PC and Retail - Game Developers Network

Spec Ops: The Line suddenly delisted from PC stores

Game Developer

JANUARY 30, 2024

Yager's beloved shooter was pulled from PC retailers without any explanation, and 2K has so far not said why.

PC

PC Retail

PC games retailer Robot Cache allows players to start games 200x faster than any other games store

GamesIndustry.biz

MARCH 18, 2024

The PC games retailer is using DACS Laboratories' ROCKITPLAY FastStart Technology on more than 50 games to create 'the fastest game store in the West'. Players can now buy games via Robot Cache and play them 'almost instantly' as they download. ROCKITPLAY is effectively a Netflix-like click-to-play solution.

Retail

Retail PC Games Technology

Helldivers 2 drives UK March game sales up 26% | UK Monthly Charts

GamesIndustry.biz

APRIL 8, 2024

million PC and console games were sold across the UK during March, an impressive rise of 26% over the same period in 2023. They are, of course, very different games, with Spider-Man 2 retailing at £70 and only releasing on PS5. Helldivers 2 has a lower price and is also available on PC. Read more

Retail

Retail Console PC Data

Alan Wake 2 shunning physical release to avoid price hike

Game Developer

MAY 25, 2023

The sequel will retail for $59.99 on consoles and $49.99

Retail

Retail Console PC

Video games is no longer the biggest entertainment medium in the UK

GamesIndustry.biz

JANUARY 8, 2024

ERA, which is the UK trade body representing video, music and games retailers, says that revenue made by video games in the UK reached £4.74 That includes sales of digital and physical video games, covering PC, mobile and consoles. The the first time in over ten years, video games is not the UK's biggest entertainment medium.

Entertainment

Entertainment Retail Console Mobile

Phil Spencer wants to see other digital storefronts on Xbox

GamesIndustry.biz

MARCH 27, 2024

Xbox head Phil Spencer has said that he wants to see more digital retailers on the console, such as the Epic Games Store and Itch.io. Nobody would blink twice if I said, 'Hey, when you're using a PC, you get to decide the type of experience you have [by picking where to buy games]'. There's real value in that." Read more

Retail

Retail Polygon Console PC

Diablo 4 ends Zelda's four-week stay at No.1 | UK Boxed Charts

GamesIndustry.biz

JUNE 11, 2023

The game didn't sell particularly big numbers at boxed retail, and its launch week sits well behind Zelda, Hogwarts Legacy, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Resident Evil 4 and Dead Island 2. However, as a game that's particularly popular on PC, the vast majority of sales will be via digital download stores. That means the new No.1

Retail

Retail Data PC Games

HR exec says it's on women to solve the industry's sexism problem | 10 Years Ago This Month

GamesIndustry.biz

JANUARY 31, 2023

Steam is great for the retail PC software market. So to refresh our collective memory and perhaps offer some perspective on our field's history, GamesIndustry.biz runs this monthly feature highlighting happenings in gaming from exactly a decade ago. This column has seen some galaxy brain Bad Calls over the years. Read more

Retail

Retail Software PC Feature

Epic Games Store woos third party support

Game Daily

OCTOBER 24, 2023

Since its launch in 2018, Epic Games Store has spent bucket loads of money on giving away free games, in order to attract PC gamers away from Steam. In 2022, the retail store front hit 68 million monthly active users and a peak daily active user base of 34 million. Success has been hard to come by.

Retail

Retail Games PC Content

Bandai Namco is opening a store in London

Game Development News

JUNE 28, 2023

Bandai Namco has announced it is opening a new ‘interactive retail experience’ store in July 2023 - MCV/DEVELOP

Retail

Retail Development Console PC

GAME to stop selling pre-owned games in the near future

Game Development News

JANUARY 17, 2024

UK retailer GAME is going to stop selling pre-owned video game software soon

Retail

Retail Games Software Console

I don’t know if this is confidential or “too technical” for the blog, but how does developing for consoles actually work? As in, what is the workflow like? Obviously, you do all the coding on a PC, but how does the build get tested on consoles? How do you debug on consoles? It would be awesome if you could do a little rundown, but I understand if it’s not possible.

Ask a Game Dev

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

It has beefier hardware than the retail console (because it needs to be able to hold and run debug builds of the game). Neither of these can play retail games, they only play development builds. A console dev kit is a lot like a networked computer fused with a game console.

