Gaming | The VergeThe Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts.2026-08-02T16:18:38+00:00https://www.theverge.com/rss/games/index.xmlhttps://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/verge-rss-large_80b47e.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1Terrence O’Brien<![CDATA[Xbox prices are increasing by up to €200 or £170]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9742532026-08-02T12:18:38-04:002026-08-02T12:14:20-04:00
When Microsoft announced its latest round of Xbox price bumps in June, it only gave US pricing. Now we know the pricing increases for the EU and UK, and they're dramatic. Depending on the model, Xbox prices are increasing by up to €200 or £170. The 1TB Xbox Series X with a disc drive is going up by over 30 percent from £499.99 / €599.99 to £669.99 / €799.99. The 512GB Xbox Series S is getting a price increase of over 43 percent, jumping from £299.99 / €349.99 to £429.99 / €499.99.
While other consoles have received price bumps as RAM and storage prices skyrocket due to demand from the AI industry, none have been quite as dramatic as Microso …
]]>
Antonio G. Di Benedetto<![CDATA[HP’s HyperX Omen 15 isn’t quite the budget-friendly gaming laptop its predecessor was]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9741552026-08-01T02:07:38-04:002026-08-02T10:00:00-04:00
Tough sell. | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
The HP HyperX Omen 15, which I first saw at CES, replaces the HP Victus 15, a longtime bestselling budget gaming laptop. The Victus cost just $800, or less when on sale, and was a good entry point to decent laptop gaming.
The Omen 15 has nice little upgrades over the Victus. Its RTX 5050 Laptop GPU can play 2026's latest games, albeit on low-ish settings. But it's also got a brighter 16:10 aspect ratio display with higher refresh rate, and a 1080p webcam to make it a little better for non-gaming stuff.
I'd call it a working-class gaming laptop, but thanks to RAMageddon, the Omen 15 starts at $1,200 - a far cry from the $800 that made its …
]]>
Jay Peters<![CDATA[The Mermaid Mask is a perfect vacation murder mystery]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9716602026-07-31T17:42:05-04:002026-08-01T09:00:00-04:00
The Mermaid Mask, the next point-and-click game from Tangle Tower developer SFB Games, has everything you could ask for in a great murder mystery.
It starts with a compelling setup: The captain of a submarine is found dead in a locked room, his body next to a mysterious cauldron with blood trickling across the floor. The colorful cast of suspects stationed aboard are delightful to talk to, including a grumpy author trying to draft a sequel to his hit novel, an actor playing the lead in a movie based on that novel, a young woman who puts on elaborate illusion performances, and even a man who studies dreams. The submarine works as an excellen …
]]>
Brad Bourque<![CDATA[Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is a quirky life sim that’s worth buying at this discount]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9737232026-07-31T13:12:00-04:002026-07-31T13:09:13-04:00
Looking to start your own island paradise full of Miis based on family, friends, and celebrities, but don’t feel like paying full fare? Woot has Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream for Switch on sale for $52.99 (usually $59.95). Sort of like Animal Crossing, but more off-kilter, this unique game sees you building and managing relationships on an island of custom Mii characters. You’ll set up and decorate housing, discover what the inhabitants like and dislike, and watch as they interact with each other and form their own community. This discount is for the region-free international version (so it’ll work in all Switch consoles), and includes improved loading times for Switch 2 owners.
The second game in the series, Living the Dream adds a variety of new tools for you to build your island paradise, which folks have used to recreate simulacrums of celebrities, fictional characters, and real people in their lives. Once they’ve settled in, these characters will mingle in unpredictable ways. They may date, become platonic besties, argue, or possibly get married, frequently leading to situations that are as touching as they are funny.
Other deals to consider
Woot has one-meter-long woven USB-C cables from Apple on sale in a variety of colors for $14.99 each (originally $19), with extra discounts if you want to buy two or three. The cables are rated for 60W of power, enough for iPad and iPhone devices, and transfer data at USB 2 speeds. You can use the coupon code APPLETEN to save an extra 10 percent once per account.
The Marshall Stanmore III speaker is on sale at Amazon for $249.99 (usually $399.99), matching the lowest price we’ve seen. This capable speaker features a variety of connectivity options, including Bluetooth 5.2, 3.5mm aux, and RCA jacks for your record player. The timeless, amp-inspired design will look right at home on a bookshelf or entertainment center, with bass and treble control knobs to tune your listening experience.
Life360 Tile Slim trackers are $30 for a pack of two at Amazon, just about half off their usual price and the lowest we’ve seen. Compatible with both iOS and Android devices via the Tile app, these credit card-shaped trackers can easily slide into a bag or wallet so you can easily find them, and have an SOS feature that will let you quickly call a friend or family member for help in an emergency.
]]>
Jess Weatherbed<![CDATA[D&D is getting World of Warcraft and Star Wars crossovers]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9736522026-07-31T09:07:24-04:002026-07-31T08:31:00-04:00
You can bring your next D&D campaign to Azeroth. | Image: Wizards of the Coast
Dungeons & Dragons is no stranger to franchise crossovers, and now it's kicking off its biggest multiverse initiative to date, starting with a World of Warcraft expansion. Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has announced that D&D: World of Warcraft - a new sourcebook that brings Blizzard's Azeroth setting to the popular tabletop roleplaying game - will be launching on November 17th.
