If you’d prefer to purchase Mario Kart World separately, however, Nintendo’s recommended retail price for its fan-favorite racer is an eye-watering $79.99.
Up until now, Nintendo only launched one $70 game on the original Switch, and that was the Legend of Zelda: Tears Of the Kingdom. Interestingly, the just-announced Donkey Kong Bananza is $70.
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Kirby’s racing spinoff Kirby Air Ride is making a tremendous comeback after more than 20 years, thanks to a new entry for Nintendo Switch 2: Kirby Air Riders.
The project made its grand debut during today’s special Switch 2 presentation, revealing a cast of colorful Kirbys and new spacey vehicles to travel with. No gameplay was revealed, with Nintendo instead choosing to reveal the project with a cinematic trailer and the promise of a 2025 release window. We likely won’t have to wait too long to see how the sequel builds on the original GameCube game, but we can at least rest easy knowing Kirby creator and Super Smash Bros. mastermind Masahiro Sakurai is serving as the project’s director.
The last original new Kirby game was Kirby and the Forgotten Land for Nintendo Switch. This was Kirby’s first adventure in a full 3D perspective, and we gave it an 8/10. We said that it “successfully warps the series’ already fun mix of ability-based combat, platforming, and secret hunting into the third dimension. The post-apocalyptic setting may not be as thematically interesting as Planet Popstar, but it is still lovely and vibrant, with cleverly designed levels that make consistently smart use of Kirby’s abilities.”
You can catch up on everything announced at today’s Nintendo Switch 2 Direct right here.
Developing…
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Nintendo has announced Donkey Kong: Bananza, a new 3D DK adventure for the Switch 2. It’ll launch on 17th July 2025.
Showcasing the newly-updated design for Donkey Kong, you’ll be leaping and smashing your way through various environments and enemies. More details will come at a later date, but it’s looking absolutely stunning.
Coming Soon to Game Pass: South of Midnight, Blue Prince, Borderlands 3, and More
Megan Spurr, Senior Community Lead, Xbox Game Pass
It’s time to confront some magical creatures (or maybe just your backlog) with these games coming soon! Some surprise benefits and announcements you might have missed, day one games (with some amazing music; looking at you South of Midnight), and more. Let’s get to it!
Coming Soon
Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC) – April 3 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition packs bazillions of guns and is a mayhem-fueled adventure, featuring the base game plus all four campaign add-ons, Director’s Cut content, and all cosmetic packs! Blast through worlds and enemies as one of four Vault Hunters, each with deep skill trees, abilities, and customization. Play solo or join with friends to take on insane enemies, score loads of loot, and save your home from the most ruthless cult leaders in the galaxy.
All You Need is Help (Console) – April 3 Now with Game Pass Standard
Dive into a quirky multiplayer co-op puzzle game where adorable, fluffy cube-shaped creatures collaborate to reach their goals. This cooperative-centric game is designed for enjoyment across generations – from children to grandparents – making it perfect for family and friends.
Still Wakes the Deep (Xbox Series X|S) – April 3 Now with Game Pass Standard
From the award-winning developers at The Chinese Room comes a terrifying tale of isolation. You are trapped on an oil rig in the North Sea, running from an unknowable horror that has come aboard. With no escape and no way to fight back, all you can do is survive.
Wargroove 2 (Console) – April 3 Now with Game Pass Standard
Embark on an all-new adventure filled with unlikely friendships, unknown adversaries, and ugly revenge plots. Wage war against your foes with a cast of new Commanders. Design and share maps, cut-scenes, and campaigns with easy-to-use editors and in-depth customization tools.
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Edition (Console and PC) – April 8 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass, Game Pass Standard
This Ultimate Evil Edition contains both Diablo III and the Reaper of Souls expansion set, together in one definitive volume. Rise as one of humanity’s last defenders – crusader, barbarian, witch doctor, demon hunter, monk, or wizard – and collect legendary loot while mastering devastating new powers and abilities.
South of Midnight (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – April 8 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Available on day one with Game Pass! South of Midnight is a new action-adventure from Compulsion Games. Explore the mythos and confront mysterious creatures of the Deep South in this modern folktale while learning to weave an ancient power to surmount obstacles and face the pain haunting your hometown. Game Pass members can save 10% on the Premium Edition Upgrade to unlock up to 5 days early access, plus digital access to the South of Midnight Artbook, the original soundtrack, and more.
Commandos: Origins (Cloud, PC and Xbox Series X|S) – April 9 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Available on day one with Game Pass!Commandos: Origins revisits the six iconic commandos from the original series. Witness elite stealth-tactics gameplay, use your team’s unique abilities to execute complex strategies, and combine your forces in 2-player co-op multiplayer. The battlefield is calling. Do you have what it takes?
Blue Prince (Cloud, PC and Xbox Series X|S) – April 10 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Available on day one with Game Pass! Welcome to Mt. Holly, the mysterious manor with shifting rooms. Blue Prince is a genre-bending, atmospheric, architectural adventure where you explore an ever-changing manor of 45 shifting rooms. Discover secrets and mysteries in a house you build one room at a time. As you discover more with each passing day, the question asked is – can you find the rumored Room 46?
