11 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Entertainment

The Verge’s entertainment section collects the latest news from the worlds of pop culture, music, movies, television, and video games. Whether you want to know what to watch on Netflix or how to make the most of your streaming service budget, the entertainment section acts a reliable source. There’s simply too much to read, watch, hear, and play. Let us be your tour guide.

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Polyend is trying to challenge Roland’s TR-1000 for the title of the ultimate drum machine.

Like Roland’s flagship, Polyend Drums combines analog and digital drum synthesis, with samples, powerful sequencing features, and a ton of hands-on controls, including a morphing fader. It’s also expensive as hell at $2,699. But it might be the last drum machine you ever need.

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Dua Lipa is suing Samsung for $15 million.

The British disco revivalist says the company was using her likeness to sell TVs by including her image on the box. She became aware of it last year and asked Samsung to remove her from the packaging, but according to the complaint, their response was “dismissive and callous.”

Netflix may have finally figured out games

The new TV-based games feel right.

Andrew Webster
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
“Blue dot fever.”

Over the last few days, a flood of reports used those words to describe a phenomenon of musicians suddenly canceling big tours, with people speculating that it’s because they couldn’t sell enough tickets, leaving the blue icons visible at venue after venue in Ticketmaster’s seating charts.

Is it really a new trend, is it because concert tickets cost too much, or is it because Post Malone, Meghan Trainor, and the Pussycat Dolls aren’t as big a draw as promoters expected in 2026? Who knows.

Let it snowLet it snow
Andrew Webster
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
A musical Star Fox journey.

If you, like me, played countless hours of Star Fox 64 growing up, then I think you’ll very much enjoy the 10 tracks from the upcoming Switch 2 remake’s soundtrack that Nintendo added to its music app. They’re so dang good.

Nintendo also uploaded the game’s prologue, which was shown in this week’s announcement direct, as a separate video.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Take an early look at The Sorcery of Nymph Circe.

We’re only a few days out from Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe’s English language theatrical release on May 15th. But if a week is too long a wait, you can check out a sneak peek at the film right here.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Happy 100th birthday, David Attenborough!

The beloved British environmentalist has his own Google Doodle when you search his name today. He’s celebrating with a special concert in London, and a thank you message to fans: “I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly, but it seems that many of you have had other ideas.”

A screenshot of David Attenborough’s 100th birthday Google Doodle.
Its very important to me that you all notice the little party hat on the whale illustration.
Image: Google
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Leon Kennedy goes roguelike.

Capcom has launched a free “Leon Must Die Forever” minigame for Resident Evil Requiem that you can play once the main campaign is completed. You race against the clock to fight through areas you’ve visited previously, all with stronger enemy variants, five increasing difficulty ranks, and new “enhancer abilities.”

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
The Golden Globes has also released its rules regarding AI.

Following The Academy Awards saying last week that only humans can get acting Oscars, the Golden Globes’ eligibility rules seem to have slightly more wiggle room allowing for AI to be used for acting awards.

“Performances submitted for acting categories must be primarily derived from the work of the credited performer,” according to the rules, but “the use of AI for technical or cosmetic enhancements” like de-aging “may be permissible.”

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
A one-button synth with over 4 billion sounds.

The $150 Cyma Forma RND is feature-rich, but shockingly minimal. It has eight synthesis engines, four sequencer tracks, five filters, MIDI in and out, four-track audio over USB-C, and reverb. Yet, it has only one button. Every time you push it, everything is randomized with 4,294,967,296 possible combinations.

Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Don’t expect another Ticketmaster settlement anytime soon.

“There are no ongoing settlement discussions,” according to an attorney for the states that kept litigating their winning antitrust case against Live Nation-Ticketmaster after the Justice Department settled. Those states remain focused on the upcoming remedies phase, and they’ll layout their initial demands in a couple weeks.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Today’s soundtrack.

Inferno, the long-awaited next album from Boards of Canada, doesn’t drop until the end of the month. But you can get a taste for it with this new music video, which I’ve had on loop for the better part of an hour already.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
“What is your worst fear?”

