Xbox's newly installed CEO Asha Sharma was the driving force behind Microsoft's decision to quietly kill off the "This is an Xbox" campaign, according to a recent report by The Information.

All evidence of the campaign--save for a few YouTube videos--was scrubbed from the internet shortly after Sharma took the helm at Xbox earlier this month. According to "someone with direct knowledge of the move," Sharma was the one who made the decision to end the campaign and remove it from Xbox's various domains and social media accounts.

While Xbox is still pushing its "Play Anywhere" functionality, Sharma is also focused on rehabilitating Xbox's console sales--Xbox hasn't outperformed Sony and Nintendo consoles since 2008, after all. During her first town hall meeting with the team at Xbox's Redmond, Washington HQ, Sharma said she wanted Xbox to be a "reference console"--that is to say, the ideal console against which every other console is judged.

Hello Kitty: Island Adventure is about to get a lot more metropolitan. Sunblink and Sanrio have officially announced the release date for the cozy adventure game's next DLC, City Town, which sends players to a "a rainbow metropolis teeming with creativity and mystery." While those playing Hello Kitty: Island Adventure on Apple Arcade have already gotten the chance to explore City Town, the DLC brings the fun to PC, Switch, Switch 2, and PS5 players on April 16.

Along with City Town's sprawling new map comes a new Sanrio bestie, Usahana. Described as "cheerful and full of energy," Usahana is eager to welcome you, show you around, and introduce you her to adorable friends, Pannya-chan, Buppyu-kun, Wanwa-chan, Sora-kun and Nyako-chan. The press release noted that players should expect a "mysterious cameo guest" as well.

Yet City Town adds a lot more than just a few friendly faces. Over 30 hours of content and 90 quests, some of which take you above and beneath the city, are headed to the game as well. The expansion also adds seven new shops, including a plushie boutique, blooming orchards, and a fun-filled arcade, and allows players to design and customize their very own Imagination Cafe.

A new Payday has been announced for virtual reality platforms. As the first new game in the series since the disappointing launch of Payday 3, Payday: Aces High will certainly face a high level of scrutiny at launch.

Payday: Aces High, much like the PC and console games it's based on, is a four-player co-op heist game where players work together to steal from the rich. The game gets its title because the crew is made up of the Ace of Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, and Spades, each of whom players can choose to play as and equip with different guns and gadgets like a grappling hook. Players complete missions to earn cash, which can then be spent on skill and gear upgrades.

Starbreeze Entertainment CEO Adolf Kristjansson argues that Payday: Aces High is "not just an adaptation" but a "true Payday game built from the ground up for this medium," in the press release announcing it. From the trailer, the gameplay of Payday: Aces High certainly looks similar to the PC and console games rather than a brief VR experience based on a known IP.

Handheld gaming PCs have become more common since the launch of the Steam Deck, with significant price differences across brands. Due to rising memory and storage costs driven by increased demand from AI and data-center companies, AyaNeo has suspended preorders and early-bird sales of its upcoming Next 2 handheld to address these escalating expenses.

While current preorders are unaffected and will be fulfilled, AyaNeo explained in a blog post that "significant cost pressure" had forced it to rethink its launch plans. "After the Chinese New Year, when we communicated with our suppliers again to confirm the latest storage procurement prices, we found that storage prices had increased to several times higher than before the holiday," AyaNeo explained. "Under such circumstances, the overall cost of the product has become far higher than our current selling price. Therefore, after careful consideration, we have decided to suspend the preorders of Next 2."

AyaNeo stated it had anticipated minimal or negative profit on each Next 2 unit and expected storage prices to eventually stabilize. However, the company did not anticipate component costs reaching record highs. "At present, the total cost of the product has far exceeded our selling price, even approaching twice the price we originally set. Under such circumstances, continuing to sell this product is no longer sustainable," AyaNeo wrote. The company confirmed it will continue to support backers and has prepared sufficient spare parts for after-sales support.