Console

Console Debug Retail Dev

Dark and Darker coming to Epic Games Store following injunction dismissal

GamesIndustry.biz

MARCH 19, 2024

As reported by PC Gamer , the developer announced the move on its Discord server. A year after being removed from Steam, Ironmace's Dark and Darker will be available on the Epic Games Store. The game is currently in early access, with no release date as of yet.

Prototyping

Prototyping PC Games Development

iXie’s approach to achieving 100% first-submission pass on all platforms

iXie gaming

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023

These tools help perform tests more efficiently and help find issues that would otherwise be impossible in a retail environment. On platforms like PC and mobile, extensive testing is conducted on various devices to ensure smooth performance and compatibility between different configurations.

Platformer

Platformer Retail Mobile Mobile

Starfield debuts at No.1 | UK Boxed Charts

GamesIndustry.biz

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

GfK's report showed that the space-action RPG sold more physical copies on Xbox than it did on PC. Starfield has topped the UK physical charts this week. Starfield's premium upgrade (a box with a code that provided early access to the digital version) has fallen to No.34 34 after debuting at No.7 7 last week.

PC

PC Code Games Retail

Summer Game Fest already feels like an anachronism

Game Daily

JUNE 9, 2023

Long before its demise, E3 was an anachronism; a show for retail buyers, in an industry that had moved way beyond its bricks and mortar past.

Games

Games Entertainment Retail Fantasy

Epic Games incentivizes developers to release older titles on its digital store

GamesIndustry.biz

OCTOBER 16, 2023

The program is eligible for products launched on third-party PC or subscription services before October 31, 2023. Read more

Development

Development PC Games Retail

Party Animals has left early access, and has launched on both Steam and Xbox

Game Development News

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

Party Animals has officially launched on PC and Xbox consoles as of today - MCV/DEVELOP

Animation

Animation Animation Console PC

Puzzle Strike on Steam

Sirlin

DECEMBER 21, 2015

The new Steam version of Puzzle Strike (as well as the upcoming iOS release) have these new features: Runs natively on Mac, PC, and Linux (new!) Launching with English and French language support, with German and Japanese localization on the way The Steam version of Puzzle Strike will retail for $14.99

Puzzle

Puzzle Cross platform Fantasy Retail

How Flying Sheep raised funds to make its ‘frictionless’ Web3 game Star Life

Game Daily

APRIL 20, 2023

Now owned by Australian company iCandy, Flying Sheep has turned towards a Web3 model for its next project, Star Life. “While our games were web2 focused, we had been following the development of the NFT market,” says Rössig, who also serves as iCandy’s head of Europe. ” Flying Sheep was acquired by iCandy June 2022.

Point and Click

Point and Click Communications Games Build

Istanbul Gaming Summit 2023

Deconstructor of Fun

MARCH 14, 2023

Apple has really screwed us over in a really big way and everyone is responding. Things are going to get worse before they get better.” But ultimately ended on a more positive note: “This is an opportunity for you guys to figure out how best to market new games in this market, to take all these challenges that we see and come up with something new.

Games

Games Cross platform Mobile Mobile

Regional Spotlight: Hamburg

Game Development News

AUGUST 18, 2023

What’s it like to make games in Europe’s biggest non-capital city in Europe’s largest games market? Richie Shoemaker quizzed three local studios in the hope of finding out

Localization

Localization Studios Games Retail

Develop:Brighton is now open to speaker applications

Game Development News

JANUARY 16, 2024

Tandem Events is now open to speaker submissions for Develop:Brighton 2024

Esports

Esports Retail Console PC

UK games industry recruitment agency OPM has closed after 26 years

Game Development News

JANUARY 23, 2024

One Player Mission (OPM, formerly OPMJobs and OPM Response) has announced its decision to close down after 26 years of providing recruitment services to the UK games industry

Games

Games Retail Console PC

Congratulations to the 2023 MCV/DEVELOP Award winners!

