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The Game Awards: Start Times, How to Watch, Nominees, Everything You Need to Know

Expect a shorter show this time around.

The Game Awards is an annual show that brings together the biggest names in gaming to honor the year’s best titles. The ceremony, hosted by Geoff Keighleylater this week, is also an excuse to showcase trailers and announcements for upcoming titles, keeping the show from being a stodgy suit-and-tie affair. This year’s award show will also be «significantly shorter» than in the past.

Game of the Year nominees include God of War: Ragnarök, Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Stray and A Plague Tale: Requiem. We also know that we’ll get more information on Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Tekken 8, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Sky: Children of the Light, a new game from Jenova Chen, the mind behind 2012’s Journey. Presenters will include HBO’s The Last of Us’ Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, Final Fantasy VXI producer Naoki «Yoshi-P» Yoshida and Animal from The Muppets.

How to watch The Game Awards 2022 on YouTube, Twitch and everywhere else

The 2022 Game Awards will be broadcast from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Thursday starting at 4:30 p.m. PT / 7:30 p.m. ET / 12:30 a.m. GMT. It will stream live on every major platform, including:

Select IMAX theaters will also showcase The Game Awards, giving fans not in Los Angeles a premium experience. Those in Los Angeles who want to go see the show live are out of luck as tickets are no longer available for purchase.

What announcements to expect at The Game Awards 2022

Past Game Awards have given us glimpses at The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Death Stranding and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. This year, fans can expect a new game from publisher 505 Games and Fortnite maker Epic Games. A teaser site is live that showcases the fictional beach side town of Rockay City.

Other than that, not much more has been teased. But if previous years are any indication, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see at least one heavy-hitter from Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony. A new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom would surely get people excited, as would Alan Wake II, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Dead Space and the new Korean title Stellar Blade.

The Game Awards 2022 Nominees

This year’s nominees can be found throughout 31 categories, with everything from best game direction to best esports event. Obviously, game of the year is the most anticipated award, but best narrative, art direction, score and music, character performance, and indie will surely get lots of attention. Below is a list of every game nominated.

Game of the Year

  • A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)
  • Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
  • God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
  • Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
  • Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

Best Game Direction

  • Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
  • God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
  • Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
  • Immortality (Half Mermaid)
  • Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

Best Narrative

  • A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)
  • Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
  • God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
  • Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
  • Immortality (Half Mermaid)

Best Art Direction

  • Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
  • God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
  • Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
  • Scorn (Ebb Software/Kepler Interactive)
  • Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)

Best Score and Music

  • Olivier Deriviere, A Plague Tale: Requiem
  • Tsukasa Saitoh, Elden Ring
  • Bear McCreary, God of War Ragnarök
  • Two Feathers, Metal: Hellsinger
  • Yasunori Mitsuda, Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Best Audio Design

  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)
  • Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
  • God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
  • Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony/SIE)
  • Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)

Best Performance

  • Ashly Burch, Horizon Forbidden West
  • Charlotte McBurney, A Plague Tale: Requiem
  • Christopher Judge, God of War Ragnarök
  • Manon Gage, Immortality
  • Sunny Suljic, God of War Ragnarök

Games for Impact

  • A Memoir Blue (Cloisters Interactive/Annapurna)
  • As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)
  • Citizen Sleeper (Jump Over The Age/Fellow Traveller)
  • Endling – Extinction is Forever (Herobeat Studios/HandyGames)
  • Hindsight (Team Hindsight/Annapurna)
  • I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (Northway Games/Finji)

Best Ongoing Game

  • Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
  • Destiny 2 (Bungie)
  • FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)
  • Fortnite (Epic Games)
  • Genshin Impact (HoYoverse)

Best Indie

  • Cult of the Lamb (Massive Monster / Devolver Digital)
  • Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna)
  • Sifu (Sloclap)
  • Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
  • TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)

Best Debut Indie

  • Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna Interactive)
  • NORCO (Geography of Robots/Raw Fury)
  • Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
  • TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)
  • Vampire Survivors (poncle)

