Earlier this month, Sega confirmed Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds guest characters such as Hatsune Miku, Ichiban Kasuga (Yakuza), Joker (Persona 5), and even Steve, Alex, and Creeper from Minecraft. But the guest characters do not stop there. Sega has now announced a Nickelodeon collaboration that brings SpongeBob SquarePants to the track — and teased Avatar and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters down the line.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a kart racer packed with Sega characters and as such celebrates the company’s history. In addition, big-name guest characters are helping to flesh out the roster of racers. As part of that, those who buy the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Digital Deluxe Edition get the Season Pass, which includes the Nickelodeon content as well as the recently announced Minecraft characters, vehicles, and tracks, characters from the Netflix series, Sonic Prime, and two more yet-to-be-announced collaborations.
The trailer below shows off SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star racing the Patty Wagon, a vehicle shaped like a Krabby Patty from the SpongeBob SquarePants series, across the Bikini Bottom track (Bikini Bottom is the main setting in the SpongeBob SquarePants series).
Sega has said CrossWorlds will feature a huge roster of over playable characters, if you include DLC. Characters you’d expect to see, such as Sonic, Dr. Eggman, Knuckles, Shadow, and Tails are present and correct, but now you can add the likes of SpongeBob SquarePants into the mix.
CrossWorlds is of course going up against Switch 2 exclusive kart game Mario Kart World, which has so far resisted adding guest characters from outside the Nintendo pantheon. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is set for release on both the Switch and the Switch 2, so it looks like we’ll be set for some old-fashioned Mario vs. Sonic kart racing rivalry when Sega’s effort launches in September.
IGN recently went hands-on with Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and came away impressed. “It’s a vibe,” we said, “and one that I’ve enjoyed and will look forward to drifting through.”
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Display has “blurring characteristics that are easily worse than the 2017 Switch’s display”.
The tech boffins over at Digital Foundry have delivered their final verdict on Switch 2, and it’s mostly positive—but the console’s LCD screen has been found wanting.
In his review, Digital Foundry boss and games media veteran Richard Leadbetter says that, overall, he’s “happy” with Nintendo’s new hybrid system:
We’ve rounded up the best deals for Sunday, June 22, below, so don’t miss out on these limited-time offers.
Monster Hunter Wilds for $55.99
Monster Hunter Wilds released earlier this year and sold through 10 million copies in just a matter of weeks. Wilds brought many new features to the series for the first time, including dynamic weather, a connected hub, and more. A Capcom Spotlight livestream event is set for Thursday, June 26, so it’s likely that we will receive new information on the next major update coming to the game.
Donkey Kong Bananza Now Available to Pre-Order
This week’s Donkey Kong Bananza Direct was absolutely bananas, and if you weren’t interested in the game before, you probably are now. Bananza is set to be DK’s biggest adventure yet, and this time, he’s joined by a young Pauline. The two are tasked with heading to the very core of the planet, where wishes are supposedly granted. If you are looking for the next big game on Nintendo Switch 2, this right here is sure to be it. Donkey Kong Bananza is the best-selling game on Amazon at the moment, so be sure to lock in your copy to get it day one.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance for $24.99
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is back at its all-time low price this weekend! SMT V: Vengeance is an enhanced version of the former Nintendo Switch exclusive SMT V, launched in 2019. The biggest feature available in this upgraded re-release is the all-new Canon of Vengeance route, which is essentially 40 hours of new story content.
Street Fighter 6 for $20
Although it released in 2023, Street Fighter 6 is still one of the most fun fighting games available in the genre today. Year 2 DLC just wrapped up, bringing guest characters into Street Fighter for the first time in the form of Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui. For $20, you can jump into the game just ahead of Year 3 DLC, and there has really never been a better time to do so.
Save Over 50% Off This LEGO Animal Crossing K.K.’s Concert in The Plaza Set
LEGO sets nowadays do not come cheap, especially for those with a larger number of pieces. A few years ago, Nintendo teamed up with LEGO for Super Mario, and that has grown to include both The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing. This weekend, you can save over $45 off the LEGO Animal Crossing K.K.’s Concert Set, which is perfect for fans of all ages.
Super Mario Party Jamboree for $44.99
With the recent reveal of Nintendo Switch 2 Edition games, it’s no question that you are going to want to save anywhere you can. The Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Super Mario Party Jamboree is set to cost $79.99, but you can upgrade from a Nintendo Switch copy for $20. This weekend, save your cash and pick up a copy of Super Mario Party Jamboree from Woot for only $44.99.
