TODAY: Pour one out for Pokémon Rumble Rush as the servers go dark — Ubisoft executives accused of misconduct and refusing female protagonists — Rocket League will go free-to-play later this summer

Top Story

No Xbox Game Pass on other consoles

Looks like Microsoft will not be bringing the Xbox Game Pass subscription service to Sony or Nintendo consoles.

“The thing about other gaming console platforms is we're not able to bring a full Xbox experience on those platforms,” said Phil Spencer in a GameStar interview. Microsoft have talked about their long-term goal of making Xbox Game Pass available on all platforms, but that won't happen any time soon.

All or nothing: “The other competitive platforms really aren't interested in having a full Xbox experience on their hardware. But for us, we want to be where gamers want to be and that's the path that we're on,” he continued.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, neither Nintendo nor Sony are interested in allowing Microsoft's Xbox services on their platforms – or maybe they just can't offer an Xbox enough experience. Who knows?

xCloud future: The old plans might even be jettisoned, since Microsoft is merging Xbox Game Pass with Project xCloud in the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Microsoft wants to offer a Netflix for games, meaning a library of content that subscribers can freely stream or download.

Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?

Which Assassin's Creed lead shares their voice actor with a blue hedgehog?

• Ezio Auditore da Firenze
• Altaïr ibn-La'Ahad
• Arno Victor Dorian
• Jacob Frye

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.

Daily Fact

Shadowrun let you cheat using a flickering streetlight and a matchbox

The 1993 SNES RPG Shadowrun had a special cheat room that was only discovered thanks to an interview with one of the developers over 20 years after release. You can access the debug room just after the game starts.

After waking up in the morgue, you can find a flickering street light just outside. If you examine a matchbox four times while standing under it, you will be transported to the debug room.

There you'll find upgrades and doorways that warp you to any level. Oh, and there's another easter egg that involves dancing around a certain street light. Can you find it?

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

Pokemon News and Events

New Pokémon Café Mix stages while Pokémon Rumble Rush goes dark

Fresh content is out for Pokémon Café Mix, but today is the last day on earth for 2019 mobile game Pokémon Rumble Rush.

Pokémon Rumble Rush

• Servers are disconnected, it is no longer possible to log in and play

Pokémon Café Mix

• New stages, gimmicks and offerings
• New Pokémon like Bellossom and Exeggutor appear

Pokkén Tournament DX

• Free Pokkén Tournament DX trial for for Japanese Switch Online subscribers
  • Play for free between July 27th and August 2nd
  • 30% discount between July 27th and August 9th

Pokémon GO

• Pokémon Go Fest 2020 details
  • Virtual Team Lounges featuring unique content
  • Event live streaming at 21.00 UTC on July 24th
• Pikachu Visor in TikTok app for a limited time

Ubisoft Misconduct Allegations

Ubisoft allegedly ‘reluctant’ to put sole female leads in Assassin’s Creed

Ubisoft has had a bad couple of weeks as a number of senior executives have been accused of various kinds of misconduct and of perpetuating its institutional sexism in their game design.

For example, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate was supposed to feature co-star Evie more prominently alongside her twin brother Jacob. Both are playable characters, however, and you can choose who to play at any time. They also had roughly equal play time in the DLC.

Change of plans: In Assassin’s Creed Origins, Bayek was supposed to be ‘injured or killed off’ to allow his wife Aya bask in the limelight, but the whole game is played as Bayek. Assassin's Creed Odyssey originally intended for Kassandra to be the only playable character, but her brother Alexios was added.

Hascoet resigned: The modern day sections of Origins and Odyssey star female characters and feature an off-screen female co-star. Former chief creative officer Serge Hascoet is accused of claiming that female protagonists wouldn't sell, and would not put a female lead in an Assassin's Creed game.

What Else Happened Today?

• PlayStation 5 demo kiosks appear in Currys PC World complete with PlayStation-themed sofa setups
• Rocket League going free-to-play to grow the community and Psyonix promises that core gameplay “will remain the same” while the menus will be changed
• Crytek streams first look at Crysis Remastered for Switch featuring almost 30-minutes of exploration and battle against DPRK forces
• Risk of Rain 2 is leaving Early Access on August 11th with next update being version 1.0 of the rogue-like third-person shooter
• Kisiwa Island update coming to Temtem along with a $2.50 price increase

Deal Spotlight

Today's Gaming Deal Highlights

There are so many great deals now that it felt wrong not to share some of them ahead of the weekend's bargain extravaganza.

Skater XL Pre-order (PS4) $32.88 @ Amazon US

Funlab Ultra Slim Carrying Case (Nintendo Switch) $19.99 @ Amazon US

Nintendo Switch Neon (Going in and out of stock, follow our Twitter Account for updates) (Nintendo Switch) $299 @ Amazon US (https://amzn.to/2CCXL2T)

Pokemon Charizard 4.5" Battle Figure (Toys) $5.00 @ Amazon US

Little Buddy Kirby's Adventure All Star Collection Kirby Sword Plush (Toys) $14.54 @ Amazon US

The Elder Scrolls: The Official Cookbook (Books) $17.99 @ Amazon US

Animal Crossing - New Horizon- Tom Nook Beanie (Clothing) $14.08 @ Amazon US

RPG Sale (PC) 90% off @ Humble Store

Team 17 Publisher Sale (PC) 90% off @ Humble Store

If you buy any of these games by following our links, DailyBits will earn a small commission, so thanks in advance! Saturday will bring even more amazing video game deals, so stay tuned!

Quiz Answer - Did You Get It Right?

Which Assassin's Creed lead shares their voice actor with a blue hedgehog?

Answer: Ezio Auditore da Firenze!

There’s no denying it: Ezio is the most iconic Assassin’s Creed character.

That's not the only famous character in voice actor Roger Craig Smith's repertoire, though: He has been the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog since 2010, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

He has also played Chris Redfield in Resident Evil, Mirage in Apex Legends, and Batman in varioius animated films. The good Mr. Smith seems to get typecast voicing charming rogues, which doesn't sound so bad – especially when the range spans blue hedgehogs and Italian renaissance assasssins.

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey.