MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
The number of paying subscribers for World of Warcraft fell to 11.1m between May and July, but Blizzard has plans to reverse the downturn. World of Warcraft is still the PC’s leading MMO despite losing 300,000 players. Back in May this year the online RPG had 11.4m players. At its …
Read More »Rumoured title surfaces for next WoW expansion
A recent trademark registration suggests the fourth World of Warcraft expansion pack will be called Mists of Pandaria. The trademark was spotted by MMO Champion and is similar to those filed for previous expansions such as Cataclysm and Wrath of the Lich King. Pandaria is the home of the pandaren …
Read More »OPINION: Diablo III auctions a smart move against gold farmers
By introducing real money auctions for virtual items in Diablo III Blizzard has upped its game in the fight against illegal ‘gold farmers’. For online games such as World of Warcraft where it can take months or even years to forge a strong character, time is money. Forget monthly subscriptions …
Read More »Diablo III lets gamers sell items for money
World of Warcraft developer-publisher Blizzard has revealed an in-game auction house in Diablo III that uses real money. Gamers will be able to buy, sell and trade digital items in the PC RPG using real-life currency, with sellers taking the majority of the cash” for each transaction. Blizzard showed off …
Read More »WoW adopts free-to-play model
Could F2P bring Blizzard's subscriber levels up past their peak?
Read More »Analyst: Blizzard’s Titan is "casual MMO"
Blizzard remains tight-lipped on it’s mysterious project Titan but an analyst claims that the game is a casual MMO. In his most recent report, Stern Agee’s Arvind Bhatia wrote that Blizzard Entertainment’s next products include "expansion packs for StarCraft and World of Warcraft, a new Diablo game [and] a new …
Read More »Blizzard seeks ‘PS3 specialist’ for Diablo III
E3 2011: Job listing suggests Blizzard is moving into console development
Read More »WoW subscription numbers dip
Though the 11.4m subscribers to Blizzard’s world-conquering MMO World of Warcraft make for some impressive reading, it actually represents nearly a three year low for the game. The current number was revealed in Activision’s financials last night, Kotaku reports. The game reached its highest point in October last year as …
Read More »Morhaime sticks up for Kotick
Blizzard founder Mike Morhaime has defended Activision boss Bobby Kotick, saying that his status as the game development industry’s bogeyman is undeserved. The two companies merged in 2008 and Morhaime told MCV that his colleague is completely simpatico with Blizzard’s creative values and is often judged harshly by people who …
Read More »WoW bosses hopeful SWTOR will be a hit
Blizzard believes the eagerly anticipated EA/LucasArts MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic, could be the biggest shot in the arm for the genre since World of Warcraft. The firm’s co-founder and executive vice president Frank Pearce told MCV that one of the keys to World of Warcraft’s success was building …
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