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'Banjo-Kazooie' hits Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack on January 20th
The N64 classic returns on a packed day for game releases.
'Banjo-Kazooie' joins the Switch Online Expansion Pack in January
Rare's beloved collect-a-thon platformer will be the latest title added to Expansion Pack, Nintendo's premium online subscription.
Rare's unreleased N64 game 'Dinosaur Planet' leaks online
Rare's unreleased 'Dinosaur Planet' game for the Nintendo 64, which was later turned into 'Star Fox Adventures' for the GameCube, has emerged online.
See an unreleased 'The Simpsons' game that never made it to Dreamcast
The title offers a fantastic glimpse into The Simpsons' living room, complete with giant lumbering Homer.
'Battletoads' arrives on Xbox One and PC on August 20th
A new trailer shows more of what to expect from the first game in the series since 1994.
‘Sea of Thieves’ is coming to Steam with crossplay
Microsoft's buccaneering simulator, Sea of Thieves, already has 10 million players on Xbox One and Windows 10. The company announced that the game is coming soon to Steam, adding to an already large stable of Microsoft games on Valve's platform, and allowing existing Steam users to connect more easily with friends. The game, which was developed by Rare, challenges players to complete voyages across the open seas. What makes things more interesting is the fact that crews can run into pirate ships manned by other gamers -- and attempt to plunder their booty.
Rare's next Xbox game is pure 'Princess Mononoke'
If Sea of Thieves isn't your bag, how about a sumptuous cel-shaded game from Rare that looks like a lost Miyazaki film? The Microsoft studio announced Everwild today during the XO19 Inside Xbox presentation, and while there aren't many details to run with, it certainly looks intriguing. The trailer shows us a gorgeous world filled with fantasy creatures and human-like characters tentatively co-existing, while something nefarious brews in darkness. Rare says it's an open-world title that it'll be developing alongside Sea of Thieves, so don't expect it to arrive anytime soon.
Here's your first look at 'Battletoads' for Xbox One
Rare and Microsoft finally have more to show of their Battletoads revival than a logo. They've posted a trailer for the (mostly) side-scrolling brawler that gives you a good look at what to expect. Not surprisingly, it's much more vivid and animated than the original, with a distinct but fitting style (which doesn't have too much in common with the cartoon, if you're wondering). The infamously difficult vehicle sequences are present, but it looks like you might have some chance of making through this time. Just don't ask for a release date -- Microsoft still doesn't have one at this stage.
'Sea of Thieves' update adds a swashbuckling adventure on April 30th
Rare has shed new light on just what stories you'll see in Sea of Thieves' anniversary update, and the first one might just scratch the itch if you think the core game is a bit threadbare. A new trailer for the first "Tall Tales" story, "Shores of Gold," suggests that you'll experience a fleshed-out story complete with cutscenes, elaborate sequences and puzzles. You're tasked with tracking down the Shroudbreaker, the key to visiting a mysterious island -- and of course, you'll face dangers ranging from creepy skeletal warriors to booby-trapped chambers.
'Sea of Thieves' anniversary update will let you catch and cook fish
It's been one year since Sea of Thieves set sail, and to celebrate, developer Rare is releasing an anniversary update that brings new story adventures, a new trading company, a new competitive mode, various world improvements and fishing, because every pirate needs some quiet downtime amid the plundering.
'Sea of Thieves' is free this week, if you have friends
Sea of Thieves fans can convince their hesitant friends to dive into the murky depths with them for free this week. From February 6th to 13th, anyone who owns Sea of Thieves or has played it via an active Game Pass subscription can invite up to three friends to play for free. Just visit the website, grab your codes and hit the high seas.
'Sea of Thieves' will take up less space after pending update
There is good news and bad news for Sea of Thieves players regarding the game's next update. The bad news is you'll have to download and reinstall the entire game. The good news is, as a result of some behind the scenes improvements made by developer Rare, the game installation size will be cut by nearly half on all platforms.