Best Community Support

  • Apex Legends (Respawn/EA)
  • Destiny 2 (Bungie)
  • FINAL FANTASY XIV (Square Enix)
  • Fortnite (Epic Games)
  • No Man’s Sky (Hello Games)

Best Mobile

  • Apex Legends Mobile (Lightspeed & Quantum/Respawn/EA)
  • Diablo Immortal (Blizzard/NetEase)
  • Genshin Impact (HoYovese)
  • MARVEL SNAP (Second Dinner Studios/Nuverse)
  • Tower of Fantasy (Hotta Studio/Perfect World/Level Infinite)

Best VR/AR

  • After the Fall (Vertigo Games)
  • Among Us VR (Schell Games/InnerSloth)
  • BONELAB (Stress Level Zero)
  • Moss: Book II (Polyarc)
  • Red Matter 2 (Vertical Robot)

Best Action

  • Bayonetta 3 (Platinum Games/Nintendo)
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)
  • Neon White (Angel Matrix/Annapurna)
  • Sifu (Sloclap)
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games/Dotemu)

Best Action/Adventure

  • A Plague Tale: Requiem (Asobo Studio/Focus Entertainment)
  • God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
  • Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games/SIE)
  • Stray (BlueTwelve Studio/Annapurna)
  • TUNIC (TUNIC Team/Finji)

Best Role Playing

  • Elden Ring (FromSoftware/Bandai Namco)
  • Live a Live (Square Enix/Nintendo)
  • Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Game Freak/Nintendo/TPCI)
  • Triangle Strategy (Artdink/Square Enix)
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Monolith Soft/Nintendo)

Best Fighting

  • DNF Duel (Arc System Works/EIGHTING/NEOPLE/NEXON)
  • JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R (CyberConnect 2 Co. Ltd/Bandai Namco)
  • The King of Fighters XV (SNK/Plaion)
  • MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
  • Sifu (Sloclap)

Best Family

  • Kirby and the Forgotten Land (HAL Laboratory / Nintendo)
  • LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Traveller’s Tales/WB Games)
  • Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan/Paris/Ubisoft)
  • Nintendo Switch Sports (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Best Sim/Strategy

  • Dune: Spice Wars (Shiro Games/Funcom)
  • Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope (Ubisoft Milan/Paris/Ubisoft)
  • Total War: WARHAMMER III (Creative Assembly/Sega)
  • Two Point Campus (Two Point Studios/Sega)
  • Victoria 3 (Paradox Development Studio/Paradox Interactive)

Best Sports/Racing

  • F1 22 (Codemasters/EA Sports)
  • FIFA 23 (EA Vancouver/Romania/EA Sports)
  • NBA 2K23 (Visual Concepts/2K Sports)
  • Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital/SIE)
  • OlliOlli World (Roll 7/Private Division)

Best Multiplayer

  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (Infinity Ward/Activision)
  • MultiVersus (Player First Games/WB Games)
  • Overwatch 2 (Blizzard)
  • Splatoon 3 (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge (Tribute Games/Dotemu)

Most Anticipated

  • FINAL FANTASY XVI (Square Enix)
  • Hogwarts Legacy (Avalanche Software/WB Games)
  • Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)
  • Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda)
  • The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (Nintendo EPD/Nintendo)

Content Creator of the Year

  • Karl Jacobs
  • Ludwig
  • Nibellion
  • Nobru
  • QTCinderella

Best Adaptation

  • Arcane: League of Legends (Fortiche/Riot Games/Netflix)
  • Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Studio Trigger/CD Projekt, Netflix)
  • The Cuphead Show! (Studio MDHR/King Features Syndicate/Netflix)
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Sammy Group/Paramount Pictures)
  • Uncharted (PlayStation Productions/Sony Pictures)

Innovation in Accessibility

  • As Dusk Falls (Interior Night/Xbox Game Studios)
  • God of War Ragnarök (Sony Santa Monica/SIE)
  • Return to Monkey Island (Terrible Toybox/Devolver Digital)
  • The Last Of Us Part I (Naughty Dog/SIE)
  • The Quarry (Supermassive Games/2K)

