Kojima’s cloud-based Game with Xbox?

Kojima and Microsoft sign letter of intent

Kojima Productions and Microsoft have signed a letter of intent, an important step towards an Xbox publishing deal.

According to GamesBeat, the deal would be for a new Xbox game and the parties have already been negotiating terms for the past few months. The team is currently working on Death Stranding: Director's Cut for PlayStation 5.

Fine print: It seems unlikely that Microsoft will be acquiring Kojima Productions, and they are most likely negotiating an exclusivity deal, so this won't exclude Kojima from working with other publishers.

• Both sides will work together if criteria is met
• Deal is unlikely to break apart at this stage, it's reportedly almost done
• Aim of the deal is to allow Kojima Productions to make use of Microsoft's technology

Cloud-based delivery: A couple of weeks back it was revealed that Kim Swift had joined Microsoft, who's known as a veteran game designer that worked on Left 4 Dead and Portal, but also cloud gaming at Stadia.

Kojima has publically stated that he's interested in exploring cloud computing with his next project, which makes Swift a great pairing.

Which Sony studio developed the Singstar series?

a) Santa Monica Studio
b) London Studio
c) Polyphony Digital
d) Japan Studio

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

Since it ain’t broke, let’s just fix it

All the characters in Shin Megami Tensei Revelations: Persona had their names changed in the Western release, except for Mark who was reimagined as black.

The Snow Queen quest was also snipped out of the North American version, which also cuts out one of the alternate endings. The PlayStation Portable version eventually added this content back in.

Join our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today's fact.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 DLC roadmap

Capcom has revealed the DLC roadmap for Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, and the first expansion arrives on July 15th. There will be new monsters including exclusive co-op quest monsters in the coming months, with the final update planned for October this year.

Roadmap calendar

• Free Title Update #1 – July 15th
  • New Monstie: Palamute
• Free Title Update #2 – August 5th
  • Co-op Quest monster: Kulve Taroth
  • New Monstie: Hellblade Glavenous, Boltreaver Astalos
• Free Title Update #3 – Early September
  • New Monstie: Soulseer Mizutsune, Elderfrost Gammoth, Oroshi Kirin
• Free Title Update #4 – Late September
  • New Monstie: Dreadking Rathalos, Molten Tigrex
  • Co-op Quest monster: Kulve Taroth (High difficulty)
• Free Title Update #5 – October
  • Co-op Quest monster: ??? (High difficulty)
  • New Monstie: Silver Rathalos, Gold Rathian

Co-op aperitif: Capcom also released a new gameplay trailer showing co-op in action with exploration, battle, and a spot of egg collection. Monster Hunter Stories 2 launches for PC and Switch on July 9th.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 out for Switch

Capcom’s sequel Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin sets off for adventure by the week’s end on PC and Nintendo Switch. There’s also some detective work in The 25th Ward: The Silver Case and Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires' Conspiracy DX+.

Tuesday – July 06

• The 25th Ward: The Silver Case for NS
• A Plague Tale: Innocence for NS, PS5, XSX
• The Silver Case for NS
• Ys IX: Monstrum Nox for PC, NS

Thursday – July 08

• Boomerang X for PC, NS
• Crash Drive 3 for PC, PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX, NS, iOS, Droid
• Fuuraiki 4 for NS, PS4
• Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires' Conspiracy DX+ for NS
• Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual for Rift

Friday – July 09

• Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin for PC, NS

We’ve got 5 Switch codes for Foodtruck Arena to give out this week

Foodtruck Arena is out now on Nintendo Switch and PC, and it's essentially mixing sports with food, so think Rocket League but with a Tomato. There are dastardly tricks at play, where you can freeze other players or spill ketchup to make them spin out. Enter into our giveaway here. 

"Take part in an unforgettable tournament, battle against formidable opponents, discover new recipes, and finally, climb to the top of the culinary world"

• New The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD trailer shows off Quality of Life improvements
• Dan Houser registers Absurd Ventures In Games which could be a new studio or an investment company
• Sony acquires Nixxes for PlayStation Studios so they can provide technical assistance for other studios, with a likely aim to develop more PC ports
• Sucker Punch announces Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut which includes the Iki Island expansion and DualSense features
• Pokémon Go Fest 2021 participating cities revealed including locations in Europe, the United States and New Zealand

Which Sony studio developed the Singstar series?

ANSWER: London Studio!

Singstar used to be all the rage, and it was developed by Sony’s London Studio. It started life in 2004 as a pitch-detection software prototype, which worked well enough to handle karaoke. The studio went to work licensing songs, and Singstar became a massive hit in Europe and Australia, selling over 16 million units.

Nothing lasts forever, though: The Singstar servers were finally shut down last year. London Studio has turned its attention to VR, developing Blood & Truth, which topped the UK charts in 2019. Quite a pivot from sing-along party games.

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Nick Akerman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey. If you have any feedback or news tips for the team, please email us!