Rare delays 'Sea of Thieves' DLC at the last minute
You might want to rethink your plans if you expected to swashbuckle your way through Sea of Thieves' "Forsaken Shores" DLC this week. Rare has pushed back the release from September 19th (just over a day away as of this writing) to September 27th. A weekend playtesting session discovered a "complex" memory glitch that led to crashes for many players, and it's going to take a while to both fix the bug and test it with volunteers in the Pioneer program.
‘Sea of Thieves’ could learn a thing or two from ‘No Man’s Sky’
The second Sea of Thieves campaign-slash-major update hit Xboxes and PCs last week, and it is, in a word, dull. Cursed Sails isn't too dissimilar from the first campaign, The Hungering Deep, in that the main quest is basically just a case of sailing from island to island to find the next clue. The new equivalent of the boss battle is identical in many ways, too. It's not so much a challenge as it is simply showing up with enough resources to keep your shift afloat, crew alive and cannons firing until you inevitably win. Alongside the humdrum quest, though, are several meaningful updates to the core game. There's positive growth here, and as No Man Sky's NEXT update has shown, continually adding content and making serious changes to a game people were initially disappointed with can eventually pay off. But, five months on, Sea of Thieves still needs more.
'Sea of Thieves' DLC 'Cursed Sails' arrives July 31st
It won't be too much longer before the first of Sea of Thieves' two free summer add-ons makes an appearance. Rare and Microsoft have revealed that Cursed Sails will be available to Windows and Xbox One players on July 31st. The DLC introduces "terrifying" ships with skeletal crews, a three-person Brigantine ship and Alliances that help you take on larger challenges in return for similarly huge rewards. You'll want to act quickly if you want to make the most of Cursed Sails, though -- the campaign associated with the DLC lasts just three weeks.
A new 'Battletoads' game is coming to Xbox One in 2019
It's been a few decades, but it's finally happening: a new Battletoads game is on the way. Microsoft and Rare have announced a new title (so far just called Battletoads) reaching the Xbox One in 2019. They didn't show any gameplay, but it'll include three-player "couch co-op" and will naturally take advantage of 4K on an Xbox One X. The teaser clip made a not-so-subtle nod to the original NES title's notoriously difficult vehicle segment, so don't be surprised if the new game provides a significant challenge.
The debut 'Sea of Thieves' campaign almost makes it fun again
Sea of Thieves was an opportunity for Microsoft and studio Rare to do something completely new. The multiplayer pirate simulator promised endless hours of entertainment. A sandbox world steeped in lore in which you make your own adventures. But upon the game's release in March this year, the internet was befuddled, asking the question: Is this really it? There just didn't seem to be that much to do, but Sea of Thieves was always supposed to follow the "game as a service" model of trickling in new content. That starts with The Hungering Deep campaign that beached earlier this week in a flawed but potentially important step in re-injecting some semblance of fun into the game.
The first major 'Sea of Thieves' DLC lands on May 29th
Swashbuckling pirate MMO Sea of Thieves will receive its first major update on May 29th. Microsoft's Xbox team made the announcement on Twitter with a short CGI trailer for 'The Hungering Deep' -- the first of six free expected DLC packs. Of all the criticisms leveled at Sea of Thieves, the most common (apart from bottlenecked servers) seem to be over its lack of content. But that's precisely what developer Rare has pledged to address in continued updates.
'Sea of Thieves' updates will focus on new maps, not perks
Ask a Sea of Thieves player for complaints and they'll likely have one common theme: there's not enough to do. You can only dig up so many treasures on the same islands. And Rare knows it. The developer has detailed content plans for the first several months after launch, including a shift in priorities. While Rare had talked about adding pets and ship captaincy early on, those features are "on the back burner" as the company focuses on adding more raw gameplay, including maps, enemies and events.
Over a million people have already played 'Sea of Thieves'
Have you been struggling to play Sea of Thieves since it launched on March 20th? There's a good explanation for it. In a launch update, Rare's Craig Duncan and Joe Neate have revealed that over 1 million unique gamers have played the online pirate adventure in just its first 48 hours. The team had anticipated large demand, but wasn't ready for as many as 5,000 logins per minute -- the servers went down for nearly five hours on launch day as a result.