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Out Next Week
After almost six years, the sequel to Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding is finally set to arrive this upcoming week. Following the events of the first game, Sam Porter Bridges is now tasked with venturing outside the United States, with both Mexico and Australia set as destinations. If you’re like me and incredibly excited for this game, you can even purchase the deluxe edition to play two days early on Tuesday, June 24.
The Messenger for $19.99
The Messenger released in 2018, and it’s still a beloved indie game from Sea of Stars developer Sabotage Studio. Physical copies were out of print for quite some time, but a somewhat recent reprint has put them back in stock. This weekend, you can score a PS5 copy of The Messenger for just $19.99! In our 8/10 review, we wrote, “When you’re fully geared up and The Messenger is hitting you with brand new stages and challenges that you haven’t seen before, The Messenger is an amazing, must-play experience. Taken as a whole, it’s brought down only by fetch quests that make The Messenger last several hours longer than it feels like it should.”
Most of us can always use a new SSD, and this deal from Crucial is quite good. Normally priced at $144, you can score this Crucial T500 1TB Gen4 NVMe SSD for $75.19 this weekend at Amazon. You can use this SSD in a laptop, desktop, or even a PlayStation 5 to expand your storage for games, media, and more.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii for $37.99
The latest Like a Dragon game stars everyone’s favorite ex-yakuza, Goro Majima, on an adventure to sail the seas as a pirate. When Majima wakes up unable to remember anything about himself, he embarks on a quest to regain his memories, and of course, in true Like a Dragon fashion, things get crazy. This is the lowest we’ve seen this game so far, so be sure to pick up a copy while you can.
Pre-Order the Limited Edition Death Stranding 2 DualSense
Death Stranding 2: On The Beach is out this week, and a limited edition DualSense controller is set to launch alongside it. This controller features the Drawbridge logo, in addition to other logos and typography featured inside the game. If you’re needing a new controller or just wanting to pick up this one, you can head over to PlayStation Direct while supplies last.
Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.
In the magazine business, the Back Page is where you’d find all the weird goofs that we couldn’t fit in anywhere else. Some may call it “filler”; we prefer “a whole page to make terrible jokes that are tangentially related to the content of the mag”.
We don’t have pages on the internet, but we still love terrible jokes — so welcome to our semi-regular feature, Back Page.
Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week – our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! No cool industry person this week. Instead, a minor celebration. The RPS content management system tells me that I have used the ‘Booked For The Week’ tag….52 times! I have forgotten to post a few times and there was a brief hiatus, but in terms of volume at least, I’m declaring this the column’s official one year anniversary. Chin chin!
Welcome back to the Nintendo Life Mailbox. You are now living in a post-Switch 2-release world. Having fun?
It’s been a whirlwind month for Nintendo fans, with a brand new console to busy ourselves with! Consequently, penning missives to us at NL Towers hasn’t been top of your list, it seems. Don’t worry, we understand – those Peach Medallions aren’t going to collect themselves!
The Nintendo Switch 2 has officially launched, and to commemorate this exciting release, Nintendo Life is able to offer an amazing LEGO giveaway, sponsored by Nintendo UK.
You could win a LEGO Mario Kart – Mario & Standard Kart (72037) set alongside an impressive LEGO The Mighty Bowser™ (71411) set, boasting a combined retail value of an astounding £379.98! These incredible sets offer hours of fun, whether you’re a builder, collector or want a new set to play with. !
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 revives two more classics next month, but that’s not all! In case you missed it, it’s also adding a new pinball-themed park to the series featuring the Birdman himself.
This is one of multiple new parks “joining the lineup of original parks” in this upcoming title, due out for the Switch and Switch 2 on 11th July 2025. To build up the excitement, Activision and Iron Galaxy have now released a new trailer showcasing this park in motion. Here’s what you can expect along with some of the inspiration behind this design:
Following character leaks earlier this month, Sega has now officially confirmed SpongeBob SquarePants and other Nickelodeon characters will be racing alongside Sonic and friends in Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds when it arrives this September.
This news was shared during the 2025 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards. SpongeBob (and Patrick Star) will be part of the game’s season pass and will be joined by characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Avatar universe. This extends to themed vehicles and tracks.
A little over three years since it was announced, Dreamsettler, the spiritual sequel to Hypnospace Outlaw, has been cancelled. Yesterday, lead developer Jay Tholen shared a video simply titled “Dreamsettler is canceled”, where he explained some of his reasoning behind the decision. “This is not a joke, and I’m sorry everyone,” Tholen wrote in the description of the video.
