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The new silicon valley (literally)

Is the promise of jobs worth all the water and chemicals it takes to manufacture chips in the Arizona desert?

Justine Calma

Today’s Storystream

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Who is AI nostalgia slop even for?

Video generators like Sora rely on a monoculture that no longer exists — and their creations are straight-up trash.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Apple’s cheapest iPad is already $70 off for Black FridayApple’s cheapest iPad is already $70 off for Black Friday
Tech
The Verge’s guide to Black Friday 2025
Sheena Vasani
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Jay Peters
Roblox’s CEO on the spot.

Dave Baszucki went on the Hard Fork podcast to talk about child safety on Roblox after its recent news that age estimation will be required to chat starting next year, and the conversation got pretty adversarial. Worth reading or listening to in full.

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Emma Roth
The Silent Hill 2 remake heads to Xbox.

Over one year after its release on PS5 and PC, the Silent Hill 2 remake has finally made its way to Xbox Series X | S consoles. To celebrate its release, Konami is making Silent Hill 2 available on Xbox and PS5 for $34.99 instead of $69.99 for a limited time, with a similar discount coming to PC next week.

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The DoorDash Problem: How AI browsers are a huge threat to Amazon
Play

Amazon’s lawsuit against Perplexity has blown the doors open on the great AI browser fight.

Nilay Patel
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Youtube
Justine Calma
UN climate talks were literally on fire.

A blaze broke out in the conference venue Thursday, just ahead of negotiations scheduled to come to a close today in Brazil.

The PlayStation 5 Slim and Pro are on sale for Black FridayThe PlayStation 5 Slim and Pro are on sale for Black Friday
Gadgets
The Verge’s guide to Black Friday 2025
Brandt Ranj
Boox Palma 2 Pro review: one step forward, one step back

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Verge Score

The latest smartphone-sized reader comes with a lot of new features. They’re not all upgrades.

David Pierce
AI agents are invading your PCAI agents are invading your PC
Podcasts
Podcasts
David Pierce
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Lauren Feiner
Even Republicans who want to override state AI laws are skeptical of Trump’s approach.

The White House drafted an executive order to preempt state AI laws, according to a copy obtained by The Verge, but some Trump allies worry it won’t work. “I don’t think the executive branch has the authority to enforce preemption on the states,” Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-CA) told Punchbowl News.

The Asus Falcata Hall effect split gaming keyboard is $140 off right nowThe Asus Falcata Hall effect split gaming keyboard is $140 off right now
Gadgets
The Verge’s guide to Black Friday 2025
Cameron Faulkner
Screw it, I’m installing Linux

I don’t like where Windows is going. Gaming on Linux has never been more approachable. Time to give it a shot.

Nathan Edwards
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Andrew Liszewski
Ayaneo’s new handheld has a hidden touchpad that doubles as a joystick.

The company shared new details about its Pocket Vert this week. Its minimal controls mimic the Game Boy with a D-pad and action buttons, but the Android-based handheld also features a hidden multipurpose touchpad beneath its front glass panel that can be used as a thumbstick for playing 3D games.

<em>The Pocket Vert features a metal CNC-carved body, a 3.5-inch LCD display, a front glass panel, and “crystal-textured keyless buttons.”</em>
<em>Beneath the handheld’s D-pad and buttons is an area that functions as a touchpad. The Ayaneo Pocket DMG offered similar functionality, but its touchpad wasn’t hidden.</em>
<em>The touchpad’s functionality can be customized to replicate a left or right thumbstick, or both, and it can function like a mouse.</em>
<em>Pricing, availability, and performance details haven’t been announced yet, but the Pocket Vert will come in moon white, lava red, and midnight black color options.</em>
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The Pocket Vert features a metal CNC-carved body, a 3.5-inch LCD display, a front glass panel, and “crystal-textured keyless buttons.”
Image: Ayaneo
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Dominic Preston
This one’s for the Zork dorks.

Yesterday Microsoft announced it’s making the classic Zork games open-source, and apparently some folks have gotten a little excited about it.

alectrem:

no need to fork zork when you can uncork zork straight from the zork zource, its like the opposite of zork divorce in zork court due to a zork tort

Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.

Meet CoreWeave, the AI industry’s ticking time bomb

Tick… tick…

Elizabeth Lopatto
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Dominic Preston
A newer, bigger Glenn.

Hot on the heels of a second successful launch — and first successful landing — Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has announced the next version of its rocket. The New Glenn 9x4 — named for its number of engines — should operate alongside the existing 7x2, and could compete more closely with SpaceX’s Starship.

Render of the larger 9x4 New Glenn rocket taking off
The new New Glenn is taller than Saturn V and similar to Starship.
Image: Blue Origin
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Dominic Preston
TM Roh, co-CEO.

Samsung promoted its head of consumer hardware to co-CEO, joining Young Hyun Jun, head of the memory business. Roh led mobile since 2020, taking on TVs and appliances in an acting role this year, which is now permanent too.

The shuffle follows the death of former co-CEO Jong-Hee Han in March.

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Dominic Preston
Ubisoft’s big news is a bit boring.

Everyone expected drama after Ubisoft delayed its financials at the last minute — a sale, a disruption to the Tencent deal, something else!? — but the reality is less thrilling.

Bloomberg reports Ubisoft “improperly booked sales from a partnership as revenue,” requiring it to correct its accounts and putting it in breach of a loan agreement.

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Jay Peters
Alexa Plus is starting to roll out in Canada.

It’s the first international expansion of Amazon’s upgraded, AI-powered Alexa, which launched first in the US. Amazon plans to invite “tens of thousands of Canadians every week to enjoy the new experience,” according to a blog post.

Steam Machine and Steam Frame: your questions answered

Valve’s big hardware push: you asked, we answered.

Sean Hollister and Jay Peters
The best early Black Friday deals we’ve found so far on laptops, TVs, and moreThe best early Black Friday deals we’ve found so far on laptops, TVs, and more
Gadgets
The Verge’s guide to Black Friday 2025
Brandon Russell and Sheena Vasani
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Emma Roth
OpenAI just released ChatGPT for teachers.

In addition to aiding students (maybe a little too much), now OpenAI is taking aim at teachers with a version of ChatGPT that’s supposed to provide them with a “secure workspace” to prepare lessons, create quizzes, or adapt assignments. ChatGPT for teachers is available to educators for free until June 2027.

How Jeffrey Epstein used SEO to bury news about his crimes

Documents released by the House Oversight Committee shed light on Epstein’s day-to-day, largely via email — including his preoccupation with his Google presence.

Mia Sato
Wicked: For Good is a soaring second act that brings it all full circle

Turns out splitting the musical into two movies was a pretty solid idea.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
The Verge’s favorite holiday gifts under $100The Verge’s favorite holiday gifts under $100
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Jay Peters
Vampire Survivors is getting a spinoff.

It’s a roguelike deckbuilder / dungeon crawler game called Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors and it’s set to launch next year. It’s “hopefully the first in a series of spin-offs,” Vampire Survivors creator Luca Galante tells Xbox Wire.

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