Hunt Showdown 1896 (PC) – April 15 Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Available now on PC and coming soon to Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) and Xbox consoles! Hunt: Showdown 1896 is a new era of the addictively unforgiving extraction shooter. In corrupted backwaters lost to history, fight back alone – or with friends – against timeless evil. Twisted monsters and other ruthless Hunters stand between you and your Bounty. Risk everything as Hunt consumes you.
In Case You Missed It
EA Sports College Football 25 (Cloud and Xbox Series X|S) – Available now Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass
Step into iconic stadiums with unforgettable traditions and get unlimited access to EA Sports College Football 25. Members can chase college greatness with Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta), PC Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate via EA Play. Plus, score a Supercharge Pack by April 24.
More In-Game Benefits for Free-to-Play Games
For Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members, we announced we’re bringing even more benefits for select free-to-play games. You can expect in-game benefits like cosmetics, characters, in-game currency, and more with seasonal content drops. Starting today, members will get access to the following in-game benefits for Asphalt Legends Unite:
Asphalt Legends Unite (Console and PC) – link your Gameloft Club account Speed into action with the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, 10 St. Patrick’s Card Packs, and 500,000 credits to upgrade, enhance, and dominate the track.
DLC / Game Updates
Dead by Daylight: Tokyo Ghoul – Available now From anime to the horrific realm of video game horror, Tokyo Ghoul’s Ken Kaneki has come to Dead by Daylight. Feel the tear as your gruesome Kagunes spring from your back-flesh to propel you forward, teeth gnashing in anticipation.
Sea of Thieves: 2025 Edition Update – Available now To celebrate Sea of Thieves‘ Seventh Anniversary, fresh 2025 Editions are now available. These new options contain the latest version of the full game and offer a range of choices at different price points, packed to bursting with bonuses including some of the game’s most popular items!
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – Season 03 – Starting today Season 03 Multiplayer and Zombies content kicks off today! Players can jump in and get locked and loaded prior to Verdansk officially launching in Call of Duty: Warzone tomorrow April 3rd. Game Pass members can save 10% and maximize their gameplay with Season 03 BlackCell which includes the standard Battle Pass with an added BlackCell Page Unlock with bonus unlockable content, 20 tier skips, 1,100 Call of Duty Points, and more. Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members, stay tuned for in-game benefits dropping soon.
Age of Empires IV: Knights of Cross and Rose Expansion – April 8 Pre-order and save 15% on Age of Empires IV: Knights of Cross and Rose today and prepare to experience the stories and strategic warfare of the Knights Templar and House of Lancaster. These variant civilizations innovate upon the French and English, bringing new weapons, units, buildings, and technologies to the battlefield.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks
New Perks are here! Check the Game Pass section on your console, Xbox mobile app, or Xbox app on Windows PC to find new in-game content, consumables, and offers included with your Game Pass Ultimate membership. Perks vary by region, platform, and over time.
The First Descendant: Beyond the Void Bundle – Available now Enter Beyond the Void, the next chapter of Season 2 in The First Descendant! Claim the Episode 2 Bundle to gear up in style, customize your loadout, and join your fellow Descendants on new missions in the uncharted Sigma Sector!
Candy Crush Solitaire (Mobile): Sweet Starter Pack – Available now The Sweet Starter Pack gives you the perfect edge to sharpen your strategy and sweeten every move. It includes 5,000 coins, 4 undo moves, 3 Color Bomb boosters, and 1 Wild Card.
Sea of Thieves: Seventh Serving Emote – Available now For a limited time, celebrate seven years on the Sea of Thieves with this Emote and carve a slice of delicious dessert!
Leaving April 15
The following games are leaving the Game Pass library soon, which means it is time to re-shuffle your play list and check these out before they go. Remember to use your 20% membership discount on your purchase if you would like to keep them in your library.
Botany Manor
Coral Island
Harold Halibut
Homestead Arcana
Kona
Orcs Must Die! 3
Shadow of the Tomb Raider Definitive Edition
Turbo Golf Racing
We’re adding more games over time to the ‘Stream your own game’ collection for Game Pass Ultimate members. Go to Xbox.com/Play to see the list of available cloud playable games to stream on supported devices if you own them.
As always, love to chat with you about what games you’re playing and what you’re downloading next! Catch us at Game Pass, PC Game Pass, or Xbox, and we’ll remind you when these “coming soon” games turn into “available today”. Cheers!
During today’s Nintendo Switch 2-focused Nintendo Direct, Nintendo officially revealed its new Mario Kart game coming to the console, which we now know to be titled Mario Kart World. It’s Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, and it’s a launch day release.
The trailer today was a fast-paced explosion of neat new elements. Rapidfire, we got a look at a number of returning characters, new tracks, and feature such as jet skis on water, rail grinding on the edges of courses, the ability to bounce off walls, customizable characters with hats and outfits, changing weather and time of day on courses, a photo mode, and the ability to play as the cow from Moo Moo Meadows. You heard me!
