14 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Entertainment

The Verge’s entertainment section collects the latest news from the worlds of pop culture, music, movies, television, and video games. Whether you want to know what to watch on Netflix or how to make the most of your streaming service budget, the entertainment section acts a reliable source. There’s simply too much to read, watch, hear, and play. Let us be your tour guide.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
The Pokémon Go stop on Epstein’s island is gone.

Yep, Little Saint James had a single Pokéstop until it was removed by Niantic this week after Pokémon Go players kept spoofing their locations to “visit” the island. We don’t know if Epstein himself used it, though emails show he recommended the game to Deepak Chopra and Sheikh Fahad Bin Hamad.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Here’s a video about the amazing drone footage from the Winter Olympics.

These shots have been so cool!

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Where is the Steam Deck OLED?

It’s out of stock in the US and in parts of Asia, as reported by Windows Central. We reached out to Valve this morning to ask about it, but didn’t get a reply.

Wonder if it’s partly due to the component supply shortages that will affect the price of the Steam Machine.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Severance could have at least four seasons.

A big inside baseball article by Deadline reports that a fourth season of the show, of which Apple has currently aired two seasons, is a “lock.” A fifth would be at the discretion of executive producers Dan Erickson and Ben Stiller. Apple aims to start shooting season three this summer.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Diablo II: Resurrected is getting a new class today.

Diablo II: Resurrected — Reign of the Warlock is launching as a paid update with the Warlock class and some quality-of-life changes. (The game is now on Steam, too.) The update costs $24.99 on its own, or you can buy Resurrected with the update and the base game for $39.99.

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Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Jason Momoa will star in Sony’s Helldivers movie.

The film is set to debut on November 10th, 2027, with Justin Lin directing, Deadline reports. Momoa is also starring in October’s Street Fighter movie and was part of the cast of A Minecraft Movie, which is getting a sequel in July 2027.

Pokopia turns the Pokémon world into a relaxing, human-free paradise

The Pokémon Company, Koei Tecmo, and Game Freak’s new life sim game is more than a charming spin on Animal Crossing.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
The Mummy 4 lands its official release date for May 19, 2028.

The Mummy franchise will rise from its tomb 29 years after the 1999 original starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz arrived in theaters, Variety reports. Fraser and Weisz will be reuniting for The Mummy 4, along with producer Sean Daniel, but the film’s plot remains a mystery.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Twitch is testing pause screen ads.

The platform isn’t the first service to try them.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
A shadow is descending on Apple Arcade.

But, like, in a good way. The subscription service just announced its March lineup, and the highlight is Oceanhorn 3: Legend of the Shadow Sea, the latest in the very Legend of Zelda-inspired series. Interestingly, it’ll be playable on basically every Apple platform: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and even Apple Vision Pro.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Paramount ups its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, again.

Now, Paramount is offering to cover the $2.8 billion termination fee that Warner Bros. Discovery would owe Netflix for abandoning the $82.7 billion merger agreement. It’s also tossing in a $0.25 per share “ticking fee” that it would pay shareholders for every quarter its deal hasn’t closed beyond December 31st, 2026.

Romeo Is a Dead Man is bizarre, bloody, and exactly what makes Grasshopper special

For nearly three decades the No More Heroes developer has been showing style and inventiveness in spades.

Diego Nicolás Argüello
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
This isn’t even Tony Tony Chopper’s final form.

There’s a lot to see in Netflix’s new trailer for the live-action One Piece’s upcoming second season, but the most surprising reveal here is a fresh look at Tony Tony Chopper’s (Mikaela Hoover) Walk Point form that turns him into a much more normal-looking reindeer. The show’s out March 10th.

Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
YouTube Music just got an AI playlist maker.

Similar to the Prompted Playlists that Spotify launched in December, YouTube Music premium subscribers on iOS and Android can now use voice or text descriptions to turn ideas, genres, or vibes into personalized playlists.

<em>The AI Playlists feature should appear when you open the “New” menu at the bottom-right of the YouTube Music app.</em>
<em>The AI Playlists feature should appear when you open the “New” menu at the bottom-right of the YouTube Music app.</em>
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The AI Playlists feature should appear when you open the “New” menu at the bottom-right of the YouTube Music app.
Image by YouTube
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Spotify finished 2025 on a high note.

