MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Crysis developer Crytek foresees a future for the company where none of its titles make it to retail. That’s because the German developer wants to become the leader in what it believes is the emerging hardcore free-to-play space, with its own Gface platform at the centre of it – much …
Read More »SOE prepares to close down free-to-play FPS Bullet Run after just 7 months
Free-to-play FPS Bullet Run is to be closed down on March 8th. Sony Online Entertainment’s PC shooter only went live in August, but billing for the title has already been cancelled with any outstanding subscription charges having been refunded. Developer Acony will retain the rights to the code, but SOE …
Read More »Free-to-play MMO shooter DDTank launched on Gamiction
ChangYou has launched a new turn-based MMO shooter on its recently launched online gaming platform, Gamiction. DDTank is free to play and is accessible through the browser, requiring no downloads. The game features turn-based gameplay, with players able to level up and use power-ups. The game does include a store, …
Read More »Tera going free-to-play next month
En Masse and Bluehole Studio have announced their subscription-based MMO Tera will be jumping on the free-to-play train. The switch is expected to be flipped sometime in February, less than a year after the game’s launch. A new item store with real money transactions will arrive alongside the Tera: Rising …
Read More »Nintendo finally ready to delve into free-to-play market
It has a reputation for resisting technology and business developments, but Nintendo has finally conceded to the logic of the free-to-play space. It marks a notable change of tact from president Satoru Iwata, who in 2011 pledged that Nintendo would never venture into the F2P market for fear of further …
Read More »Brazil’s BoaCompra books tickets to Europe
BoaCompra has stated that it’s on the hunt for European talent having established its first office in the territory. The Brazilian free-to-play company specialises in both publishing and monetising online titles and currently reaches around 70 per cent of all Brazil’s internet users. It currently has offices in Maring, So …
Read More »Free XBLA title Happy Wars surpasses 1.2m downloads
Xbox Live’s first free-to-play title Happy Wars has amassed over 1.2m players worldwide since launch. Developer Toylogic announced the figure earlier this week, while simultaneously rolling out a new holiday-themed update for the title. The update is supposed to improve matchmaking and online stability as well. Happy Wars debuted in …
Read More »Koch Media invests in free-to-play firm
European distributor Koch Media is venturing into free-to-play games by investing in the company behind Brick-Force. Koch has acquired a significant minority stake in Berlin-based developer/publisher Infernum Productions. The move will give the firm a stronger presence in the growing sector. Infernum is best known for its F2P sandbox shooter …
Read More »EA launches Origin Free To Play
The publishing giant is rebranding its Play4Free label to add free-to-play games into its growing Origin offering. EA has announced plans to integrate established F2P portal Play4Free and its titles into its flagship download games service, eventually putting everything under the new Origin Free To Play label. Popular Play4Free games …
Read More »Ubisoft: ‘Players trust High Street more than online’
Some gaming enthusiasts find buying games on the High Street safer than via online, says Ubisoft. The firm’s free-to-play publishing director Thomas Paincon said that some consumers trust the High Street over online services and free-to-play games. And that’s why the firm is launching a boxed version of digital F2P …
Read More »