The Verge’s gaming section brings the latest video game news, reviews of the most exciting releases, and interviews with the industry’s biggest names. We cover everything from PlayStation and Xbox blockbusters, to quirky Nintendo games, to the cool indie gems on PC and Android that you might otherwise miss.
To commemorate the Pokémon franchise’s 30th anniversary, The Pokémon Company is about to drop a special Celebration set that will feature the reprints of rare cards that have long since been out of print and a new style of illustration from Japanese artist YOSHIROTTEN. The set debuts on September 16th.
MSI has made ridiculous dragon-themed laptops before, but this one takes the cake. Announced at Computex, the Titan 18 HX Dragon Edition Draco Epic takes the standard 18-inch Titan gaming laptop but adds the new flagship Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus CPU, a 240Hz 4K screen, and a massive dragon design that’s etched and anodized right into the lid.
Never change, MSI.
MSI is announcing new versions of its Venture business laptops and Katana gaming laptops for Computex. Both have new designs, but MSI shared few details — not even availability or pricing. The key facts we know so far is that the Venture will get Intel Panther Lake chips and the Katana will have older Intel Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs and up to an RTX 5070 GPU.
Not to be outdone by Razer’s waifu capsule, MSI says it has a whole desktop “that doesn’t just run games — it responds, adapts, and engages.” Sigh! The company isn’t telling us how much it’ll cost, or if it’s a real product, but hints you can change out the LuckyClaw avatar for other third-party ones.
I still love OLEDs, but the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18’s ELMB Mini LED display is amazing.
In the volatile world of live-service shooters, the game needs to stop wasting players’ time.
Following Rockstar’s firing of more than 30 developers last year in a move accused of being “union busting”, developers at the studio have formed the Rockstar Game Workers Union. According to Game Developer:
Now, the union is preparing to take Rockstar to court over the firings. RGWU says that more and more workers are joining from every one of Rockstar’s sites across Edinburgh, London, Leeds, Lincoln, and Dundee.
[Game Developer]
The proposed deal, in which Playstack would be owned by a subsidiary of Integrated Media Company (IMC), was reported on by Game Developer. IMC also owns brands like Fandom, Screen Junkies, and TV Guide.
According to a statement from Harvey Elliott, Playstack’s founder and CEO, the deal is “a change in ownership rather than a change in who we are.”
[Game Developer]
Microsoft is testing a feature for the Xbox Accessories app that shows an image of the type of controller that you’re using in the UI.
The company is also testing a way to set a specific hex color code for your console theme and an indicator that tells you when there’s a confirmed Xbox service issue.
Matt Booty, Xbox’s chief content officer, shared the update on a new episode of the Official Xbox Podcast. Microsoft is using today to set some expectations ahead of the showcase, which takes place on June 7th at 1PM ET; the company also delayed Fable to February 2027.
Following an Asteroids-themed watch in early 2025, Atari has once again collaborated with Nubeo on a new mechanical timepiece now featuring the Missile Command battlefield recreated on its face in all its pixelated glory. It’s available now for $500 and limited to 100 pieces for each of its four color variants.
Today’s Thinky Direct 2026 featured more than 40 trailers and announcements about upcoming games featuring puzzles and problem solving. Not a bad way to kick off the upcoming run of big gaming events.
The vehicle physics simulator arrived on PC more than 10 years ago, and now it’s coming to the PlayStation 5. It’s a great game if you just want to drive around and smash into things, but it also has an extensive car customization system, time trials, and different scenarios to complete, like deliveries.
Season two of Marathon’s live service rollout happens on Tuesday, June 2nd. When it drops, players on all platforms (Xbox, PlayStation 5, Steam) can play the full game for free through June 9th, with progress carrying over if you buy the game. Bungie confirmed a discount is coming, too, so stay tuned.
The banger made a cameo in Donkey Kong Bananza, but next week you’ll be able to enjoy the original DK Rap when Donkey Kong 64 comes to the Nintendo Switch Online’s Nintendo Classics collection. However, because it’s an N64 title, you’ll need a pricier Expansion Pack subscription to play.
We already knew that the RAM crisis would affect pricing for Valve’s upcoming Steam Machine console, but several hundred dollar price hikes for the Steam Deck don’t give us much hope for affordability.
illusiveman:
Well, this doesn’t bode well for the Steam Machine.
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As the Wall Street Journal reports, SK Hynix and Micron both passed the milestone this week. The spike in value for the world’s three largest DRAM manufacturers follows a months-long global memory shortage, driven by demand from AI data centers, that’s causing prices to skyrocket on everything from phones to game consoles.
[Wall Street Journal]
Over the last few months, I’ve written stories with the headlines “Waiting to buy a game console will cost you,” “Everything about buying video games is getting more confusing and expensive,” and “The future of game consoles is looking bleak.” And the costs just keep going up: the Steam Deck is now $200 more expensive. Whew!
