Jay Peters

Senior Reporter

Jay Peters is a senior reporter at The Verge. He covers breaking news in technology, video games, and more. He’s also covered major tech and gaming events, interviewed CEOs like Steve Huffman and Tim Sweeney, appeared on broadcast outlets like CNBC and NPR, and reviewed a lot of indie games. Before The Verge, he worked at Techmeme and in technology public relations. He graduated from the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication.

Playing Esoteric Ebb is like rolling the dice with a great DM

Jay PetersMay 2

Jay PetersMay 1

The organization behind the Oscars says that only humans can get acting awards.

“Only roles credited in the film’s legal billing and demonstrably performed by humans with their consent will be considered eligible,” according to the rules for the 99th Academy Awards, which air in 2027. (Sorry, Tilly Norwood.) Screenplays eligible for writing awards must also be “human-authored.”

And if “questions arise” about use of generative AI in a film, the Academy says it can “request more information about the nature of the use and human authorship.“

Oscars: Film Academy Cracks Down on AI, Opens Up International and Acting Categories

[The Hollywood Reporter]

Jay PetersMay 1

Meta has acquired a company that makes AI models for robots.

The deal for the company, Assured Robot Intelligence, closed on Friday, according to Bloomberg. The publication reported last year that Meta was starting to work on humanoid robots.

Meta Acquires Robotics AI Company to Help Build Humanoid Technology

[Bloomberg]

This accessory can snap a Steam Controller to your phone — or almost anything else

Jay PetersMay 1

The Epic Games Store has launched in Japan on the iPhone.

But it won’t have apps from other developers at launch. Right now, only Epic’s own Fortnite and Rocket League Sideswipe are available due to the Core Technology Commission.

Epic is also pushing for Apple to reduce the number of scare screens when installing the store. Currently, there are 9.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Epic Games Store Launches on iPhones in Japan Despite Apple’s Non-Compliance

[Epic Games Newsroom]

Jay PetersMay 1

A.V. Club has shut down Paste Games / Endless Mode.

Endless Mode wasn’t even a year old. In a post, former editor-in-chief Garrett Martin thanked those involved, and there’s been a big outpouring of support for Martin and Paste Games on Bluesky.

In a statement to Kotaku, an A.V. Club spokesperson said that the publication eliminated three roles and that “We will continue to have some games coverage, but we cannot sustain a full-time staff covering it with our smaller team.”

Update: Added statement.

Jay PetersApr 30

The Steam Controller and iOS don’t work very well together just yet.

Even though Valve says the Steam Controller is built for “anything running Steam,” out of curiosity, I paired my Steam Controller review unit to my iPhone 16 Pro this afternoon. Most native iOS games I tried didn’t recognize the controller. When they did, there were problems, like not being able to move my Fortnite character at all.

I’ve pinged Valve and Apple to see if this situation might change. As expected, the controller worked with games streamed over the Steam Link app, though!

Update: Noted that the controller is designed for devices running Steam.

A photo of a Steam Controller paired to an iPhone 16 Pro playing Vampire Crawlers.

Fun way to play Vampire Crawlers!

Photo by Jay Peters / The Verge

Roblox’s daily users continue to drop as age checks slow growth

Stevie Bonifield and Jay PetersApr 30

Jay PetersApr 30

Reddit is working on making the platform “faster across the board.”

Making Reddit faster “remains a meaningful opportunity and can lead to an outsized impact,” says CEO Steve Huffman in the company’s Q1 2026 letter to shareholders released with its earnings.

Reddit also wants to reach 100 million daily US users, and “we’re actively executing a strategy to get us there,” Huffman says. In Q1, the platform saw 53.5 million daily active unique users.

Q1 2026 Letter to shareholders

[Reddit]