Develop 72 available now

The latest issue of Develop is out today.

We take another trip across the Atlantic ocean for our cover story, focusing on Ubisoft Montreal which recently announced plans to add a whopping 1,000 extra staff to its operation.

CEO Yannis Mallat is grilled on the growth plan ("We aren’t doing it for the sake of it," he insists) and then Patrice Desilettes and Jade Raymond, creative director and producer of the studio’s ambitious next-gen game Assassin’s Creed, talk game design and technology (they call the game an action-adventure with sports game sensibilities).

The magazine also takes a look at three UK studios – Relentless, FreeStyle, and Zoe Mode. The three each have vastly different, sophisticated approaches to the independent studio business and the company bosses of each offer their views on the industry and their production methods.

While the above three UK studios all share a common bond – a fruitful relationship with Sony – this issue of Develop also breaks the story of the moment: the expansion of Microsoft Game Studios into the UK and Europe. We talk to XNA group manager Chris Satchell to find out more.

Elsewhere, our technology and services focused Build section offers an in-depth look at the audio outsourcing sector, speaking to all the leading companies, giving a market overview and best-practice guides for the voice, sound effects and music sectors.

Build also offers a guide to physics engines, plus all the details on new tools and tech releases.

Plus, along with industry commentary and Q&As with the minds behind Audiomotion, Nokia SNAP and Babel Media, we offer a glimpse behind the scenes on the audio production of Halo 3 and offer all the latest details on July’s Develop conference and expo.

Develop issue 72 lands on subscribers desks today, or a free PDF download can be found here.