Gaming | The Verge

Nintendo says it has more Switch 2 games in store for 2026

2026-05-13T09:25:02-04:00

With the Switch 2 getting a price hike in September, this holiday season will be pivotal for Nintendo. That increased cost means that the company will rely heavily on new games to sell its current console - but as of right now the lineup for the second half of the year is sparse. However, without getting into specifics, president Shuntaro Furukawa has made it clear the company still has a number of titles in the works for 2026.

Nintendo just released the translated English Q&A from its most recent financial results, and in it Furukawa notes the importance of big games for selling hardware. "The way that Pokémon Pokopia has contributed to ha …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft’s Xbox PC app hints at China expansion for Game Pass

2026-05-13T07:53:48-04:00

Microsoft appears to be working on expanding its Xbox Game Pass subscription to China. References to "Project Saluki" have been discovered in a recent update to the Xbox PC app this week, with Microsoft describing the codename as "China market expansion for Game Pass, Rewards, and subscription tiers."

While Microsoft offers a variety of games in China through Activision Blizzard, it does not currently make Xbox Game Pass available in the country. Microsoft does sell Xbox consoles in China, and first launched the Xbox One in China in 2014, becoming the first video game console to do so after a 14-year government ban on game consoles.

The Project Saluki mention in Xbox PC app code. | Image: Microsoft" data-portal-copyright="Image: Microsoft">

The Ch …

Read the full story at The Verge.

eBay rejects GameStop’s $56 billion acquisition bid

2026-05-12T06:55:02-04:00

No thank you, we’re good. | Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

eBay has officially rejected GameStop's offer to buy the online marketplace for $56 billion, citing concerns around "operational risks" and how the acquisition will be financed. In a letter to GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen on Tuesday, eBay's board of directors said it has "concluded that your proposal is neither credible nor attractive."

"We have taken into account such factors as 1) eBay's standalone prospects, 2) the uncertainty regarding your financing proposal, 3) the impact of your proposal on eBay's long-term growth and profitability, 4) the leverage, operational risks, and leadership structure of a combined entity, 5) the resulting implic …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Discord adds a free Xbox Game Pass ‘starter edition’ for Nitro subscribers

2026-05-11T09:03:38-04:00

Discord is announcing the launch of Nitro Rewards today, a new program for subscribers that bundles benefits from third parties like Microsoft, Logitech, and SteelSeries, into a Nitro subscription. The main addition is that Nitro members will now get a new starter edition of Xbox Game Pass at no extra cost.

Xbox Game Pass starter edition, which leaked last month, allows PC and Xbox owners to download more than 50 games, including titles like Fallout 4, Stardew Valley, and DayZ. The starter edition also includes 10 hours a month of Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming and the ability to earn up to $25 a year in the Xbox Store with rewards.

Alongside …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Wordle is turning into a primetime TV game show on NBC

2026-05-11T08:54:19-04:00

Wordle could be the next great game show. NBC has greenlit a game show version of The New York Times' popular puzzle game, and it's set to debut in 2027 with Savannah Guthrie as the host. The show will be produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio "in partnership with" Jimmy Fallon's production company and the NYT, according to a press release.

Here's an overview of how the new "fast-paced format" will work in game show form, from the NYT:

The series will feature teams of players competing to solve five-letter word puzzles in a high-energy, collaborative environment, translating the core elements of Wordle into a new kind of view …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Forza Horizon 6 has been leaked and cracked a week before its release

2026-05-11T14:05:53-04:00

The full version of Playground Games' upcoming Forza Horizon 6 game has leaked online over the weekend and has already been cracked by pirates. The download appeared on file sharing sites after some Steam users were allegedly able to obtain access to an unencrypted version of the game.

Forza Horizon 6 isn't supposed to launch until May 19th on Xbox Series S / X and PC, but cracks to bypass online checks in the game are already widely available. Reddit users first noticed that games files, totaling more than 150GB, had appeared online yesterday, before Reddit's legal operations team removed the post.

In a statement on X, Playground acknowle …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Netflix may have finally figured out games

2026-05-11T08:19:26-04:00

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on Netflix, follow Andrew Webster. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.

How it started

Boggle has become a spectator sport in my household. Everyone crowds around the TV while one of us plays, and the crowd either helps shout out words or waits patiently for their turn. There's a lot of yelling. But it's a game that my family can hop into easily, and once someone starts playing, it seems everyone slowly drifts into the room to join in. The surprising part is that the experience is ha …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Let it snow

2026-05-08T12:48:42-04:00

Water gets all the credit. When gaming companies want to show off new graphics technology, things tend to get wet; splashing waves that are only possible with the latest physics engine, or puddles that can reflect the world around them thanks to ray tracing. But there's something special about snow. It might not be as technically impressive as water, but when it comes to creating a mood in a game, snow can be very powerful. And two recent releases - Moomintroll: Winter's Warmth and Froggy Hates Snow - really capture just what snow is capable of.

Let's start with the Moomins. Winter's Warmth is the second game based on the iconic Finnish fai …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Asus chases Elgato with its own secondary touchscreen display

2026-05-08T16:34:24-04:00

Asus's latest gaming monitor is a little smaller than usual. The ROG Strix XG129C, announced on Friday, is a 12.3-inch touchscreen IPS display that's intended to be a sidekick for a larger main monitor, similar to the 14.1-inch secondary display in the 2020 Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15. It's a slightly smaller competitor to Corsair's Xeneon Edge, which has a 14.5-inch display, but the same 720p resolution.

Asus says the XG129C covers 125 percent of the sRGB color gamut and 90 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut. It also comes with a one-year subscription for the hardware monitoring tool AIDA64 Extreme, which would usually cost $65. Besides actin …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The Steam Controller’s reservation queue is open

2026-05-08T12:59:42-04:00

After quickly selling out of the Steam Controller on May 4th, Valve has launched a reservation system to ensure that you can get one without too much hassle. You may not get one as quickly as you'd like to, but at least you can now easily reserve the $99 controller.

If your Steam account is in good standing, and you've purchased something on the account before April 27th of this year, you'll be able to reserve one. Essentially, this will hold your place in line for future restocks. Once a controller is available for you, you'll get an email prompting you to purchase. You'll have 72 hours to purchase your Steam Controller before it gets offe …

Read the full story at The Verge.