Gaming

Apple had asked the court for a stay in a mandate from the Ninth Circuit appeals court sending the case to back to district court to figure out how much of a fee Apple can charge on purchases out of the App Store. But Reuters reports that Justice Elena Kagan declined to pause the ruling. Epic, perhaps unsurprisingly, seems happy.

AYN is sending emails to consumers who ordered the Ultra version of its Odin 3 Android handheld letting them know it has cancelled the configuration with 24GB of RAM and 1TB of storage due to a supply shortage, as spotted by Android Authority. Refunds are being offered, or a discount on the 16GB/512GB Max configuration.

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.

In a nice surprise, Halo Infinite — which 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.

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

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.

Remember that mod for running Linux on PlayStation 5 consoles? It turns out that people are using it as a base to install the open-source RPCS3 PlayStation 3 emulator, which allows Sony’s newer console to read physical PS3 discs.

With the files, people can more easily make accessories for the hardware. “Feel free to use these to make your own Puck holders, Controller sweaters, or whatever else you want to create!” Valve says on the GitLab page with the files.

The Arctis Nova Omni succeeds its best-in-class Arctis Nova Wireless from 2022. It’s more of the same (good!), but with wireless hi-res audio support (24-bit/96kHz) like the $599 Elite from last year, plus Xbox support built into every model. I’m testing it now against the Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II, which also offers wireless hi-res audio and swappable batteries for $50 less. Stay tuned.

According to Valve:

Brockman said that focusing on the game was his idea, in a project worked on by several people, later explaining that DeepMind was working on something similar with a different game but “had nothing” yet, contributing to their decision not to open-source the technology.

After losing its contempt appeal in its ongoing dispute with Epic, Apple has asked for a stay in a mandate that would let the US Northern District Court of California court determine the fees Apple can charge for purchases made outside the App Store, 9to5Mac reports. Apple also plans to petition the Supreme Court to look at the case.

Call of Duty games have released on the PS4 since 2013’s Call of Duty: Ghosts, but the upcoming entry in the series won’t launch on Sony’s last-gen console, according to the Call of Duty X account. A recent viral X post claimed that the game, rumored to be subtitled Modern Warfare 4, was being tested on the PS4. Last year’s game, Black Ops 7, did launch on last-gen consoles.

We’ve asked Valve if it can share more details about the overall stock situation — as I write this, Valve’s website says the controller is out of stock.

Valve’s $99 Steam Controller is up for purchase exclusively at Steam. We’ve spent a bunch of time with it recently, so check out our review if you’re still on the fence. Also, read our deep dive on how the new model compares to competitors, and catch up on the replies to the AMA we held last week for Verge subscribers.

Good: Running PC copies of two specific games (Wukong, Crimson Desert) performance can meet or barely beat native PS5! Control at 1080p50-60 with checkerboard RT reflections instead of 1440p30!

Former Chewy and current GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen says he plans to somehow create a competitor to Amazon “...worth hundreds of billions of dollars.”
GameStop said it has a commitment letter from TD Bank for $20 billion in debt financing, but where the rest will come from is unclear, with WSJ sources citing Middle Eastern sovereign-wealth funds as a possibility.

Lego has released plenty of Nintendo renditions, but Jay’s Brick Blog highlights that on June 1st, a buildable $39.99 Sega Genesis / Mega Drive set will join the party, complete with controllers and a Sonic 2 game cartridge. It can swap between the nameplates depending on which version you prefer.

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.

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.

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.

Among the evidence released publicly, there’s this email exchange (Exhibit No. 844) between Valve cofounder Gabe Newell and Elon Musk about, of all things, trying to get a SpaceX tour and OpenAI introduction for Hideo Kojima.

During Roblox’s quarterly earnings call on Thursday, CEO David Baszucki commented on the photorealistic upsampling tech he’d shared a demo of earlier this week:

Nintendo added a new epilogue to the storybook. It doesn’t tie the game to the movie or add much to the story. It’s mostly just left players confused. If you don’t feel like firing up the game to unlock the new bit, you can watch it below.