Ubisoft, Take-Two and the BGI headline MCV’s Gamescom issue

Gamescom is almost here. In just over a week, the worldwide gaming industry will be packing themselves into Cologne’s Koelnmesse for another year of wall-to-wall meetings, press demos and hot new announcements.

In this week’s issue, we talk to this year’s exhibitors to find out how important Gamescom is to the industry and why it’s the best place to do business in Europe. Our panel also gives the best tips to survive Gamescom, from where to have a Klsch to why you should avoid the consumer area.

Elswewhere, we discuss the BGI with co-founders Ian Livingstone and Rick Gibson, along with Ukie’s Dr Jo Twist OBE and TIGA’s Richard Wilson, and why it could be Brexit’s silver lining.

We also talk to Ubisoft Milan’s creative director Davide Soliani about the highly anticipated release of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle and how it intends to renew the strategy genre as a whole.

Meanwhile, as digital continues to boom, Take-Two’s CEO Strauss Zelnick talks engagement vs monetisation, its high hope for the Switch and the firm’s foray into indie.

The latest digital edition can beread herefor free

The full contents of this week’s issue are below:

• OPINION: Industry veteran Andy Payne on why Brexit threatens the UK talent pool
• OPINION: Managing director Leo Zullo discusses Wired Productions’ mental health awareness campaign and why the industry needs to get involved
• GAMESCOM 2017: This year’s exhibitors share their survival tips and discuss why Gamescom is the No.1 show in the games industry
• WE THE REVOLUTION: Developer Polyslash and publisher Klabater talk about upcoming PC title We. The Revolution
• BGI: Brexit will bring huge upheaval to the UK, but it might just be what the industry needs to muscle its way up to the Government’s pecking order – and the BGI looks to be timing its run just right
• UBISOFT: Ubisoft Milan’s creative director Davide Soliani discusses the upcoming launch of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
• TIGA: CEO Richard Wilson presents TIGA’s new report on what must be done to ensure a smooth transition when the UK departs the EU
• CDP: We talk to distributor and localiser CDP about its recent evolution and the Polish games industry
• TAKE–TWO: We speak to CEO Strauss Zelnick about what GTA’s ongoing success might mean for Red Dead Redemption 2 and the firm’s expectations for Switch
• PLUS! Uncharted merchandise range, Activision and Nintendo’s summer retail feud, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, F1 2017 and Mario + Rabbids headline the big game releases, and more