In this new era of console… inclusivity? driven by Sony and mostly Microsoft bringing their exclusives to other platforms, it’s getting harder to highlight games that make a singular console shine. Indeed, the top-performing games year after year on both PlayStation and Xbox are multiplatform releases, and often the best games of the year, like […]
I played a lot of games on my Steam Deck this year. It seemed like there was a never-ending list of incredible indie games to try – The Verge wrote about a lot of them! – and many worked brilliantly on Valve’s handheld gaming PC. Some bigger games made a splash on Steam Deck, too, […]
Aside from free shipping, Prime Video is the second-best perk that comes with an Amazon Prime subscription. This year, the streaming service delivered several strong installments to some of its biggest series like Reacher, Fallout, and Invincible – but it also premiered some great new shows and spinoffs to keep things fresh. Here’s a list […]
When your kid starts showing a preference for one of their stuffed animals, you’re supposed to buy a backup in case it goes missing. I’ve heard this advice again and again, but never got around to buying a second plush deer once “Buddy” became my son’s obvious favorite. Neither, apparently, did the parents in Google’s […]
AI isn’t new to Hollywood – but this was the year when it really made its presence felt. For years now, the entertainment industry has used different kinds of generative AI products for a variety of post-production processes ranging from de-aging actors to removing green screen backgrounds. In many instances, the technology has been a […]
Netflix has had an interesting year. Its ad tier, introduced last year, has grown significantly, and its live TV initiative has expanded to include not only weird one-offs like hot-dog-eating grudge matches but also WWE programming. Taking KPop Demon Hunters off Sony’s hands for the business equivalent of $200 in a potato chip bag also […]
A group of tech companies and academic institutions spent tens of thousands of dollars in the past month – likely between $17,000 and $25,000 – on an ad campaign against New York’s landmark AI safety bill, which may have reached more than two million people, according to Meta’s Ad Library. The landmark bill is called […]
Last Samurai Standing begins with a familiar premise. Desperate samurai dispossessed by the restoration of the emperor enter into a deadly game for a life-changing cash prize – all for the entertainment of anonymous elites. Unlike its inspirations Battle Royale and Squid Game, however, Last Samurai Standing’s violence is chaotic, fast-paced, and kinetic, though it […]
The first crack showed right before Inauguration Day. The year before, Congress had overwhelmingly passed a bill banning TikTok unless it broke ties with its Chinese parent company. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld it, and it was clear what needed to happen next: either the president could give TikTok another 90 days to complete a […]
These days when you want to engage with some media, you can choose from podcasts, videos, games, live performances – or books, one of the oldest and most popular ways to learn something new or escape (at least temporarily) from today’s troubled world. We polled the staff of The Verge to find out what books […]