Best Esports Game

  • Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
  • DOTA 2 (Valve)
  • League of Legends (Riot Games)
  • Rocket League (Psyonix)
  • VALORANT (Riot Games)

Best Esports Athlete

  • Jeong «Chovy» Ji-hoon (Gen.G, LOL)
  • Lee «Faker» Sang-hyeok (T1, LOL)
  • Finn «karrigan» Andersen (FaZe Clan – CS:GO)
  • Oleksandr «s1mple» Kostyliev (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
  • Jacob «Yay» Whiteaker (Cloud9, Valorant)

Best Esports Team

  • DarkZero Esports (Apex Legends)
  • FaZe Clan (CS:GO)
  • Gen.G (League of Legends)
  • LA Thieves (Call of Duty)
  • LOUD (Valorant)

Best Esports Coach

  • Andrii «B1ad3» Horodenskyi (Natus Vincere, CS:GO)
  • Matheus «bzkA» Tarasconi (LOUD, VALORANT)
  • Erik «d00mbr0s» Sandgren (FPX, VALORANT)
  • Robert «RobbaN» Dahlström (FaZe Clan, CS:GO)
  • Go «Score» Dong-bin (Gen.G, LOL)

Best Esports Event

  • EVO 2022
  • 2022 League of Legends World Championship
  • PGL Major Antwerp 2022
  • The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational
  • VALORANT Champions 2022

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Technologies

McDonald’s Snack Wrap: Is the Viral Food Favorite Returning on July 14?

July 14 could be the release date for the much-longed-for chicken Snack Wraps, but Ronald and crew aren’t talking.

McDonald’s is riding a viral wave. The fast-food chain’s Minecraft Happy Meals and adult Minecraft Meals hit restaurants on April 1 and sold out quickly. Diners ordering a Happy Meal these days will find a Squishmallow theme meal instead. But there’s more viral buzz about another McDonald’s product online. People are eagerly awaiting the return of Snack Wraps, a chicken-tortilla entree that’s been missing from US locations of the Golden Arches since 2020.

Read more: Review: McDonald’s Minecraft Meals Feature The Hottest Nugget Sauce Ever

On April 15, McDonald’s tweeted «snack wraps 0x.14.2025,» hinting the wraps would return on the 14th of an upcoming month. This leaves fans having to check their McDonald’s mobile app or local restaurant menus on the 14th of every month, hoping the wraps will make an appearance. The wraps didn’t appear in restaurants on May 14, so now fans must check again in June, and again in July if the June date does not pan out. 

At least one Reddit users seems to think the McDonald’s Snack Wraps could return on July 14. One user wrote, «It’s July, I work for McDonald’s,they revealed the date on the employee app.»

But another person posted, «It’s not July. I work at McDonald’s corporate and can confirm.»

Neither of those posts can be confirmed.

June 14 is a Saturday, while July 14 is a Monday. Some suggest that McDonald’s would be more likely to launch a new product on a Monday than on a weekend, so if that’s true, July 14 could be the day.

A representative for McDonald’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Snack Wrap fever

Snack Wraps first came out in 2006, and were meant to be a chicken item that would appeal to drive-thru customers. There are different versions, but the basic one includes white-meat chicken strips known as McCrispy Strips wrapped in a flour tortilla with cheese and lettuce with either ranch, honey mustard or salsa. McCrispy Strips are a reworked version of a chicken item formerly known as Chicken Selects.

Zach Ciampa, who regularly covers new food releases under the social-media handle Snach With Zach, said there’s been an intense fanbase out there for the wraps. «Regarding McDonald’s Snack Wrap, it’s by far the most requested item I’ve ever seen my audience ask or demand to come back,» he told CNET. «Not just the most requested in recent memory, but the most requested of all time. And that’s not limited to McDonald’s.» Ciampa said the only similar fast-food items that come close to the same level of interest are Dairy Queen’s S’mores Blizzard and Taco Bell’s Caramel Apple Empanada, both of which also made recent returns.

