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.2026-07-02T09:47:43+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=1Jay Peters<![CDATA[The funeral for PlayStation discs has begun]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9604762026-07-01T18:03:37-04:002026-07-01T18:03:37-04:00
Cody Spencer, the co-owner of the small games retail chain Pink Gorilla Games, put it well when I asked about the impact of Sony's recent announcement that it will stop making discs for new games starting January 2028. "It's sad to see. This decision is only a negative for gamers. We're losing the ability to sell games, to share games, and to own games."
Sony's announcement has been devastating news for many in the games industry. Not just players, but also groups like independent retail stores and preservationists that try and make gaming more accessible.
"This is unfortunate news for those who still prefer buying games on physical media, …
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Verge Staff<![CDATA[Xbox’s ‘reset’: all the news about Microsoft’s looming layoffs and studio closures]]>https://www.theverge.com/?post_type=vm_stream&p=9599002026-07-02T05:47:43-04:002026-07-01T17:00:00-04:00
Xbox is making some big changes — again. On June 10th, a few months after Asha Sharma took over as CEO, she and newly promoted chief content officer Matt Booty sent a memo to staff warning of an “Xbox reset.” The business, they said, is facing significant challenges, including a 3 percent “accountability margin,” massively higher component prices for consoles due to the memory and storage shortage, and an “over extended” studio system.
That same day, The Verge and Bloomberg reported that the Xbox division was planning layoffs in July. The cuts, expected to be announced on July 6th, could include studio closures or spinoffs. The Verge‘s Tom Warren reported on June 30th that Microsoft is looking at closing at least five studios and potentially canceling games like Blade.
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Jay Peters<![CDATA[Krafton settles with Subnautica 2 developer after drawn-out dispute over $250 million]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9603542026-07-01T13:55:07-04:002026-07-01T13:45:23-04:00
After a lengthy legal dispute, Krafton has settled with its subsidiary Unknown Worlds Entertainment, which is developing Subnautica 2, and will pay bonuses to the studio's staff, Bloomberg reports.
The dispute began last year after Krafton pushed out Unknown Worlds' cofounders, Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, and its CEO, Ted Gill, ahead of a potential $250 million bonus for hitting certain financial goals that would have been shared with the studio. After the executives sued, a judge reinstated Gill as CEO in March, and Subnautica 2finally launched in early access in May. The game passed four million copies sold in five days.
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Tom Warren<![CDATA[Xbox testing disc-to-digital feature that digitizes a physical game collection]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9601732026-07-01T13:46:46-04:002026-07-01T13:41:23-04:00
Microsoft will likely soon follow Sony and stop the production of physical discs for Xbox games. But instead of leaving physical discs behind entirely, sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell me the company has quietly been working on a disc-to-digital feature that will allow Xbox owners to digitize their existing physical game collections.
Xbox employees recently started testing this new feature, after references to "enable Disc2Digital" appeared in the Xbox PC app code in May. I'm told that Microsoft's disc-to-digital feature will work on Xbox One and Xbox Series X discs only, and not those for the Xbox 360 or original Xbox console.
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Andrew Webster<![CDATA[Sony is killing discs — and showing us why it’s a terrible idea]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9602122026-07-01T10:55:42-04:002026-07-01T11:00:00-04:00
The future of video game preservation just took a major hit. This morning, Sony announced that, starting in January 2028, the company will no longer produce physical PlayStation discs, which means that from that moment on you can only purchase new PS5 games digitally. At the same time, Sony also announced that it's going to start winding down the digital stores for both the PS3 and PS Vita, helpfully illustrating one of the most pertinent issues with a digital-only future for gaming: Once the stores are gone, so are the games. It's a terrible blow for preservation of the medium.
In a lot of ways, both announcements seemed inevitable. It's c …
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Jess Weatherbed<![CDATA[Sony is closing the PS3 and Vita digital stores]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9601682026-07-01T09:17:54-04:002026-07-01T08:37:52-04:00
It's the end of an era for the PlayStation store on PS3 and PS Vita, with Sony now planning to shut down its digital distribution service on both consoles. The PlayStation store on PS3 will close in select markets later this year, including Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua starting in August, with "additional Latin American and Middle Eastern countries" to follow in late 2026.
The shutdown across both PS3 and PS Vita "in all other countries" will take effect in July 2027. After this date, Sony says that console owners will be unable to purchase new content, but can continue downloading games they've previously purchased "for the foreseeable …
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Dominic Preston<![CDATA[Sony is killing all physical PlayStation game discs]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9601602026-07-01T11:50:02-04:002026-07-01T08:15:13-04:00
Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro doesn’t even feature a disc drive. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Sony has announced that from January 2028 it will entirely stop the production of physical discs for new PlayStation games. From that point onwards, new releases will only be available in digital versions from the PlayStation Store and other retailers. Games released before January 2028 will still be available on disc.
"This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs," Sony said in its announcement. "This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games to …
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Andrew Webster<![CDATA[Rhythm Heaven never misses a beat]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9597572026-07-01T11:28:53-04:002026-07-01T08:00:00-04:00
Rhythm Heaven isn't Nintendo's best-known series, nor its most prolific. Prior to the launch of Rhythm Heaven Groove on the Switch this week - it's out on July 2nd - there were only four previous entries, one of which was exclusive to Japan. The most recent came out more than a decade ago. Even still, there's a case to be made that this is Nintendo's most consistent franchise. There are few guarantees in life, but a new Rhythm Heaven being great is one of them.
If you're unfamiliar, Rhythm Heaven is sort of like a music-focused version of WarioWare. That means it's a collection of short and bizarre minigames, except these ones all test your …
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Sean Hollister<![CDATA[The cube was a lie: up close with our Dbrand Companion Cube before it gets destroyed]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9598902026-07-01T03:39:32-04:002026-07-01T07:00:00-04:00
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Cameron Faulkner<![CDATA[LG’s 27-inch Tandem OLED gaming monitor is cheaper than ever]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9068802026-06-30T14:41:47-04:002026-06-30T14:42:00-04:00
The price of LG’s UltraGear 27GX700A-B 1440p gaming monitor that came out last August has dropped to nearly its best price yet. You can grab it at Amazon for $484.99 or at LG for $499.99 (originally $599.99). That’s a great deal considering this is one of LG’s Primary RGB Tandem panels built with fourth-generation WOLED tech that delivers higher brightness and punchier contrast than its predecessors, rivaling QD-OLED.
This model could satisfy gamers with PCs built to deliver smooth 1440p gameplay. It features a 280Hz refresh rate, twin HDMI 2.1 and one DisplayPort 1.4 jack, a near-instant .03-millisecond response time, not to mention a thin design. The monitor also has some USB-A ports for connecting accessories, plus a headphone jack for private listening.
The 27GX700A-B supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and is Nvidia G-Sync-compatible, meaning it supports variable refresh rates and can keep the image running smoothly even with variations in frame rate. We haven’t tested this model, but reviews site Rtings does say it has “distracting VRR flicker,” though that likely depends on the game.
While costs have risen in recent months on computer components like RAM and storage, it’s been delightful to watch prices go in the opposite direction for OLED gaming monitors. Some people may prefer to spend less on fast, feature-packed IPS and VA panels, but it’s nice that there are more opportunities to get cutting-edge panel tech for your gaming PC or console.
