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

To say VR had an eventful first year would be an understatement. Not only do we have three major headsets on shelves, contributing to almost $1bn (£774m) worth of sales around the world, but we also have virtual reality films appearing at Sundance, VR surgical procedures, and HTC has even …

What would it mean for gameplay if accessible AI tech could grant NPSs the ability to answer back unscripted? The SpiritAI team might be close to that than you expect, as Will Freeman investigates

Gamescom has announced that online accreditation for members of the press is now open for the event and will remain open until two weeks prior to the start of the show. Members of the media will need to use the online accreditation portal to receive their ticket, although it may …

The once wild world of Maker Studios is to be integrated more closely into the controlled workings of inner Disney. It was revealed in February that Maker was shedding staff and cutting ties with some 55,000+ YouTubers. This, of course, came after Maker dropped PewDiePie following the world’s most popular …

Last week the NBA announced that 17 established NBA teams will be participating in the upcoming NBA 2K eLeague, the first formal esports league run by an established sporting league. The 2K eLeague was announced back in February when Brendan Donohue, formerly a marketing and business exec within the NBA …

Dreamhack has announced a variety of competitive events that will run at the same time as its main DreamHack Summer 2017 tournament, with focus on different groups that might be less likely to compete in the main event. The four tournaments are an all-female tournament, a junior tournament for those …

There’s a been an unlikely turnaround in the relationship between Argentine football legend Maradona and PES publisher Konami. Just last month the pair were embroiled in a public row over likeness rights, but now it seems that a long-term partnership has been forged. Kotaku reports that not only have the …

Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish confirm the rumours with current projects continuing

Onslaught eSports has announced its acquisition of esports organisation Roanoke Reign, formerly known as Virtue Gaming. The acquisition comes with many senior figures at Roanoke Reign, with Onslaught taking on several parts of the senior management team: Reign CEO and Founder Brent J. Beckner and chief operating officer Dawn Lozner …

MCV has been informed that Imaginarium studios is in financial trouble. The creative studio was co-founded by Andy Serkis and has contributed performance capture to some of the biggest movies of recent years, includingRise of the Planet of the Apes, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. …