«I’ve been covering food releases for years, and in that time, I’ve seen countless comments to the tune of ‘We don’t want this. We want the Snack Wrap,’ and, ‘Can you tell us when the Snack Wrap is coming back?'» he said. «A couple years ago, the chances of its return were pretty bleak. However, things escalated pretty quickly in late 2023 when McDonald’s did indeed announce that the Snack Wrap would return in a new form. Since then, details have slowly but surely trickled out, and the hype has steadily grown.»

While Snack Wraps left McDonald’s locations in the US back in 2020, they remained available at Canadian and UK restaurants. The current online McDonald’s Canada menu includes several tortilla-wrapped items, including ones with crispy chicken, grilled chicken, buffalo chicken and chicken with a sweet chili sauce.

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for May 21, #240

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 240, for May 21.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition tried to fool players today by tossing in four coin words: quarter, dime, nickel and penny. Yet as longtime players know, that’s way too simple for a Connections puzzle — and this was indeed a trick. The four coin words all ended up in different groups. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.  

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Watch the clock.

Green group hint: Not offense.

Blue group hint: Nice throw!

Purple group hint: Fancy footwear.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Sections of a game.

Green group: Football defensive terms.

Blue group: Words used to describe a good pass.

Purple group: Eponymous basketball shoes, minus the S

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is sections of a game. The four answers are half, inning, period and quarter.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is football defensive terms. The four answers are 4-3, 46, nickel and prevent.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is words used to describe a good pass. The four answers are apple, assist, dime and dish.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is eponymous basketball shoes, minus the S. The four answers are Chuck, Jordan, LeBron and Penny.

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Technologies

You Can Now Play Fortnite Again on iPhone and iPad

The long wait is over: Fortnite returns to Apple’s App Store in the US.

Fortnite is back on iPhone and iPad, as announced in its post today on X. 

The game had been in and out of the Apple App Store multiple times over the years as its parent company, Epic Games, and Apple clashed over developer fees. But now, following a court ruling against Apple, the massively popular game can finally be downloaded again on iOS devices.

The US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled on April 30 that Apple’s behavior toward web transactions was in bad faith and anticompetitive. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney posted about the ruling on X on the same day. 

«For the reasons set forth herein, the Court finds Apple in willful violation of this Court’s 2021 Injunction which issued to restrain and prohibit Apple’s anticompetitive conduct and anticompetitive pricing,» court documents read. «Apple’s continued attempts to interfere with competition will not be tolerated.»

Sweeney made the announcement of Fortnite’s return to iPhone and iPad shortly after the April 30 court ruling. 

«We will return Fortnite to the US iOS App Store next week,» Sweeney wrote on X. «Epic puts forth a peace proposal: If Apple extends the court’s friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide, we’ll return Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic.»

Read more: The 15 Best PC Games Right Now

What will be new on Fortnite for iPhones?

In celebration of its iOS relaunch, Fortnite is rumored to be bringing back the Tart Tycoon skin. The monochrome cosmetic outfit was first released in 2020 and is meant to be a parody of Apple. Alongside the rare item, the Tart Tycoon Cup event is said to be returning.

Fortnite had been banned from iOS devices since 2020, when the flagship iOS device was the iPhone 11.

Why was Fortnite off the iPhone and why is it back now?

In 2021, Epic Games and Apple went to court. Apple largely won that court battle, but didn’t walk away unscathed. A federal judge also ordered Apple to remove its anti-steering barriers, meaning the company must allow apps downloaded from the App Store to steer customers to third-party means.

From the archives: Apple Scores Legal Win Over Epic in Fortnite Lawsuit

Apple appealed the decision later in 2021, with proceedings continuing through 2022 and into 2023. Apple eventually won the appeal. However, the court upheld its anti-steering ruling from 2021 in the process.

When Epic took Apple back to court in 2025, the company pointed out that Apple hadn’t complied with the original ruling in 2021. The judge agreed and is now forcing Apple to follow the rules to the letter. This includes not charging developers for non-App Store payment methods and allowing developers to tell people that such third-party options and platforms exist. The time frame is simple enough. Apple is to comply with these new rules immediately.  

Epic Games also has lawsuits against Google and Samsung, seeking to achieve the same result for users of Google Play.

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