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

As the online news services of sister titles Develop and MCV became the first media to break the story last Sunday afternoon, it became clear that everyone was reacting with similar astonishment. We broke the news before many Activision and Vivendi Games staff had been told. Indeed, this was less …

The industry is still reeling following the Vivendi/Activision acquisition earlier this week, with the announcement throwing up the question of how the two companies will be integrated, what this means for the industry – and, most importantly, how its competitors will react. The deal, worth an astonishing $18.9 billion, means …

Of all the pressures that come from beavering away in the industry in the lead up to the Q4 gifting frenzy, distribution companies bear the brunt. Not only are they responsible for ensuring that publishers’ frenzied delivery demands are met, but they’re also in the firing line from retail when …

VFX house contributes graphic sequences to hit title

Indie publisher 505 Games can boast a substantial feather in its increasingly valuable hat today following the confirmation that the ever-popular DS and Wii cook-em-up Cooking Mama has now surpassed the one million sales barrier in Europe. Proving that the right product can see even smaller publishers match the performance …

It’s phenomenal to think that there are still people out there who are yet to buy The Sims, but the series’ dominance of the ChartTrack Budget PC Top Ten suggests that the franchise is a long way from burning out. EA’s life-management series occupies an astonishing seven of the available …

British developer to work on title with role-playing masters

Radio documentary following studentsâ?? experience to air next week

Online firm's middleware to help make PC game for mass-market audience

Having been in development for three years and impressing the industry and gamers alike with Colin McRae: Dirt, Codemasters’ Neon middleware engine has been renamed EGO. The engine is currently being employed in the development of Race Driver: GRID and Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising. We made significant investments in …