Game Development News

MAY 12, 2023

After weeks of deliberation and thousands of votes, 500 of the UK game industry's brightest and best came together to honour the winners of the 25th anniversary MCV/DEVELOP Awards

Development

Development Games Retail Console

Wish You Were Here? A Spotlight On The Canary Islands

Game Development News

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

The Canary Islands is one of Europe’s most popular year-round holiday destinations, but the autonomous region of Spain (that is closer to Africa than it is Europe) has in recent years attracted the curious eye of a gaming industry looking to explore new horizons. Richie Shoemaker talks to four studios that have successfully settled in the sun

Studios

Studios Pixel Games Retail

When We Made… Fae Farm

Game Development News

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Isaac Epp, game director of Fae Farm at Phoenix Labs, tells Vince Pavey about the challenges of infusing the cosy life sim genre with a dash of fairy magic and adventure

Games

Games Retail Console PC

When We Made… Zool: Redimensioned

Game Development News

OCTOBER 12, 2023

Jacob Habgood, Owen Lyons, and Ntokozo Tshuma, three of the team on Zool Redimensioned at Sumo Digital, talked to Vince Pavey about what it was like bringing the ninja from another dimension back for a brand-new generation of hardware

Retail

Retail Console PC Development

Industry Voices: Social mobility and the games industry: how an industry worth £4.6 billion is failing its talent

Game Development News

JUNE 12, 2023

Dan Ahern, QA lead at Radical Forge talks about social mobility in the games industry - MCV/DEVELOP

Mobile

Mobile Mobile Games Development

The Economics of a 2D Adventure Today

Grumpy Gamer

OCTOBER 18, 2004

Starting a company that will self-publish the game into retail channels is a huge undertaking and would require some significant capital. It's also hard to become a retail based publisher with a single game. You need several games to have any clout with the retailers. 8) It's a PC game. Retail Distribution.

Retail

Retail Point and Click Co-op Build

I’d Buy That For (More Than) A Dollar: Yannick Allaert at Nacon on their new premium controller for PS5

Game Development News

DECEMBER 5, 2023

Yannick Allaert, Head of Accessories at Nacon tells Vince Pavey about their new premium controller option for the PlayStation 5, and why competition and being different are good for the controller biz.

Retail

Retail Console PC Development

PEGI 20: Ian Rice on 20 years of PEGI ratings and why they remain relevant in an an increasingly digital marketplace

Game Development News

DECEMBER 1, 2023

In the midst of celebrating 20 years of the PEGI ratings system at WASD x IGN, Ian Rice, director general of the Games Rating Authority, took some time out to answer our questions

Games

Games Retail Console PC

Dynablasts from the Past: Stephan Berendsen on Dynablaster, Shark! Shark! and Astrosmash, and what’s next for BBG Entertainment

Game Development News

OCTOBER 12, 2023

Stephan Berendsen, president and founder of BBG Entertainment tells writer Vince Pavey about BBG Entertainment’s work to revive classic titles with brand new entries

Entertainment

Entertainment Retail Console PC

[From the industry] Outright Games marks ‘World Children’s Day’ with pledge to donate video game profits in the 24 hour window to UNICEF

Game Development News

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

Outright Games has announced that in recognition of World Children’s Day on November 20, 2023, the company will donate up to £100,000 from digital sales made over the 24-hour period to UNICEF

Games

Games Retail Console PC

[From the industry] The TIGA Games Industry Award Winners 2023 have been revealed!

Game Development News

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

The great and the good of the games sector were celebrated at the TIGA Games Industry Awards 2023 on November 16, 2023 at the iconic Troxy London - MCV/DEVELOP

Games

Games Development Retail Console

Industry Voices: Games are the media altar every brand should be praying at

Game Development News

JULY 11, 2023

Harry Lang, VP of Marketing at Kwalee on why games are bigger than a new religion - MCV/DEVELOP

Media

Media Games Development Esports

Shuji Utsumi is the new boss at SEGA

Game Development News

JANUARY 10, 2024

Shuji Utsumi is now President, COO and Representative Director of SEGA Corporation, CEO of SEGA America, and CEO of SEGA Europe

Retail

Retail Console PC Mobile

Q&A: The games industry looks back on gamescom 2023

Game Development News

OCTOBER 10, 2023

There were 320,000 people at this year’s gamescom. We pulled aside five of them to see what they thought of it - MCV/DEVELOP

Games

Games Development Indy Retail

[From the industry] A Little to the Left cleans up with 999,999 sales

Game Development News

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

Secret Mode would like to congratulate indie developer Max Inferno on selling 999,999 copies of the wholesome tidying-up puzzle game A Little to the Left

Puzzle

Puzzle Indy Development Games

The Lost Ark Has Found its Way

Deconstructor of Fun

MAY 15, 2022

By publishing Lost Ark and targeting core MMO cohorts (primarily 25+ male gamers on PC), Amazon aimed to test the water on MMO in the Western market and see whether they could break the dominance of WoW and FF14. Since Lost Ark is free to play on PC, there is no revenue data publicly available (Amazon has not shared their revenue).

