UK

Epic Games has announced that it has secured the rights to the Fighting Fantasy series for its iOS development contest, Make Something Unreal. The deal means that the four teams selected to take part in Make Something Unreal Live, a game jam to be held at the Gadget Show Live 2012 in April, will be based on the beloved series of role-playing books created by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson, specifically The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain, The Citadel Of Chaos, Deathtrap Dungeon, and Armies Of Death. All four games will be released on the iOS App Store. More >

Troubled retailer Game Group has this morning confirmed the loss of 46 jobs at its Basingstoke headquarters. The UK's largest specialist videogame retailer told MCV that the cuts were part of a restructuring drive. One of those leaving is Dave Hughes, who oversaw the relaunch of Game's website and will officially depart in March. More >

Screen Yorkshire has announced a new £15 million content fund, which it will invest in games, film, TV and digital creative works produced in the region. Half of the Yorkshire Content Fund comes from the European Regional Development Fund, set up by the European Commission to stimulate regional economic development. The remainder will be provided by private sector investors. More >

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the new UK number one, the Square Enix RPG ending FIFA 12's five-week dominance of the all-formats software chart. In a busy week for new releases, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection enters the chart at number two, with Namco Bandai's Soul Calibur V, fittingly, making its debut at number five. More >

Ben Cousins, general manager of Ngmoco Sweden and former head of EA's Easy Studio, will give the opening keynote at the inaugural F2P Summit in London next month. More >

Troubled retailer Game Group says it is in discussions with banks concerning its financial woes, and may sell its overseas business in order to stay afloat. Yesterday it emerged that the UK's biggest specialist videogame retailer was struggling to source new stock after it lost its credit insurance from agencies. This meant it would have to pay for new stock in advance. The company insisted this week's new releases would be on shelves on Friday as normal, and admitted it was working on deals with suppliers to ensure it was able to stock new games. More >

Electronic Arts has warned investors that the failure of troubled UK retailer Game Group could affect the publisher's finances. During an investor call following the release of EA's latest fiscal results, John Riccitiello declined to name Game Group, but given that yesterday the retailer was reportedly struggling to secure new releases after losing its credit insurance, it appears clear to whom the EA CEO was referring. More >

Game Group, the UK's largest specialist videogame retailer, has insisted that this week's new releases will be on shelves on Friday as normal, despite reports to the contrary. Earlier today a Eurogamer report cited multiple sources who claimed Game had lost credit insurance with a number of agencies, meaning it would not be able to source stock of new releases without paying for them up front. More >

Organisers of Develop In Brighton have issued a call for speakers ahead of this year's conference, which begins on July 10. The three-day event, now in its seventh year, plays host to over 100 sessions from industry experts. Speakers last year included David Braben, LittleBigPlanet developer Media Molecule, and SCEE's Mick Hocking. More >

Marc Fascia, lead gameplay programmer on Ninja Theory's Enslaved: Odyssey To The West, has joined Brink developer Splash Damage as technical director. Fascia's remit will be overseeing all of the studio's technical efforts and setting the overall direction for programming teams. In a press release, Splash Damage hints it intends to spread beyond consoles, saying Fascia will support director of production Griff Jenkins "as the studio grows to additional gaming platforms." More >

EA's FIFA 12 is once again the UK all-formats number one, retaining the crown it has held every week so far this year. In second spot is Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which climbs two places after sales rose eight per cent week on week. More >

Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy and upcoming Wii RPG The Last Story, will speak at the British Academy Of Film And Television Arts' London headquarters next month, Nintendo has announced. More >

World of Love organiser David Hayward is staging a new game design event called Bit of Alright next month. Taking place in the Battersea Arts Centre in London on February 3, the event includes speakers and sessions from Introversion's Mark Morris and Chris Delay; Hide&Seek;'s Holly Gramazio; Ricky Haggett and Nat Marco from Honey Slug, Gratuitous Space Battles designer Cliff Harris who will be offering advice on how to get out of bed and finish an indie title. More >

Dundee-based Denki has revealed that Quarrel was "rejected by almost every game publisher in the world" and called on gamers to prove them wrong on the day its multiplayer word game launches on Xbox Live Arcade. In a post on the company blog, managing director Colin Anderson admits that Quarrel was actually rejected twice, and even three times, by some publishers. The struggle to strike a publishing deal caused Denki to restructure and lay off a number of staff in April 2010. Quarrel was eventually released for iPhone last August. More >

Trade association UKIE has confirmed that it will publish its long-awaited PC digital sales chart for the first time in February. In a press release, the trade body reveals that the chart, which was announced in 2010 and has been in closed beta for some time, has the support of the likes of Green Man Gaming and Get Games, and publishers including Disney Interactive, Sega, Square Enix and Warner Bros. More >

Dawn Paine has worked for Nintendo for ten years now and has overseen the launches of Nintendo platforms including Wii, DS and 3DS, and a number of high-profile games. She will join Universal Pictures as VP of marketing. More >