SPECIAL REPORT: Tiga loves it, EA doesn't - MP Shaun Woodward's suggestion that UK studios form an academy for games developers has ignited sector chatter, but opinions clash over the idea's worth.

SPECIAL REPORT: Rising budgets, new studios and surprise deals have brought 2006 to a tremendous close for Western games production – $600m was invested in European and North American studios over the last 12 months, taking the year’s spending past the $1bn mark.

Who needs triple-A titles? That's the message from studios as the support for digital distribution swells, but beware: games for such platforms are now more complex – and more expensive to make.

The director of the new Alone in the Dark, David Nadal, has struck out against other story-driven titles saying that most are repetitive after just an hour and are failing their audiences.

Valve has added another development partner to its Steam digitial distribution network, with Swedish Simbin set to deliver its game Race over the service.

Microsoft has confirmed that its XNA development software is to be used for teaching in five European universities, three of which are in the UK.

The US arm of Japanese publisher D3 Publishing is spearheading its UK wing’s push into Europe by looking for games made by local teams to publish – and could even acquire studios in the area.

GDC London is spearheading the London Games Festival’s development activity this October, and along with a name designed to set it apart from GDCE, its conference structure has been revamped to reflect the sector’s new way of making games.