The biggest feature of World is the ability to drive off-road essentially anywhere you want on the course in what seems to be a large open world, with drivers having to drive from course to course in each four-course Grand Prix.
The last “mainline” Mario Kart game, Mario Kart 8, originally came out way, way back in 2014 for the Wii U, and was later re-released as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch. Since then, it’s become the definitive Mario Kart game, selling nearly 65 million copies and getting numerous updates over time with new racers, tracks, karts, and more. While other Mario Kart games have come out during that time, such as Mario Kart Tour on mobile and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, this new Mario Kart release on Switch 2 is a major step forward for Nintendo as it says goodbye at last to one of the best-selling games of all time. Can Mario Kart World surpass it? We’ll have to wait and find out.
You can catch up on everything announced at the Nintendo Direct today right here. More information is coming on Mario Kart World in a future Nintendo Direct dedicated to the game.
In Pathologic 2 you played an exhausted surgeon who between incisions would scramble through piles of rubbish for a handful of nuts to keep himself alive. In Pathologic 3 the developers want you to approach the same plague-stricken town from a different perspective. This time you’re a well-fed and well-dressed city doctor whose pompous attitude and diagnosing minigame makes him more like Hugh Laurie’s Dr House than the scroungey hero of a survival game. Pathologic 3 Quarantine is a demo on Steam that lets you try out this secondary hero, the Bachelor, and it sets the tone for another trip into Ice-Pick Lodge’s janky-if-interesting townscape.
A video purportedly taken from the next iteration of The Sims has popped up online, and fans have expressed their concern about what it may mean for the much-loved series.
Project Rene – the codename sometimes used interchangeably with The Sims 5, although EA maintains Project Rene is, in fact, a spin-off project – has been bubbling around for a few years now, but early access footage from a game entitled “City Life Game With Friends” has many players thinking that this could well be the next Sims game.
The video itself is a full 20 minutes long and shows the player clicking through text prompts to select their outfit, hair, watch, activities, and so on. He then spawns into a sunlit Plaza de Poupon where he buys some food and mingles with the locals. He later goes to work in the outdoor café.
Characters are clearly called Sims throughout the playtest, talk in Simlish, and are adorned with The Sims’ tell-tale Plumbob.
“I am terribly disappointed with Project Rene. Yes, I know, according to EA, ‘this is not the final game.’ Is this a joke or what?” said one unhappy player on The Sims’ subreddit on a post entitled “I think Project Rene is a redflag (I hope not)” that has been upvoted hundreds of times.
“EA clearly wants to kill off normal Sims games and push people toward the mobile-style experience. So in their mind, a reboot literally means this — at least that’s what I THINK.”
“This is not going to be for me, I can tell already,” said another. “It just seems so basic and I don’t want to play The Sims on my phone.”
“The funny thing is, making a PC/mobile cross-compatible Sims game isn’t a bad idea,” posited a fan. “EA just believes that mobile games HAVE to be ugly for some reason. They’re chasing all of the design trends of the past decade, but it means that this thing already looks dated and it’s not even out yet.”
“The way The Sims was a literally [sic] satire about capitalist suburban consumption-as-happiness…. And this is where the Sims ended up. Endless consumption-as-happiness,” suggested another.
Project Rene — the codenamed game initially thought to be The Sims 5 until EA distanced itself from those rumors — was first teased in 2022 during a Behind the Sims Summit. It’s a free-to-play Sims game that features multiplayer inspired by Animal Crossing and Among Us. It hasn’t yet been formally revealed or received a release date, but EA has been holding small, invite-only playtests for the game since its announcement, with the game’s latest playtest presumably spawning these recent leaks.
The name Rene was chosen because it references words like “renewal, renaissance, and rebirth” that “represent the developer’s renewed commitment for the Sims’ bright future.”
Last October, however, images of Project Rene leaked from a closed online test, prompting complaints about the art style, limited features, and the use of microtransactions. It was the addition of a café that drew the most skepticism, primarily due to the smiliaries to 2018’s The Sims Mobile. It was then that EA said Project Rene was not The Sims 5 but would, in fact, be a different “cosy, social game” released under The Sims franchise.
Don’t forget that The Burglar, a familiar sight for those of us who’ve spent time with any of the older Sims games snuck back into our lives as part of the latest update for The Sims 4.
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
A video game union representing around 300 workers at Elder Scrolls, Doom and Fallout publisher ZeniMax Media have overwhelmingly voted for strike action if they’re unable to thrash out a deal over wages and workplace conditions with Microsoft, ZeniMax’s parent company. The unionised workers and Microsoft have been haggling over things like remote work options and outsourcing game testing for nearly two years; now, they say they’re prepared to down tools if their concerns aren’t addressed.
Kilmer voiced Walker Sloan in Spider-Man: Edge of Time.
The legendary Val Kilmer, who lit up the screen in so many amazing movies such as Heat, Tombstone, True Romance, Top Gun and Batman Forever, has died at the age of just 65.
