“Hundreds of thousands” of players needed to help shape developer’s unannounced project.
In a post on Halo developer Bungie’s website yesterday, the company called for testers on a forthcoming title: “Making great games is no small endeavor. Today we ask you, our community, to officially put your name on the list of those willing to lend a helping hand.”
Publisher set to offer first taste of big-budget MMORPG to users in December.
US-based publisher and developer Trion Worlds has announced that Rift: Planes Of Telara will enter a closed beta from December 3-6.
Rift is an MMORPG in the World Of Warcraft mould, the upcoming beta event will give users access to the first 20 levels of play, and the full opening area of the game.
Technology company behind the Euphoria engine announces new production arm with focus on downloadable titles for “connected platforms”.
Videogame developer and technology company NaturalMotion has today announced a new publishing division, NaturalMotion Games, that will develop and release “socially connected” titles for mobile and console devices.
Activision says shooter grossed over $650 million worldwide, putting it ahead of Modern Warfare 2.
US-based publisher Activision today announced that Call Of Duty: Black Ops set a record for sales in its first five days of release.
Activision estimates that COD: Black Ops grossed more than $650 million during the period, $100 million more than COD: Modern Warfare 2 when it was released last year.
CEO says a number of staff have been retained for current projects with the possibility of growth in the coming weeks.
In an interview with IGN, Australia-based Krome Studios CEO Robert Walsh says the developer has retained 40 staff following recent cuts.
Last month IGN reported that Krome had laid off its remaining staff with temporary workers brought in to complete existing projects.
Format: 360, PS3
Release: Q1 2011
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Q Entertainment
Screenshot gallery
Microsoft’s Lync platform aims to “integrate the family room into the board room”.
At a Microsoft event yesterday, the company unveiled plans to integrate its Lync video conferencing platform with its Kinect device.
Lync is intended to provide cross-platform video conferencing for mobiles, PCs and browsers.
Set for release under new title “Project Kane” next year.
UK-based media company UTV Ignition has announced that WarDevil, the thirdperson action game developed by its London studio, will be completed and set for release late next year.
Chillingo’s iOS game racks up another million sales less than two months after release.
UK-based iOS publisher Chillingo has announced that iPhone and iPad game Cut The Rope, developed by ZeptoLab, has exceeded sales of three million.
Cut The Rope was released at the beginning of October and passed two million sales on October 28. The game requires users to slice a rope holding food above a waiting, hungry monster below. The games costs $0.99 (£0.59) on iPhone/iPod Touch and $1.99 (£1.19) on iPad.
Cloud-based game streaming service shipping TV plug-in device with wireless controller next month.
US-based videogame streaming service OnLive has detailed its game system which will begin shipping to US customers on December 2.
The MicroConsole costs $99 and plugs directly into television sets and wired broadband internet connections. A wireless controller also comes in the package, though users can connect keyboards to the device via two USB ports.
Format: 360 (Version tested), PC, PS3
Release: November 19
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Screenshot gallery
Square Enix’s PSP title knocks God Eater Burst off the top spot.
In its first week in the Japan software chart, Tactics Ogre has claimed the number one spot.
The week ending November 14 also saw debuts from Dragon Ball Raging Blast 2 on PS3 at number two and Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort, which is newly bundled with the Wii Remote Plus, at number nine.
1. Tactics Ogre (Square Enix, PSP): 176,153
2. Dragon Ball Raging Blast 2 (Namco Bandai, PS3): 47,610
Developer welcoming "applications from people that have been affected during recent studio layoffs.”
UK-based publisher and developer Codemasters is aiming to hire over 100 staff for roles across its three UK studios in Warwickshire, Birmingham and Guildford.
Upgrade brings community aspect to PS3’s digital TV add-on.
Sony has today released a downloadable update to PlayTV which introduces interactive features such as the option to chat by text with other users while watching live TV.
PlayTV is a set-top box for PS3 released in 2007 that allows the pausing and recording of free-to-air digital television.
Home-delivery retail service opens for business in PS3’s online hub.
UK-based retailer Game has launched two shops within PlayStation Home today.
The Moonbase Shop, accessed via terminals within Game’s Moonbase location in Home, allows Game account holders to view and order retail copies of PS3 and PSP games for home delivery
The Game V store sells virtual items and clothing for Home avatars.
Indie developer says “We felt like we were working to our funder’s requirements rather than those that benefited the game”.
UK-based independent game developer Tuna Technologies has announced that it is downsizing and relocating.
Tuna is currently working on a game called Derrick, funded by 4ip and Screen Yorkshire, along with the claymation game Cletus Clay, due for release next year.
MIT graduates managed to circumvent Kinect's security early last week, just days after its release. In the time since, an industrious hacker community has conducted a variety of experiments with Microsoft's hardware, poking and prodding to find out just what is possible.
First titles from social game giant arriving on the Yahoo network this week.
Social game company Zynga’s Mafia Wars and FarmVille will debut on Yahoo services this week.
A deal between Zynga and the Yahoo corporation to bring its games to Yahoo services – such as Messenger, My Yahoo and Games – was announced earlier this year.
On August 17, Realtime Worlds went into administration. The announcement came just six weeks after the release of All Points Bulletin (ABP) – the culmination of a decade of development and over $100 million in investment. Two hundred developers lost their jobs and the studio lost the pool of experience and talent it had painstakingly amassed over years.
Game streaming service sends out first batch of invites to 11,000 users.
David Perry, founder and CEO of cloud-based streaming network Gaikai, has announced that the service is now in its open beta stage.
Perry confirmed in a blog post that the first 1,000 invites were sent out on Sunday and were followed by a further 10,000 this week.
Job losses as publisher aims to “streamline” music division.
Activision has confirmed the closure of its US-based studio, Budcat Creations.
In a statement issued yesterday the company said: “We continue to streamline our music development resources to ensure that they are aligned against our slate and strategic goals. As a result, we are implementing a targeted reduction in jobs in our Quality Assurance team in California and closing our Budcat studio in Iowa.”
Latest NPD report shows a year-on-year decline for hardware while game sales increase six per cent.
The NPD Group has published its hardware and software sales report for October in the US. Hardware sales fell 26 per cent compared to the same period last year, from $381 million to $280 million.
Anita Frazier, analyst for the NPD Group, said: "The best-selling hardware system for the month was the Nintendo DS, while the Xbox 360 was the only platform to realise unit sales improvement over last October.
Reports suggest that 200 staff put on three months’ notice.
Develop is reporting unofficial sources have confirmed that the James Bond 007: Blood Stone and Blur developer, bought by Activision in September 2007 for £67 million, is to close.
No word has been offered yet from either Bizarre Creations or Activision.
A highlight from our community-written blogs, featuring two left feet and Kinect.
Realtime Worlds' ambitious open-city shooter to relaunch under new free-to-play model next year.
Free-to-play specialist GamersFirst has confirmed that its subsidiary, Reloaded Productions, has bought the IP rights to APB, following the game's closure in mid-September.