God of War Laufey is coming to the PS5
Sony ended its big State of Play showcase with a major reveal: the next God of War. The new title is called God of War Laufey, and is once again developed by Sony's Santa Monica Studio. Currently, the game doesn't have a date, but it's coming to the PS5 whenever it does launch.
This time, instead of perpetually furious dad Kratos, players will take control of Faye / Laufey, as the title implies. That means that while the tone of the game seems somewhat similar to past God of War titles, the gameplay looks quite different, with much more aerobatic action punctuated by magic instead of Kratos' heavy violence. Also, there's a giant, six-legged …
Remedy’s Control sequel launches in September
Control Resonant, the upcoming sequel to Remedy Entertainment's Control, will be released on September 24th, 2026, according to a trailer that premiered during Tuesday's PlayStation State of Play show.
The trailer also gave a preview of the game's story, which stars Dylan Faden, who was imprisoned for much of the first game. He will be the "sole playable character," Remedy's Mikael Kasurinen says in a blog post, but his sister Jesse, who was the protagonist of Control, also "shapes the path" in Resonant.
"In Resonant, we go further into the Fadens' complicated past. Their lives have been anything but easy, and the cost of what they carry i …
Here’s seven bloody minutes of Wolverine on the PS5
At its big State of Play show on Tuesday, Sony shared new look Marvel's Wolverine, the next big title from Insomniac Games that's launching exclusively on PS5 on September 15th. Dressed in the iconic yellow Wolverine outfit, Logan slunk around and stabbed his way through a bunch of enemies, using his blades to take them out. Combat looked weighty and satisfying - though the game is extremely bloody, with red flying everywhere as Logan fought his opponents.
Wolverine has been a long time coming, with Sony and Insomniac initially announcing the game all the way back in 2021. At the time, details were scarce. But Sony finally showed off some …
PlayStation State of Play June 2026: All the news and trailers
While the majority of Summer Game Fest takes place over the weekend, Sony is getting a jump on things with its next State of Play showcase, which airs on June 2nd at 5PM ET. It’s coming at a pivotal time for the PlayStation brand: The PS5 keeps getting more expensive and Sony’s big bet on live-service games has largely fallen flat. A good showing at SGF won’t fix everything, but it could help show that PlayStation is on the right path moving forward.
For its part, Sony says its latest State of Play will feature “more than 60 minutes of updates, announcements, and gameplay reveals from top studios around the world.” The only confirmed part of the event’s lineup is Wolverine, from Spider-Man developer Insomniac, which is slated to launch in September. But given the length of the stream, there’ll be plenty more detailed. Maybe we’ll see the just-announced third expansion for The Witcher 3, or the long-awaited final installment of the Final Fantasy VII remake trilogy, or some more of Intergalactic, the next big project from The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog. It’s also likely the event will provide some insight into the uncertain future of Marathon.
Whatever Sony shows, you can watch along on YouTube or Twitch, or follow along with the latest developments right here.
And for everything announced at the rest of Summer Game Fest, be sure to check out our event hub.
- God of War Laufey is coming to the PS5
- Remedy’s Control sequel launches in September
- Until Dawn gets a little sun.
- Marathon season 2 kicks off.
- Ace Combat 8 release date: October 2nd.
- A different take on Silent Hill.
- Onimusha: Way of the Sword launches in September — and a demo is launching today.
- Arrakis on console.
- Dino crisis.
- The Tomb Raider reboot is getting a small delay.
- Yokai-slaying fun.
- Dave the Diver is getting a prequel game.
- Rayman reimagined, revealed.
- A little more Marvel.
- Here’s seven bloody minutes of Wolverine on the PS5
- PlayStation’s next big State of Play kicks off soon.
- Summer Game Fest is getting off to an early start.
I held the next-gen handheld
Intel couldn't catch a break. Layoffs. Shakedowns. Crashing CPUs torpedoing its reputation, sending desktop gamers fleeing to AMD. Apple and Qualcomm pushing Intel out of multiple flagship laptops. A gaming graphics card going MIA. But its Panther Lake laptop chip, the first on its all-important 18A process, turned out excellent - and a handheld version might make Intel the leader in portable gaming chips.
On Monday, I spent two hours with an MSI Claw 8 EX AI Plus handheld atop Intel's new Arc G3 Extreme. I walked away thinking that next-gen handhelds have finally arrived. The true leap in performance and battery life we've been waiting for …
Microsoft Build 2026: The 7 biggest announcements
Microsoft just kicked off Build 2026 with a keynote from CEO Satya Nadella and other company leaders. As expected, it was filled with announcements, ranging from new Surface hardware to an always-on personal assistant and updates across Microsoft's in-house AI models.
