MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
The Nuketown competitive map has been on many adverts for Activision’s Call of Duty as a pre-order incentive, but it seems it’s not available at all retailers. As spotted by Eurogamer, Activision’s support website said that that ‘all players’ who pre-ordered the shooter would receive Nuketown, though the publisher has …
Read More »Outnumbered, but never outgunned: Robo Pixel’s journey from university to Gamescom
There were many UK-made games at this year’s Gamescom. Blockbusters like Guitar Hero Live, Tearaway Unfolded and LEGO Dimensions are being developed on these fair shores. However, it wasn’t a triple-A behemoth that took away UKIE’s UK Game of the Show award from the event but instead a retro style …
Read More »Candy Crush revenue down as King’s mobile hit matures
Though it has been a good week for King following its purchase by Activision Blizzard, the firm’s financial report for Q3 is probably not as sweet as it might like. The firm recorded $480m in revenue for the third quarter, a drop of $35m or seven per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, …
Read More »Brothers in arms: React Games talks on making its home console debut and the state of local multiplayer
React Games has been incredibly busy since its inception in November 2008. It started off by remaking EA’s classic strategy game Archon for iPhone and PC. And that’s just one of 26 titles the firm has released. It’s made LEGO Star Wars on Facebook, as well as How to Train …
Read More »Zynga CFO departs despite company exceeding financial predictions
Social games firm Zynga has announced the departure of its chief financial officer in spite of the publisher posting financial results exceeding its expectations. Zynga forecasted $155m to $170m for the quarter, and beat these predictions by recording bookings of $176m. This is an increase of $1m year-on-year – in …
Read More »Activision stock price closes 7.5% up following King purchase
Activision Blizzard’s share price reached a record high following the announcement it will be acquiring Candy Crush company King. The publisher’s stock price reached $37 at lunch yesterday (Tuesday November 3rd), and closed at $35.82 at the end of trading. That is 7.5 per cent higher than its opening price …
Read More »Konami confirms Metal Gear Online studio closure
Japanese publisher Konami has officially confirmed that its LA studio – responsible for development of Metal Gear Online – has been shut with immediate effect. In a statement to Polygon, the company said that all development resources were being restructured to be more centralised. This follows a rumour posted on …
Read More »Thinking inside the box: Why digital developers should bother with brick and mortar retail
The narrative goes that boxed games retail is dying as the digital market thrives. The digital sector has, in many ways, lowered the barrier to entry in the games market and been one of the main factors in the booming indie movement. Oh course, the physical games market is still …
Read More »Activision Blizzard increases financial expectations following strong Q3
It continues to be a red letter day for publisher Activision Blizzard. Alongside the announcement of its purchase of Candy Crush firm King, the firm has announced that it made $990m in GAAP net revenue for the quarter ending September 30th 2015. This is up 24 per cent on the …
Read More »Streaming firm Hitbox secures $4m in investment
The latest player in the streaming market has secured $4m in funding. Vienna-based Hitbox raised this in a new round of investment which will help it expand its North American operation and worldwide reach. This funding was led by Austrian venture capital firm SpeedInvest, with publisher Wargaming, North Base Media, …
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