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

ESL founder Jens Hilgers has put together a team of high profile figures and investment groups from sports, entertainment and gaming to create a multi-million esports investment fund. The fund, called BITKRAFT Esports Ventures fund, has backers from several top-level esports organisations, including Super Evil Megacorp CEO Kristian Segerstrale, the …

The 3DS remake of Intelligent System’s Fire Emblem Gaiden for the NES went straight to No.1 in Japan last week, according to the latest figures from Famitsu. The latest entry in the Fire Emblem handheld series, re-titled Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, shifted over 133,000 copies in its first …

Origen’s roster has taken another hit, as their second player in a week has left the team, leaving them with just three players. Origen was relegated from the European League of Legends Championship Series after the Spring Split. Six days ago, Origen’s top laner Max Günther, known by handle Satorius, …

Sean Cleaver catches up with Amazon Games Services vice president, Mike Frazzini, to see how the Amazon Lumberyard engine and the company’s gaming focus has come on in the past year

Ronimo’s side-scrolling 2D MOBA Awesomenauts is making the transition to free-to-play. The switch will be made on Steam on May 24th, although an update that has overhauled the progression system has already gone live. Changes include an overhauled tutorial and ‘beginner experience’ designed to make it easier for newcomers to …

The second expansion for Forza Horizon 3 offers a very different prospect to the game’s first DLC. It’s called Forza Horizon 3 Hot Wheels and, as the name suggests, draws on the licensed toys for what looks to be some delightfully silly and over-the-top escapades. It introduces six new off-coast …

Publisher Atlus has apologised for the over-zealous streaming restrictions that were imposed for RPG hit Persona 5. Earlier this month the company threatened to take action against anyone who streamed gameplay beyond the in-game date of July 7th. It said the rule was an attempt to prevent spoilers ruining anyone’s …

It’s not quite the new Burnout so many have been calling for, but Danger Zone will certainly scratch that itch. Developer Three Fields, which was founded by Criterion founders Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry, will channel the popular Crash Mode from Criterion’s later Burnout titles in a dedicated game in …

2.74 million Switch units were sold in March, a fifth of the targeted 10 million sales.

Nintendo sold over 2m Switch consoles worldwide in its first month on shelves, according to its latest fiscal year earnings report, hitting 2.74m units as of March 31st. That beats recent analyst expectations from SuperData, which pegged the console’s global sales figures at just 2.4m. As a result, Nintendo’s profits …