If you didn't watch the event live, you can catch up on all the latest news in the roundup below.
A mini Surface PC designed for AI development
The Surface RTX Spark Dev Box is geared toward developers who want to run local AI models on their device, serving as a substitute for Qualcomm's canceled dev kit. It comes equipped with Nvidia's new Arm-based Spark RTX chip and 128G …
Trump signs executive order to review AI models before they’re released
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday creating a "voluntary framework" for AI companies to share their frontier models with the federal government before they're released "to promote secure innovation and strengthen the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure."
The order says the US AI industry has succeeded in part "because we refuse to stifle this innovation with overly burdensome regulation," but that it also recognizes new AI capabilities come with security risks. Accordingly, it directs several federal agencies to come up with a framework to "assess the advanced cyber capabilities of AI models" before they're releas …
Microsoft’s next-gen quantum chip cuts timeline to useful quantum computing
Microsoft claimed last year that it had made a key breakthrough in quantum computing with Majorana 1, the company's first quantum processor. While physicists were immediately skeptical of Microsoft's claims, the software giant is announcing Majorana 2 today, the next generation of its topological quantum chip.
Majorana 2 contains qubits, a unit of information in quantum computing much like the binary bits that computers use today, that are 1,000 times more reliable, according to Microsoft. It's a milestone that helps make quantum computing more reliable, thanks to the use of a new material stack and some help from Microsoft Discovery's agen …
Microsoft’s first advanced reasoning AI is here
Microsoft announced a bunch of new in-house AI models at Build 2026, including a new "flagship" model: MAI-Thinking-1. It's an ambitious step into model development for Microsoft, which introduced its initial in-house models last year - before then, it had relied on OpenAI's models. The two companies recently renegotiated their deal to loosen ties.
According to Microsoft, MAI-Thinking-1 is a "medium-sized model" that "matches leading models" on "key" software engineering benchmarks. Microsoft says the company "trained it from the ground up on clean data, without distillation from third-party models."
As for other models announced today, t …
The durable, floatable UE Wonderboom 4 speaker is cheaper than ever
I like the UE Wonderboom 4 Bluetooth speaker so much that I bought two of them, though I wish I could have paid less for them. Fortunately, you can stock up on the cheap, so long as you like the color blue. The Wonderboom 4 is available in blue at Amazon for $51.49, and at Walmart and Best Buy for $51.99 ($28 off its regular price). That’s the lowest price we’ve seen yet for the waterproof speaker, with most of the other color options selling at a slightly higher (but still discounted) $69.99.
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 4
The Wonderboom 4 might feature a compact design, but it still delivers big sound for its diminutive size. It also carries an IP67 rating, meaning it’s both water- and dust-resistant (it can even float if you need it to).
Where to Buy:
Despite the Wonderboom 4’s compact size, the speaker sounds great, and is IP67-rated, meaning it can survive being submerged in water for a while. Although, its floatable design means that it’ll quickly return to the surface so you can put it back on dry land (it’s not meant to be listened to while in the water). If you have two of them, like me, they can be wirelessly paired together for stereo sound. With up to 14 hours of battery life per charge, the speaker will likely outlast your long summer outings.
Other deals to consider
- Hollow Knight: Silksong, the long-awaited sequel to Team Cherry’s 2017 metroidvania, is discounted for the first time on the Nintendo eShop, bringing the price for the Switch and Switch 2 digital versions down to just $15.99 ($4 off). The difficult sequel pits players against relentless bosses and demanding platforming sections, and is great for anyone who loves a challenging side-scroller. Read our review.
- This MAG 272QP 27-inch 1440p QD-OLED gaming monitor from MSI is marked down to $339.99 ($60 off) for Costco members, its lowest price yet. It’s selling for around $400 at other retailers, so this is a good deal even if you have to get a Costco membership to snag. The monitor features a fast 240Hz refresh rate, plus FreeSync Premium and G-Sync support to keep the image looking smooth even if the frame rate fluctuates. In terms of ports, it offers two HDMI 2.1 inputs and one DisplayPort 1.4 port, plus a USB-C connection for DP Alt Mode, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The monitor includes a three-year warranty that also covers OLED burn-in.
- Fractal Design may be best known for PC components, but the case maker’s Scape wireless gaming headset surprised us with excellent sound and a sleek, refined aesthetic. They’re marked down to $169.99 ($30 off) at Amazon for Prime members, available in both silver or black finishes, with an included inductive charging dock. In addition to working with PC, we also got it working on a PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 with its included USB audio transmitter. Read our review.