The Verge’s 2024 in review

It’s always a little strange looking back at the year and realizing just how much happened. While it’s a fact that Dune: Part Two, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and the Apple Vision Pro all came out in 2024, it’s also hard to believe — they all feel like they happened forever ago.

As with past years, we’re using this as a chance to reminisce. That means stories from our reporters covering the most important or weird trends in tech and culture as well as roundups to help you navigate 2024’s many, many releases across game consoles and streaming services.

So, before we all head into 2025, take a moment to look back on the things you’ve forgotten about — or catch up on those that you missed altogether.

• Dec 31, 2024Verge Staff2024: a year in art on The VergeImage: Verge staffThe Verge art team was busy this year, creating illustrations, photographs, and interactive designs to match stories about underwater sea cables, competitive Excel, parental anxiety, AI companions, and so much more. Here’s a look back at 20 of our favorite projects from 2024, with comments from those of us who worked on the project.Design by Cath VirginiaRead Article >
• Dec 30, 2024Ash ParrishThe best PS5 games in 2024Image: Cath Virginia / The VergeIt’s been a bit of a rough year for PlayStation exclusives and the studios that make them. While The Final Shape was generally lauded as an excellent concluding chapter to Destiny 2’s current story arc, Bungie was faced with all kinds of setbacks including canceled projects and layoffs. Elsewhere, Sony’s Firewalk Studios launched Concord, unlaunched it, then closed permanently within the space of a few months after the hero shooter failed to gain traction in a glutted market.That said, PlayStation still came through this year with a slate of excellent games that will hopefully demonstrate that there’s an appetite for more than just live-service shooters. Read Article >
• Dec 29, 2024Tom Warren2024 was a big year for Windows on ArmImage: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesI still can’t quite believe that I’m using an Arm-powered Windows laptop every day. After more than a decade of trying to make Windows on Arm a reality, Microsoft and Qualcomm finally nailed it this year with Copilot Plus PCs. These new laptops have excellent battery life and great performance — and the app compatibility issues that have plagued Windows on Arm are mostly a thing of the past (as long as you’re not a gamer). Microsoft wanted 2024 to be “the year of the AI PC,” but I think it was very much the year of Windows on Arm. If 2024 was anything to go by, 2025 is going to be even bigger for Windows on Arm.Microsoft set the stage for the 2024 year of Windows on Arm announcements in January at CES with promises of AI PCs and the first big change to Windows keyboards in 30 years. Laptop manufacturers started putting a Copilot key on keyboards early this year, providing quick access to Microsoft’s AI assistant. While the Copilot experience on Windows has gone through several confusing revisions, it’s still a key I accidentally press and then get frustrated when a Copilot window appears.Read Article >
• Dec 28, 2024Antonio G. Di Benedetto10 terrific Nintendo Switch games from 2024 to check outImage: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesThis holiday season is the swan song for the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo told us as much when it said a long-awaited Switch successor would be announced by April 2025. But Nintendo thankfully didn’t get a case of senioritis as it looks to graduate to a Switch sequel, as 2024 had a litany of excellent titles come to the nearly eight-year-old console. So we’re taking a little look back at some of our favorite games on the Switch for 2024. One of the great things about this year’s offering of Switch titles is that they all should work on the follow-up to the Switch — since Nintendo confirmed its next generation will be backward-compatible. (And hopefully any performance issues of games on the current Switch will be resolved when playing them on the next model, if we’re so lucky.)We all have to remain patient as we continue to wait for the Switch’s successor, but these games are without a doubt worthy of playing during your current Nintendo console’s final months in the limelight.Read Article >
• Dec 27, 2024Andrew Webster9 great Game Pass games for your XboxImage: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesEven if it wasn’t the strongest year for Xbox exclusive games (and some of those exclusives had their issues), Game Pass was still an extremely good deal for console owners. Mostly, it’s the variety; the subscription service continues to offer a great mix of new blockbuster releases, along with smaller indie games and older titles to round out the package. This year had everything from Call of Duty’s big coming-out party on Game Pass to a stop-motion adventure game to an expansion to one of last year’s biggest RPGs.Here are nine great games to check out if you’re a new subscriber or just looking for something new to play.Read Article >
• Dec 27, 2024Ash Parrish2024’s best games channeled the heart and soul of the ‘90sImage: Cath Virginia / The VergeIn 2024, we gamed like it was 1997. Games like Metaphor: ReFantazio, Astro Bot, and the solo-developed Balatro remixed genres of console generations past (or, in Balatro’s case, remixed the very old game of poker itself) to critical and commercial success, while Capcom was one of the most successful companies of the year supported by a healthy mix of titles across different genres. With the industry’s biggest publishers increasingly chasing massive, broadly appealing games meant to be played forever, it was heartening to see old formats come back with some new tricks. And these successes could provide the blueprint needed to pull the video game industry out of its current tailspin.Persona developer Atlus has once again innovated on the turn-based RPG with Metaphor: ReFantazio. What makes Metaphor’s combat interesting in a way that’s hard to replicate with traditional turn-based RPGs is that Atlus has built a unique ability system powered by anticipation and anxiety. Characters have access to powerful summons, each with their own abilities, along with strengths and weaknesses that enemies also share. Hitting an enemy’s weakness or having your own exploited results in monumental shifts in the momentum of battle. Every attack becomes consequential, as you don’t know what will work against your foes or what they have to work against you.

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