Cutscenes

Cutscenes Art Content Mechanics

Outright Games and Humble Bundle have extended how long their latest charity fundraising bundle will run for

Game Development News

JANUARY 17, 2024

Outright Games and Humble Bundle have extended the duration of the Heroes of Film & Television Humble Bundle

Film

Film Games Retail PC

Q&A: Allard Laban, chief creative officer at Jackbox Games on Jackbox Party Pack 10

Game Development News

NOVEMBER 22, 2023

Vince Pavey spoke with Allard Laban, chief creative officer at Jackbox Games, to find out more about Jackbox Party Pack 10, their latest pack of game night essentials. Here’s what was said

Games

Games Retail Console PC

Party Chat: RallyHere’s Trevor Williams on the changes to Hi-Rez, and what their live service game tools can do

Game Development News

OCTOBER 6, 2023

Vince Pavey met with Trevor Williams, CMO at RallyHere, to discuss the Hi-Rez backed platform and what its tools can do for live service games - MCV/DEVELOP

Platformer

Platformer Games Development Retail

New Kids On The Block: Wayne Meazza on Behaviour’s UK expansion

Game Development News

OCTOBER 9, 2023

Vince Pavey checks in with Wayne Meazza, executive vice president for Behaviour Interactive, to ask about group as it expands into the UK - MCV/DEVELOP

Development

Development Retail Console PC

Spec Ops: The Line suddenly delisted from PC stores

PC games retailer Robot Cache allows players to start games 200x faster than any other games store

Trending Sources

Helldivers 2 drives UK March game sales up 26% | UK Monthly Charts

Alan Wake 2 shunning physical release to avoid price hike

Video games is no longer the biggest entertainment medium in the UK

Phil Spencer wants to see other digital storefronts on Xbox

Diablo 4 ends Zelda's four-week stay at No.1 | UK Boxed Charts

HR exec says it's on women to solve the industry's sexism problem | 10 Years Ago This Month

Epic Games Store woos third party support

Bandai Namco is opening a store in London

GAME to stop selling pre-owned games in the near future

Dark and Darker coming to Epic Games Store following injunction dismissal

iXie’s approach to achieving 100% first-submission pass on all platforms

Starfield debuts at No.1 | UK Boxed Charts

Summer Game Fest already feels like an anachronism

Epic Games incentivizes developers to release older titles on its digital store

Party Animals has left early access, and has launched on both Steam and Xbox

Puzzle Strike on Steam

How Flying Sheep raised funds to make its ‘frictionless’ Web3 game Star Life

Istanbul Gaming Summit 2023

Regional Spotlight: Hamburg

Develop:Brighton is now open to speaker applications

UK games industry recruitment agency OPM has closed after 26 years

Congratulations to the 2023 MCV/DEVELOP Award winners!

Wish You Were Here? A Spotlight On The Canary Islands

When We Made… Fae Farm

When We Made… Zool: Redimensioned

Industry Voices: Social mobility and the games industry: how an industry worth £4.6 billion is failing its talent

The Economics of a 2D Adventure Today

I’d Buy That For (More Than) A Dollar: Yannick Allaert at Nacon on their new premium controller for PS5

PEGI 20: Ian Rice on 20 years of PEGI ratings and why they remain relevant in an an increasingly digital marketplace

Dynablasts from the Past: Stephan Berendsen on Dynablaster, Shark! Shark! and Astrosmash, and what’s next for BBG Entertainment

[From the industry] Outright Games marks ‘World Children’s Day’ with pledge to donate video game profits in the 24 hour window to UNICEF

[From the industry] The TIGA Games Industry Award Winners 2023 have been revealed!

Industry Voices: Games are the media altar every brand should be praying at

Shuji Utsumi is the new boss at SEGA

Q&A: The games industry looks back on gamescom 2023

[From the industry] A Little to the Left cleans up with 999,999 sales

The Lost Ark Has Found its Way

Outright Games and Humble Bundle have extended how long their latest charity fundraising bundle will run for

Q&A: Allard Laban, chief creative officer at Jackbox Games on Jackbox Party Pack 10

Party Chat: RallyHere’s Trevor Williams on the changes to Hi-Rez, and what their live service game tools can do

New Kids On The Block: Wayne Meazza on Behaviour’s UK expansion

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