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

New opinion piece delves into the nasty truth about studio acquisitions

So. Farewell then, Pivotal Games, / There was always Conflict, / But we didnâ??t expect / A fatality.

Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to the F.E.A.R franchise, which was previously owned by Vivendi. The deal is the first evidence of publishers ‘picking off’ unwanted franchises from Activision Blizzard – which is likely to sell more ex-Vivendi properties in the coming months. Development control of F.E.A.R now returns …

Video games are set to become more lucrative category than music for HMV. Britain’s leading CD retailer has predicted that music will soon account for a quarter of its sales – down from the 30 per cent it enjoys at present. HMV CEO Simon Fox told The Sun: Within the …

Casual developer praises AppStore following release of Diner Dash for iPhone

And it gets better: they're planning to release it for free, too

Namco Bandai has acquired a 34 per cent stake in Infogrames’ European and Asian distribution operations, in turn creating a new ‘standalone entity’ that will handle the distribution of both businesses’ boxed product as well as other publishers’ titles. The newly-formed group will boast Infogrames’ existing global distribution network, and …

'War room' games developer using Epic middleware for arena-based auto-fighter

New system lets those looking to learn Maya log on to classes from anywhere in the world

Super publisher EA has beaten seven bells out of its chart opposition this week by claiming the top three spots in the Gfk ChartTrack UK All Format Top 40 – with Pandemic’s free-roaming blast-em-up Mercenaries 2: World in Flames leading the charge. Mercenaries’ success was no doubt aided by its …