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

The British Academy Video Games Awards will return next year after being absent from industry calendars through 2008. Thirteen awards categories have been announced: Action & Adventure, Artistic Achievement, Best Game, Casual, Gameplay, Multiplayer, Original Score, Sports, Strategy, Story & Character, Technical Achievement, Use of Audio and a new Handheld …

Woolworths has announced the appointment of Steve Johnson as chief executive with effect from 1st September. He replaces Trevor Bish-Jones, who left in June after more than six years seeking to resolve the group’s difficulties. Johnson, 44, joins from Focus DIY, where he held a post as chief executive for …

90 of 130 staff lost after unannounced project is cancelled; 'right thing to do for the future of Midway,' says CEO

Nintendo has returned to the top of the charts with Wii Fit as the platform holder continues to rack up huge summer sales with Maro Kart Wii at three, Wii Play at five and Brain Training at ten. Last week’s top seller Soul Calibur IV’s sales have dropped 24 per …

Acrobatics and gymnastics coach Alison Carroll has been chosen as the new Lara Croft, replacing model Karima Adebibe. Tombraiderchronicles.com reports that the 23-year-old is a BGA accredited Club Coach in Tumbling, Sports Acrobatics, and General Gymnastics, and has a long association with the Bromley Valley Gymnastics Club and the Shirley …

GoW: Chains of Olympus and Daxter developer to use texturing middleware for next-gen debut

The DS version of classic NES RPG title Final Fantasy IV will be released in the UK and PAL territories on September 5th, developer and publisher Square Enix has confirmed. FFIV has been fully kitted out with improved 3D graphics, fully-voiced cut-scenes, a rejuvenated musical score and a host of …

Ditches proprietary GPGPU solution; to support DX11 and OpenCL in future

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang and Oddworld's Lorne Lanning to appear at event

Hires renowned comic author Warren Ellis for 'groundwork' on sci-fi survival horror game