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.
Pixel foldables get the new feature first, which is being added to Android 17 alongside native controller remapping, but only rolls out “in the coming months.” We’ve seen control options like this in other foldables before, but it’s welcome to see Google bake it into the OS.
In this video detailing the company’s concept and character design process, Epic says that AI tools like Google’s Nano Banana and its own internal GenMedia Bridge, allows “creative control to stay in the hands of the creator.” Given artists also have to fix stuff that AI generates without being asked to, we’ll let you be the judge of that.
Roblox announced Kids Accounts (for ages 5-8) and Select Accounts (for ages 9-15) in April, and it has been testing them in select countries. Kids Accounts will have chat turned off by default, though parents can turn it on.
[Roblox Newsroom]
That’s according to Best Buy’s listing for the MSI Claw 8 EX AI Plus — and it’s “early bird” pricing, MSI’s Anne Lee tells The Verge. After retailers run out of their first batches of units, MSI expects them to sell the handheld for $1,799, like MSI’s US store already is.
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Developer Gareth Williams is about to launch a massively multiplayer RPG on just about the tiniest device imaginable. PointlessQuest hits the Playdate starting on June 13th — you can download it now to get a jump on things — and promises most typical MMO features, but on a much smaller scale.
[itch.io]
With solid hardware and a huge library of games, it’s the perfect device to slip in your carry-on.
Game publishers are trying so hard to avoid GTA VI in November that they’ve created a new problem: September is far too stacked with releases. The developers of soulslike Valor Mortis are now attempting to get out of that window by delaying the game until October 13th.
It will launch on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 on June 22nd. I played The Drifter last year on my Steam Deck, and it sucked me in like a gripping novel — I’d guess it will be just as compelling on Nintendo’s consoles.
If you want your on-the-go Nintendo Switch 2 TV dock to actually hold your console you might want to wait for GuliKit’s new accessory it recently teased on X. It appears to be a new version of its TV Docking Station for Switch that trades a plastic case for aluminum and adds cooling vents on the underside.
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It’s also restructuring Ubisoft Barcelona to focus just on Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege and making cuts to its global publishing division, The Game Business says. The closures put 380 jobs “at risk.”
[The Game Business]
Russia banned Roblox last year over “LGBT propaganda” and “extremist” content, but the platform “has fully complied with Russian legislation on ensuring user safety,” according to a statement from the country’s Digital Development Ministry reported on by Interfax.
Like previous Halo titles, unlockable skulls in Halo: Campaign Evolved will allow you crank up explosions, turn down gravity, or celebrate every grunt headshot with confetti and fanfare. You can even mimic the gameplay of the classic Halo: Combat Evolved, or enable remixes of skulls for randomized choas.
Microsoft just shared half an hour of new gameplay footage from the upcoming Fable reboot. Why wasn’t this in Sunday’s Xbox showcase?
The game comes out on February 23rd, 2027, following a recent delay.
If you can’t start your day without the sounds of a simian rampage, Nintendo has added a new Donkey Kong theme to its Alarmo clock as well as 7 new alarm sounds from the Switch 2’s Donkey Kong Bananza. You can preview a few samples of them on Nintendo Japan’s website.
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I’m downloading it right now on my console. I grabbed it from the Switch 2’s eShop.
During an interview with The Game Business at Summer Game Fest, Xbox strategy chief Matthew Ball admitted to “underestimating” the RAM crisis, saying that demand for Xbox consoles “exceeds supply.” It’s pushing Xbox to re-evaluate its plans for its next-gen Helix console:
“We are working very hard to rethink everything that we can about Helix, which is a console we are committed to shipping, and we are very cognisant of the ways in which we need to change as a company to make sure it is affordable, to make sure that it’s flexible.”
Xbox chief strategy officer Matthew Ball acknowledged during a The Game Business Live interview at Summer Game Fest that the wave of cancellations happened over just a few months after the October price hike. Ball also admitted that “the value of the offering has now changed,” since Call of Duty games won’t be available day-one on Game Pass anymore.
[GameSpot]
The first single-player Splatoon game launches in July, and Nintendo shared a bunch of details on the weapons and other tools you’ll be using during the game. More details are coming in a Splatoon Raiders-focused Direct on June 30th.
Just in time for Splatoon Raiders, Nintendo is launching some new tones for its controllers.
It launches on June 24th, and will be a free update. The first four chapters were excellent, so I can’t wait to jump into Chapter 5.
We still don’t know much about the multiplayer title, but sometime soon, it’s getting some kind of test. It’s going to be an exclusive game for the Switch 2, and it’s set to launch this year.
I promise that string of letters and numbers makes sense. Square Enix just announced the first FF game to utilize its distinct HD-2D graphics. It’s called Final Fantasy Resonance, and it launches on the Switch 2 on October 22nd.
The game, a remake of Star Fox 64, launches for Switch 2 on June 25th, but if you want a teaser, try the free demo that will be available today.
According to Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, a new sports game from Nintendo, it is. The game also includes sports like tennis, table tennis, archery, volleyball, golf, skateboarding, and, of course, bowling. It’s launching on October 22nd for Nintendo Switch 2.
In addition to teasing the next game in the sci-fi RPG series — called Xenoblade Genesis, and launching in 2027 — Nintendo also announced that three past Xenoblade titles are getting enhanced Switch 2 editions. The first is available today, XC2 launches on July 30th, and XC3 is out on December 3rd.
If you’re a Nintendo Switch Online member, try them out starting today. They’ll be available through September 1st.