There’s a lot of sci-fi streaming this summer, but if you’re looking for something a little more intense, there’s always the latest iteration of Cape Fear. If nothing else, Javier Bardem looks appropriately terrifying in the new trailer, which should make it worth checking out when it starts streaming on June 5th.

Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
“It feels so gross to see videos of yourself that’s not even you.”

That’s what one actor said after a micro drama she starred in was promoted using AI clips of her in underwear. Multiple actors have had similar experiences, including ads featuring nude scenes and threesomes that they never shot. In the age of The Clippening, it doesn’t always matter if the content being clipped is real or not.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Stranger Than Heaven looks incredibly ambitious.

The upcoming crime drama from Yakuza developer RGG Studio spans five decades and five different cities, and this new deep dive gives a good sense of what to expect — including a slick smuggler played by Snoop Dogg. No release date, but the game is launching in the winter, a very competitive window.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Warner Bros. Discovery posted a $2.9 billion loss this quarter.

The $2.8 billion breakup fee paid to Netflix makes up most of this loss, but it also includes $1.3 billion in other expenses related to its merger with Paramount. As noted by CNBC, Paramount agreed to cover the hefty termination fee, “but the cost lives on WBD’s books until the close of the deal.”

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
The Bear’s fifth and final season debuts on June 25th.

The whole season will be available to watch at once when it premieres at 9PM ET that day oh Hulu, Variety reports. If you want an appetizer, FX also released a surprise prequel episode just yesterday that’s available to stream now.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Mina the Hollower finally has a release date.

After a delay, the next big title from Shovel Knight developer Yacht Club Games is launching on May 29th for $19.99. The studio claims that Mina the Hollower will be “one of the greatest top-down adventures ever to be delivered directly to your soul for less than 20 bucks” — and while I can’t tell you if it meets that lofty promise just yet, I did really like a demo I played in March at GDC.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Well Halo there.

In a nice surprise, Halo Infinitewhich supposedly got its latest major update last year — just got a new PvE mode called Firefight: Gauntlet. It’s described as “deviously difficult” as you take on waves of enemies with up to four players. It’s also available now.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Fubo’s subscriber numbers dropped once football season ended.

Fubo TV’s earnings seem to show the impact of the NFL, as the Q2 subscriber count dropped from 6.2 million at the end of 2025 to 5.7 million three months later, which is fewer than the 5.9 million subscribers it had at the same time last year. Still, revenue was up one percent.

And in AI news, an assistant is in the works for Roku, Apple TV, and mobile this fall:

The Company is developing an AI Assistant that will enable customers to search their DVR’d content for sports on the Fubo platform through casual conversation (rather than voice commands).

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Google DeepMind is investing in the studio that makes EVE Online.

The minority investment is “in the millions” of dollars, the CEO of the newly independent and rebranded Fenris Creations told Bloomberg.

As part of a “research partnership,” DeepMind will “work with an offline version of EVE Online running on a local server to test and evaluate models in a controlled setting,” according to a blog post. The two companies will also “explore new gameplay experiences enabled by these technologies.”

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
FMS turns the Game Boy Advance into a lo-fi chiptune groovebox.

Fors has been cranking out virtual synths, sequencers, and effects for computers since 2020. FMS is an extracurricular project that pairs a four-track sequencer with an FM synth on the 25-year-old Game Boy Advance. It’s $10 for the ROM, but a cartridge release is planned for later this year.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Disney says it makes more money from streaming than linear TV.

Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s new CEO, says in the company’s Q2 2026 earnings report that he expects the “shift from linear toward streaming to continue.” Operating income from Disney’s streaming business, which includes Disney Plus and Hulu, jumped to $582 million over the past few months, marking an 88 percent increase year over year.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Apple is now an EGOT contender.

After already winning Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar awards for its TV series and films, Apple now has its first ever Tony award nominations. The 12 nods are for Schmigadoon!, a broadway musical adapted from the Apple TV Plus series of the same name. The winners are announced on June 7th.