In its Q4 earnings report, the audio streaming service said it’s gained 38 million monthly active users (MAU) and nine million paying subscribers since its last quarter. Spotify now has 751 million MAUs and 290 million subscribers globally.

<em>Here you can see the comparison between all active monthly users and paying subscribers over time.</em>
<em>Spotify also broke down the user and subscriber shares for different global regions.</em>
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Here you can see the comparison between all active monthly users and paying subscribers over time.
Graph by Spotify
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
BOY.

Amazon’s live-action God of War series starring Ryan Hurst as Kratos has found its Atreus in Callum Vinson (Poker Face, Chucky.)

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Remedy has a new boss.

Following the disastrous launch of FBC: Firebreak which resulted in former CEO Tero Virtala stepping down, there’s a new name in charge. Jean-Charles Gaudechon joins Remedy after previously working at EA and CCP Games, and says that his “commitment is to protect what makes it special, deliver exceptional games, and scale Remedy in a way that builds lasting value.” For more on Remedy, check out this profile I wrote last year.

Remedy is in control

Andrew Webster
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
That’s not good.

Workers at Build A Rocket Boy, developer of the troubled game MindsEye, saw that management installed monitoring software on their machines “without their knowledge or consent” and only admitted to it later, according to GamesIndustry.biz.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Horizon Long Wait.

Horizon franchise creator Guerrilla Games is mostly focused on Horizon Hunters Gathering, its just-announced co-op title, Kotaku reports. One source suggested to Kotaku that the third mainline entry in the series could be three to five years away.

In the meantime, you should play the Forbidden West DLC, it’s excellent.

Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Netflix’s drip feed of new Sesame Street episodes continues March 9th.

The next four episodes of Sesame Street are dropping soon on Netflix and will include a cameo from Miley Cyrus.

Will they also go back to having a Letter and Number of the Day and a proper ending song? I won’t hold my breath, but I’ll still be bitter.

Animal Crossing started life as a dungeon crawler

One of Nintendo’s biggest success stories began as a very different game.

Keza MacDonald
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Someone nailed their halftime show bets on Polymarket.

An anonymous Polymarket account, created a day before the Super Bowl, bet exclusively on celebrity appearances during Bad Bunny’s performance, and got every single one right. It’s a little less alarming than the user who seemed to know Venezuelan president Maduro’s capture was coming, but no less suspicious.

Screenshot: X / Polymarket
Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Mr. Beast and Rainbolt pop up with Super Bowl ad contests.

Redfin is doing a geoguessing-themed game of skill to give away a million-dollar house in its app, based on clues found in its Super Bowl ad, and Rainbolt is part of the promo — but he’s not allowed to help, based on the rules here.

Meanwhile, Salesforce’s Mr. Beast ad promises a million-dollar giveaway based on the clues in its 30-second ad.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Pixar previews Hoppers.

Just before kickoff, Disney and Pixar previewed their next CG family flick, Hoppers. As we’ve heard and seen in a teaser trailer, this one follows a world where people put their minds into 3D-printed versions of animals to try and live among them. It’s coming to theaters on March 6th, although the YouTube description mentions an early viewing window on February 28th.

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Super Beatmaker is the roguelike TTRPG for music making I need in my life.

The world of affordable plugins, sample library subscriptions, and a particularly virulent case of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) has me making less music, not more. YouTuber and producer Jon Makes Beats is developing a TTRPG that battles decision paralysis with dice rolls and a Dungeons & Dragons-like rule system.

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
A space crab made of rocks would die for Ryan Gosling in the final Project Hail Mary trailer.

The adaptation of Andy Weir’s best-selling novel is hitting theaters on March 20th. But, before that, we’re getting our clearest look yet at Rocky, the alien that befriends Gosling’s Ryland Grace. This trailer really ramps up the drama and… wait, why is Grace teaching Rocky to dance?

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Cardi B gave a robot a lapdance and it threw itself at her.

Cardi had a little fun with a pint-sized humanoid in San Francisco. She ran her hands over its tiny silver body, got a little flirty, and then seemingly was caught off guard by its weight. She put her arms around its neck, it tilted forward, and they both hit the pavement.