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

How do you think World of Warcraft has managed to attract so many gamers? One of our goals with World of Warcraft was to make the game as accessible as possible, and many design decisions – such as the interface, the quest system, and the visual style – were made …

Industry veteran ‘Wild’ Bill Stealey has announced his return to the games industry with the founding of a brand new games company – Thriller Publishing. The firm will oversee development, marketing, publishing and distribution of wholly-owned properties based on military and espionage themes. Also joining Stealey are fellow industry veterans …

GDC08: In-game advertising firm to support Quake Live and its website

Sega has at last revealed the name of Bioware’s upcoming DS Sonic RPG – Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. The title will be released on Nintendo’s handheld some time before the end of the year. Bioware has enjoyed tremendous RPG success in the past with hits such as Star Wars: …

Following the news that Toshiba has dropped the guillotine on its struggling HD-DVD format, Microsoft has said that it doesn’t believe the decision will have any impact on the next-gen console battle. "We do not believe the recent reports about HD-DVD will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 …

Elder Scrolls developer and publisher Bethesda has opened the doors of its new London office – and has set about preparing for its next major release, action role-playing game Fallout 3. The new operation, owned by parent company ZeniMax Media, is headed up by industry veteran and former Virgin Interactive …

Viacom’s Nickelodeon division has pledged to take its games business to ‘the next level’ this year following a new partnership with Take 2’s casual 2K Play label. The company has signed a three-year worldwide deal with the publisher – an extension of a current agreement between the two firms – …

Toshiba has announced that it will no longer develop, manufacture and market HD-DVD players and recorders – leaving the way clear for Blu-Ray to become the dominant high definition DVD format. The firm will cease shipments of HD-DVD players and recorders into retail by the end of March. It also …

MCV sister site Develop has the full story – head over there for Mark Rein’s full reaction.

More talk from EA CEO on how publisher is changing its approach to development