A D&D / Star Wars collaboration has also been announced, which will be set during the Rebellion era of the Star Wars franchise. Details on that are sparse, but it's expected to arrive sometime in 2027. Both of these projects are part of what D&D publisher WotC is calli …
]]>
Jess Weatherbed<![CDATA[Sony pushes forward with ditching discs, despite backlash]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9736212026-07-31T07:23:23-04:002026-07-31T06:40:54-04:00
Sony has received a lot of backlash from PlayStation fans since announcing that it's killing physical game disc production, but that hasn't swayed its decision. During Sony's latest earnings call, chief financial officer Lin Tao said that while the company "put in a lot of thought and time" when considering the opposition put forward by its gaming community, Sony has come to the conclusion that it will "cautiously move this forward."
"There are various reasons we made this decision, the biggest being that the digitalization of content overall has been progressing, that's the big factor," Tao said through an interpreter. "It's not just for P …
]]>
Jay PetersTom Warren<![CDATA[Xbox CEO lays out priorities in memo after major ‘reset’]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9735202026-07-31T05:28:15-04:002026-07-30T18:10:13-04:00
Asha Sharma. | Image: The Verge, Microsoft
After a massive Xbox "reset" that laid off thousands of employees and spun off four studios, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma wants to get Xbox back to growth. In a memo obtained by The Verge, Sharma told staff by the end of fiscal year 2027 (which runs through next June), "we will return XBOX to player and revenue growth." Xbox will also "improve profits back in line with industry averages," Sharma said. "Every function and studio will own part of that outcome."
Since taking over Xbox in February, Sharma has made sweeping changes to attempt to turn things around. Previously, she has cited challenges like a low accountability margin, increasing compone …
]]>
Stevie Bonifield<![CDATA[Best Buy is selling an RTX 5080 for more than the RTX 5090’s MSRP]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9731732026-07-30T11:48:10-04:002026-07-30T11:48:10-04:00
Best Buy has raised the price of the Asus ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC to $2,099 - the first time a major US retailer is directly selling an RTX 5080 for more than the $1,999 MSRP of the RTX 5090, VideoCardz reports. The ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC now costs 40 percent more than its launch price of $1,499, and over double the $999 MSRP of the RTX 5080 Founders Edition.
As VideoCardz notes, this is currently the only RTX 5080 directly sold by Best Buy that's priced over the RTX 5090's MSRP. There are still other RTX 5080 GPUs available for significantly less, including at other retailers - Asus is selling the ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC for $1,899, which i …
]]>
Antonio G. Di Benedetto<![CDATA[Razer’s new keyboards drop the price on powerful gaming features]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9730272026-07-30T10:18:07-04:002026-07-30T11:00:00-04:00
Here be magnets. And RGB. | Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
Razer has insisted that optical keyboard switches are the best choice for competitive esports stars and the sweatiest of try-hards, but it's now relenting slightly by offering cheaper keyboards with magnetic switches and a similar array of gaming features. The $120 Razer Huntsman V3 HE Magnetic Mini and $140 Huntsman V3 HE Magnetic Tenkeyless, both launching today, are the company's first keyboards to use Hall effect switches. They're wired-only boards loaded with gaming-first features, and I've had a brief chance to test both and take them for a spin.
The new Huntsman boards offer the hallmarks found in many other Hall effect mechanical ke …
]]>
Brad Bourque<![CDATA[Cyberpunk 2077 packs a lot of fun into its discounted $20 price]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9727772026-07-29T17:02:50-04:002026-07-29T17:02:50-04:00
CyberPunk 2077’s world is vibrant and dangerous. | Image: CD Projekt Red
Over the last few years, CD Projekt Red put a ton of work into fixing Cyberpunk 2077, squashing bugs, polishing content, and even launching new DLC in 2023, Phantom Liberty. As a result, this game has gone from a source for funny, glitch-fueled videos to a world I’ve returned to a number of times to live out my futuristic fantasies. A big discount happening across almost all platforms makes it a lot more accessible.
Usually $59.99 for the standard edition, the game is priced at $17.99 at Steam. Its Ultimate Edition, which includes the Phantom Liberty DLC (usually $29.99 on its own), is discounted to $33.10. Xbox has the standard edition for $17.99 (usually $59.99), and the Ultimate Edition for $33.60 (usually $79.99). Sony is selling the base game for PS4 and PS5 for $19.99 (usually $49.99), while the Ultimate Edition on PS5 is $35.49 (usually $70.99).
GameStop sells pre-owned physical copies of Cyberpunk 2077 for $18.99 for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 (we can’t link directly to the pre-owned copies, so you’ll have to manually select the option). The older copies will automatically upgrade to their current-generation versions for free when played on an Xbox Series S/X or PlayStation 5.
It’s generous to say that theambitious RPG was only a bit buggy at launch. In fact, its performance issues were glaring enough to cause both Sony and Microsoft to offer extended refunds. After all the bug fixes and improvements, the game is now a commonly-used performance benchmark for PC and console gaming. While its most advanced ray tracing modes are reserved for few platforms, it’s a visually-stunning game no matter where you play it. Plus, continued updates have given players more options for getting the most out of their time in Night City.
