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Nintendo has released an update for Mario Kart World which adds various new features and tweaks. The most notable of these for some players will be the decision to dial down the game’s difficulty by making its AI opponents easier, withNintendo‘s patch notes saying it has “made COM weaker in everything other than Battle”. Some players have previously pointed out that 150CC mode inMario Kart Worldis particularly difficult in Grand Prix and Knockout Tour mode, with aggressive opponent AI making it hard to get three-star ratings for each trophy....

Microsoft is gifting free PC Game Pass trials to non-members who played some of its biggest 2021 game releases. Anyone who playedHalo Infinite,Forza Horizon 5or Age of Empires IV onPCfrom release until July 09, 2025, is eligible to receive a 3-month trial of PC Game Pass, it announced this weekend. However, the offer is only valid to those who have never previously been a member of Game Pass onXboxor PC....

Microsoft could be planning to rebrand Xbox Game Pass to separate the subscription service more clearly from its console hardware. On Saturday the platform holderreportedlychanged the profile pictures of its social media accounts to a new logo which simply reads, “Game Pass.” As spotted by Twitter userNotCassim,Microsofthas also removed ‘Xbox’ from its Game Pass community updates and more. However, the service’s Twitter username and handle remain ‘Xbox Game Pass’ for the time being....

Sony Interactive Entertainment has released a new Death Stranding gameplay video at Gamescom 2019. Death Strandingis set to release on July 21, 2025. The upcomingPS4exclusive is the first game from Metal Gear Solid creatorHideo Kojimasince hisKojima Productionsstudio split withKonamiin 2015 to become an independent company. Announced at E3 2016. Death Stranding features a cast of high-profile actors including Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux, Lindsay Wagner and director Guillermo del Toro....

Digital Foundry has backed up recent claims that Sony is working on a new PlayStation handheld. Last month, Bloomberg reported thatSonyis developing a portable console capable of playingPS5games. Itclaimedthat the company wasin the “early stages” of creating the device, which is still years away from a potential release. In a video published on Monday,Digital Foundrysaid it could corroborate some of Bloomberg’s reporting. “What’s interesting about this is we actually heard about this handheld some months ago from a couple of sources specifically,” said senior staff writer John Linneman....

Mario Kart Tour, the mobile game from Nintendo and DeNA, is getting its first update in years this month, the pair have announced. Tour wasofficially wound down in 2023, with only existing content rotations coming to the game since. However, in a major surprise, it was confirmed on Friday that a new season of content is coming to the game. The Sunshine Tour will roll out starting on July 22, with content designed to celebrate the recent release of console gameMario Kart WorldonNintendo Switch 2....

Nintendo’s Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake has been rated in Brazil and Korea. TheSwitchgame, which was announced earlier this year, is a remake of a cult favouriteGameCubetitle, and currently holds a placeholder release date of 2024. However, it’s possible that since the game is already beginning to arrive at rating boards, the release could come early in the year. The Thousand-Year Door was released to critical acclaim in 2004, and currently has a score of 87 onMetacritic....

In the three months since VGC’s Patreon launched, our community has already received a strong roster of exclusive content. By signing up atPatreon.com/VideoGamesChronicle, you can help support our work, and also receive exclusive weekly podcasts, videos, and other content, just for patrons. What did VGC Patreon members get this month? Find out below, and if you’re keen to join and support VGC, you can do so atPatreon.com/VideoGamesChronicle. XboxE3 2013 – We 3 Watch E3 This week, we dropped a new episode of We 3 Watch E3....

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has reiterated that the company has not finished acquiring development studios and will continue to expand the Xbox Game Studios family. In a discussion as part of theWall Street Journal’s WSJ Tech Live event(paywalled and transcribed by VGC), Spencer was asked ifXboxGame Studios – which currently consists of 23 different development studios – was finally complete, or if it could grow even bigger. “I’m really proud of some of the creators that have chosen to become part of Xbox,” Spencer replied....

Sony Interactive Entertainment has reportedly decided not to attend Gamescom 2024. In recent years the company has opted to showcase its games through its own digital events, rather than host conferences or have a significant physical presence at major industry conventions like the expo in Cologne, Germany, which comes at a considerable expense. Sonymost recently appeared atGamescomin 2019, which was the last in-person edition of the show before the Covid-19 pandemic....

Sony has launched PlayStation Wrap-Up, enabling players to view and share their gaming highlights of 2024. The annual end of year wrap-up tool offers users various personalized stats, including most played games, a breakdown of monthly gaming activity, and Trophies unlocked. “New this year are personalized historical statistics, such as the total number of games a player has experienced since creating their account forPlayStationNetwork, as well as a look back at trophy milestones and personalized recommendations for games that are available on PlayStation Plus Game Catalog,” according toSony....

Yooka-Laylee developer and publisher Playtonic Games has confirmed that a number of its staff has been laid off. Numerous Playtonic staff have been posting on social media over the past week that they had lost their jobs, making it increasingly likely that these weren’t individual cases and that Playtonic had conducted a round of layoffs. The company has now officially confirmed this in a statement on X and Bluesky, though it hasn’t clarified how many staff are affected....

The Pokémon Company has announced a digital event for next week, which it says will contain “exciting news”. ThePokémonPresents event will take place on Tuesday, February 27 at 6am PT / 9am ET / 2pm GMT. According to a tweet by the official Pokémon account on X, the presentation will feature “exciting Pokémon news in celebration of Pokemon Day 2024”. The last major Pokémon game wasPokémon Scarlet and Violet, which was released in November 2022....