3 – 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.

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
I bet you didn’t think Malört could get any worse.

The infamous wormwood liqueur has enjoyed minor viral fame for its… let’s say unique flavor profile (frequently compared to bile). But, basic Malört reaction videos are old hat. The truly adventurous (or masochistic) are infusing Malört with ranch dip, brisket, and even Malört-flavored candy.

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Paul Allen’s estate sells the Seahawks to a venture capitalist.

The team went up for sale following its Super Bowl win in February. After rumors that Tim Cook or Mark Zuckerberg might buy the team, Vinod Khosla has emerged as the new owner, according to ESPN. The Khosla family will have to give up its ownership stake in the 49ers first, though.

FL Studio head Constantin Koehncke turns to Reddit for feedback and fun

The Image Line CEO hits the forums and subreddits every day to keep in touch with his users.

Terrence O'Brien
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Can you speedrun pinball? Yes, apparently.

Great run out of Summer Games Done Quick.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
A hopeful message from id.

The studio, which was hit hard by this week’s Xbox layoffs, says that it still has “the crew we need to build the games and tech we’re known for.”

On that note, I really recommend that you check out the new Doom expansion that launched this week — it shows just what makes id special.

A social media post from id Software. It reads: “Thank you all for the support this week. While our studio was impacted, those changes were spread across teams. We still have the crew we need to build the games and tech we’re known for. The team today is about the same size we were when making DOOM (2016). We have always had a flat studio where everyone is a maker, and we will remain true to that philosophy moving forward. We are focused on supporting each other and the team members impacted. We’re going to keep building the great games and tech that have defined us for the past 35 years, and we’re looking forward to seeing you at QuakeCon this August.”
Image: id Software
Emma Roth
Emma Roth
The president of Disney Plus is leaving to head up Fubo.

Fubo, which is now controlled by Disney, has appointed Alisa Bowen as its CEO. Bowen has led Disney Plus since 2022.

As noted by Variety, it’s not clear whether Disney plans to fill Bowen’s role or just leave it to Joe Earley and Adam Smith, the co-presidents of Disney’s combined streaming business.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
The first two Call of Duty: Black Ops games are now available on PS5 and PS4 for $39.99… each.

As noted by Push Square, the games also have separate season passes that cost $29.99, meaning the total for both titles with all of their content is just under $140. Oof. However, if you subscribe to PlayStation Plus, you can buy the games and their passes at a significant discount ($19.99 per game, $9.89 per season pass) until August 6th.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Sony settles with a former Marathon director who had been fired after an internal investigation over misconduct.

Bloomberg reported on Chris Barrett’s firing in August 2024, and Barrett sued Sony and Bungie that December. On Wednesday, Barrett said he is “very satisfied” with the settlement, and a joint statement noted that Barrett has been added to Marathon’s credits as the original game director, as reported by Kotaku.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Godzilla in five.

The first teaser for Godzilla Minus Zero made it clear the kaiju would be stomping through New York, and now we have another brief look. The sequel takes place two years after the original, and introduces a new character played by Min Tanaka — fresh off of the surprise kabuki hit Kokuho — who is “a biologist carrying deep psychological scars from the war.”

Comcast is breaking up with NBCU. Why did it ever buy it in the first place?
Play

Business Insider’s Peter Kafka on the Comcast split, and why the dream of content plus pipes keeps failing.

Nilay Patel
Stevie Bonifield
Stevie Bonifield
Nintendo says it will keep selling the original Switch outside of Europe.

After announcing plans to end sales of the Switch in Europe starting next year, Nintendo tells IGN that “We plan to continue selling Nintendo Switch outside of regions where Nintendo of Europe conducts business.”

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Paul isn’t doin’ well.

Unfortunately, Robert Pattinson doesn’t seem to have a fun new voice in Dune: Part Three, but everything else about the latest trailer has me completely ready to watch the trilogy’s conclusion in December.

Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
I finally spotted someone filming a concert on their 3DS.

The trend isn’t new, but the only thing cooler than catching Nemophila’s performance last week at The Meadows in Brooklyn was seeing and capturing a shot of this person recording on their Nintendo 3DS.

The cracked screen makes it even more metal.🤘🏻

A black-and-white photo of a person holding up a Nintendo 3DS at a concert to film the band performing.
Who needs a 47-megapixel full-frame camera when you have 480 x 240 3D video and StreetPass?
Photo: Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Ever ending.

Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis, an FFVII spinoff game on mobile and Steam, will reach end of service status on October 6th, Square Enix says. The company also shut down the short-lived FFVII mobile battle royale game back in 2023. At least there’s the final remake trilogy game to look forward to next year.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Waaah!

That’s the sound of Wario Land being added to Nintendo’s lineup of classic games available to Switch Online subscribers. It’s out now alongside shooter Fortified Zone, dungeon crawler The Sword of Hope II, and Dr. Mario & Puzzle League (if you pay for the more expensive tier).

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Nintendo hits the brakes.

The company is continuing to retreat from the mobile game space (with a few strange exceptions), this time by ending support for Mario Kart Tour in September. However, unlike Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, the game won’t be getting a microtransaction-free offline mode after support ends.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
“Ah.”

Today, from Summer Games Done Quick 2026, I’m recommending that you watch this race of Hey You, Pikachu! on the N64 — which, if you didn’t know, is a game where you talk to Pikachu with a microphone. It’s very silly.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Xbox reportedly laid off about 25 percent of Obsidian Entertainment’s staff.

I missed this yesterday, reported by Kotaku. The studio will apparently keep working on Grounded 2 and DLC for The Outer Worlds 2, but “plans beyond that are up in the air,” Kotaku says.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Xbox Game Pass reportedly has only 30 million subscribers.

The Wall Street Journal reported the number on Monday. Bloomberg corroborated it on Tuesday, adding that the subscribers figure is “4 million fewer than it did when the company last publicly shared data in 2024.” At one point, Microsoft had hoped that the service would have 100 million subscribers by 2030 — it seems unlikely it’ll meet that bar.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Avatar Aang’s coming back a little earlier than expected.

In what feels very much like a response to the way Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender leaked online last month, Paramount has bumped the movie’s streaming premiere date up from October 9th to July 25th.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
An update on IO Interactive.

The 007 First Light studio previously confirmed it would be hit with layoffs after a “finance partnership” on its upcoming title Project Fantasy ended. Now the studio says it has regained ownership of the game, but will also be closing its Istanbul office and parting ways with an unspecified number of staff.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Yeehaw.

From Summer Games Done Quick, here’s a 15-minute run of Rail Heist, one game from the massive game collection UFO 50. Can’t ask for much more from this one: I learned about a game I hadn’t played before, the runner does some cool tech, and there are some unexpected shenanigans.

BTW, if you see any other runs I should highlight, let me know? I’ll probably post a few more during the event, which is happening now.