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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

Verum Messenger: A Privacy-Driven Ecosystem With AI, Crypto Mining, and Global Connectivity

Verum Messenger: A Privacy-Driven Ecosystem With AI, Crypto Mining, and Global Connectivity

As digital privacy becomes both a global concern and a personal necessity, Verum Messenger for iOS positions itself as more than another encrypted chat app. It offers a full ecosystem built around anonymity, user control, and technological independence — including AI tools, anonymous email, built-in eSIM, secure VPN access, and even cryptocurrency mining directly inside the messenger.

In an era of surveillance, data leaks, and intrusive applications, Verum represents a shift toward user-owned digital identity.

A Messenger Designed for Complete Anonymity

Unlike platforms that require phone numbers, email addresses, or personal details to sign up, Verum Messenger removes the concept of identity tracking altogether. Registration requires no personal information.

Users receive a unique Verum ID and a Recovery Key, both stored solely on the user’s side. All encryption keys are generated locally on the device and never transmitted to servers — eliminating the risks associated with centralized storage.

Communication Built on Trust and Security

Verum’s communication tools cover all standard messenger functions but enhance them with multilayered protections that exceed current industry norms.

Key security features include:

  • End-to-end encrypted chats and calls
  • Protection against screenshots and screen recording
  • Alerts when someone saves or downloads media
  • One-tap full data wipe
  • Disabled message forwarding, copying, and exporting
  • Temporary messages with customizable timers
  • Support for large private communities (up to 10,000 participants)

A particularly distinctive feature is mandatory chat confirmation:

— No one can message, call, or add you without your explicit approval.
— This effectively blocks spam, fraud, unsolicited outreach, and unwanted communication at the source.

Built-In Tools Without Compromising Privacy

Verum AI

Verum integrates an intelligent chatbot — similar to GPT — directly into the messenger. Unlike typical AI tools, which rely on cloud processing tied to user identities, Verum adheres to its core privacy principle: no personal data is shared with external systems.

Verum Mail

The built-in anonymous email service enables users to send and receive messages securely. Emails can auto-delete after a chosen period, minimizing digital traces.

Verum eSIM

A built-in eSIM marketplace provides mobile internet in 150+ countries — essential for travelers, freelancers, journalists, and remote workers.

No physical SIM cards. No roaming. No long-term contracts.

Integrated VPN

A native VPN ensures encrypted and private internet connections, adding an additional layer of protection beyond messaging alone.

Crypto Mining Inside the Messenger

One of Verum Messenger’s newest and most innovative features is something no mainstream secure messenger offers: built-in cryptocurrency mining.

Users can mine:

Mining operates directly within the application — with no specialized hardware or external services required.

Why Verum Stands Out

Today’s digital environment forces people to juggle countless separate apps — one for a VPN, another for mobile data, a different one for AI tools, crypto management, and secure messaging. Verum Messenger brings all of these capabilities together in one platform, without ever compromising privacy or user autonomy.

Verum Messenger combines them all into a single platform without sacrificing privacy or user autonomy.

Instead of functioning as a social network, it becomes a private digital workspace — secure, anonymous, and self-contained.

Verum Messenger is available on the App Store.
Account activation is a one-time process; no subscription is required.

Official website: https://verum.im
iOS app: https://ios.verum.im
Documentation: https://docs.verum.im

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 13 #650

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Dec. 13, No. 650.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is kind of tough. Some of the answers are very long and difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: All over the place.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: What a mess!

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

  • RUNT, TURN, RUTS, STUN, STUNT, HERD, SOUL, TROD, WHAT, DORM, STAID, HATS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

  • STORMY, UNRULY, CHAOTIC, DISORDERLY, TUMULTUOUS

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is THATSWILD. To find it, start with the T that’s three letters down on the far-left row, and wind up and across.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Toughest Strands puzzles

Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest in recent weeks.

#1: Dated slang, Jan. 21. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.

#2: Thar she blows! Jan.15. I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT. 

#3: Off the hook, Jan. 9. Similar to the Jan. 15 puzzle in that it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK.

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Technologies

Prime Video Hits Pause on Error-Filled AI Recaps

People reported the AI tool struggling with interpreting key scenes properly.

Amazon launched a limited beta of AI-generated Video Recaps for selected in-house Prime Video shows last month — titles like Fallout, Jack Ryan, The Rig, Upload and Bosch. But now the feature has made a generative AI about-face, with reports of it being removed from the app after fans found errors in the Fallout recap and posted about them online.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

The Video Recaps feature stitches together video clips, audio effects, snippets of dialog, music and an AI-generated voiceover narration. According to Amazon, it «analyzes a season’s key plot points and character arcs to deeply understand the most pivotal moments that will resonate with viewers as they enter the next season.» 

But as reported earlier by GamesRadar, a viewer recently posted in the r/Fallout subreddit that the season one recap incorrectly dated Cooper Howard’s flashbacks to 1950 when they were actually set in 2077. 

«‘Cooper offers Lucy a choice in the finale: die, or join him’ phrased as if he’d be the one to kill her,» another viewer posted on X, describing one of the other AI errors in the recap.

Several outlets then noted that the recap option in the app seems to have disappeared. CNET Senior Editor Corinne Reichert’s app still displays the recap option, but nothing happens when it’s clicked.

As someone with a terrible memory, I would really, really like these types of features to work. Hope springs eternal, I guess. 

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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