This digest compiles the latest from The Verge.
Today’s The Verge Roundup
Nintendo’s next big Pokémon presentation is on February 27th
20 Feb 2026, 2:25 pm by Charles Pulliam-Moore
Pokémon Day is always a big deal for Nintendo fans, but with this year being the franchise’s 30th anniversary, the next Pokémon Presents stream is likely to bring the heat when it begins on February 27th at 9AM ET. With Pokémon Legends: Z-A behind us and Pokémon Pokopia right around the corner, chances are high that we’re finally going to get some new information about the franchise’s next mainline game. But there’s also a chance that we’ll see more from Pokémon Champions and hear about updates for other spin-off games like Pokémon Unite, TCG Pocket, and Pokémon Sleep.
In addition to announcing the next Presents stream, Nintendo also reveal …
Nintendo turned its biggest flop into an expensive, uncomfortable novelty
20 Feb 2026, 2:00 pm by Andrew Webster
I’ve written about a lot of different video game hardware over the years, from new consoles to retro gadgets to whatever you want to call the Playdate. But I can’t remember ever being perpetually sore from testing a device; such are the joys of the Virtual Boy. Nintendo has turned its biggest flop into an accessory for the Switch, but the costs involved – to your wallet, eyes, and neck – make it a tough sell. Much like the original, this is a novelty for Nintendo sickos only.
First released in 1995, the original Virtual Boy looked like a VR headset but wasn’t actually VR or a headset. Instead, the console offered stereoscopic 3D games that …
Meta will ruin its smart glasses by being Meta
20 Feb 2026, 1:00 pm by Victoria Song
Whenever I write about Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, I already know the comments I’m going to get. Cool hardware, but hard pass on anything Meta makes; will wait for someone else to come along. It’s hard to imagine that sentiment changing anytime soon after The New York Times reported that Meta mulled launching facial recognition software “during a dynamic political environment” precisely because privacy advocates would be distracted.
Smart glasses evangelists often tell me this fear is somewhat overblown. After all, the phone in your pocket also has a camera. The government already uses facial recognition tech, and CCTV feeds are everywher …
Tesla’s cheaper $60,000 Cybertruck is still a Cybertruck
20 Feb 2026, 12:47 pm by Dominic Preston
Tesla has announced a new all-wheel drive Cybertruck that starts at $59,990, the cheapest the controversial truck has been sold for yet – though still well above the $40,000 price tag Elon Musk had initially promised. It’s been joined by a $15,000 price cut for the high-end Cyberbeast variant, as Tesla doubles down on its efforts to turn slow Cybertruck sales around.
The new dual motor AWD variant is available now from Tesla’s site. It’s cheaper than the rear-wheel drive version that was launched last year and discontinued a few short months later, but includes features not seen on that model like a powered tonneau cover, bed outlets, and a …
Will Stancil, man of the people or just an annoying guy?
20 Feb 2026, 11:00 am by Gaby Del Valle
I met Will Stancil two days before he got booted from his neighborhood Signal chat. We were at the Uptown Minneapolis VFW at an event hosted by Rep. Ilhan Omar, a thank-you party for Minnesotans who fought ICE in ways big and small. There were tacos and drinks, and dancing, though I never saw Stancil dance, which is not to say it never happened. A friend of mine who knows of Stancil from his work on school desegregation was surprised I knew who he was. She had no idea he was a combative, divisive online personality. She didn’t know about his arguments with leftists on Bluesky or his fights with white supremacists on X, or about the fact that …
End of today’s The Verge roundup.
