spain, Nordic and Latin America. We are …