Technologies

Elden Ring Wins Big at the Game Awards

Hades 2, Death Stranding 2 and Armored Core VI made their big reveals Thursday night.

Elden Ring took home the Game of the Year Award at Thursday’s The Game Awards show. The ceremony brings together the biggest names in gaming to honor the year’s best titles while also revealing some huge games coming in the future.

FromSoftware’s Elden Ring won three awards to go along with the GOTY prize — best role playing game, best game direction and best art direction — while God of War: Ragnarök had the most trophies at the end of the night, with six. Long-running massively multiplayer online RPG Final Fantasy 14 and indie darling Stray both took home two awards.

Along with the awards, new games made their debut: Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Tekken 8, Baldur’s Gate 3, Death Stranding 2, Hades 2, Crash Team Rumble and Armored Core VI.

The Game Awards 2022 winners

Game of the year (winners in bold)

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
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

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 27, #399

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 27, No. 399.

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.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tricky one. Hope you know your NBA history! If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for 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: Help athletes learn.

Green group hint: Statistics.

Blue group hint: From Sin City.

Purple group hint: Not Queens, but…

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Coach.

Green group: Seen in a baseball scorebug.

Blue group: UNLV

Purple group: Home cities of the NBA’s Kings franchise, over time.

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 coach. The four answers are drill, instruct, school and teach.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is seen in a baseball scorebug. The four answers are count, inning, outs and score.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is UNLV. The four answers are Las, Nevada, University and Vegas.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is home cities of the NBA’s Kings franchise, over time. The four answers are Cincinnati, Kansas City, Rochester and Sacramento.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 27, #869

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Oct. 27, No. 869.

Looking for the most recent 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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a fun mix of topics today. They’re not too tough but if you need help you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

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

Yellow group hint: Reach out from a center point.

Green group hint: Barely.

Blue group hint: Decorative eats in a drink.

Purple group hint: Not two or three, but …

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Emanate.

Green group: In the slightest.

Blue group: Cocktail garnishes.

Purple group: ____ four.

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

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is emanate. The four answers are branch, fan, radiate and spread.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is in the slightest. The four answers are just, merely, only and simply.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is cocktail garnishes. The four answers are cherry, mint, olive and twist.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ four. The four answers are connect, fab, fantastic and petit.

Technologies

Unlock Borderlands 4 Power: Try These Active SHiFT Codes ASAP

These are the latest SHiFT codes that unlock epic loot and cosmetics in Borderlands 4, but you must act quickly.

The biggest looter shooter of the year, Borderlands 4, is out, and players are already taking the fight to the Timekeeper on Kairos. If you want to put the beat down on someone strong enough to control time, then you’re going to need an arsenal of powerful weapons and equipment.

Luckily, developer Gearbox Software is willing to lend a helping hand. Instead of having to farm every piece of legendary equipment in-game, you can roll the dice on some loot with Golden Keys unlocked by SHiFT promo codes.

If you’re already swimming in more loot than you know what to do with, some SHiFT codes also unlock special cosmetic looks for your favorite vault hunters. Special in-game challenges have already unlocked promo codes for Amon, Rafa and Vex vault hunter skins, with a Harlowe skin unlocking soon. Here’s how to use the latest SHiFT codes in Borderlands 4.

All active SHiFT codes for Borderlands 4

You can hunt down SHiFT codes on social media, but we’ll keep all of the active promo codes in one place for ease of access.

Below, you’ll find a chart that contains every active SHiFT code for Borderlands 4, what it unlocks and its expiration date:

Active Borderlands 4 SHiFT codes

Reward	SHiFT code	Expiration date
Vex Mass Market Appeal Skin	BZ6JJ-CB6CT-WXJJW-3TT3B-56FZ5	Jan. 1, 2031
Amon Cult Classic Skin	JZ6BJ-SBR5J-WF3BK-BT3BB-TX9HB	Dec. 31, 2030
Rafa Savings Savior Skin	TZXT3-XJXCB-CXBJW-BTTJT-9SK6B	Dec. 31, 2030
Break Free Cosmetics Pack	JS63J-JSCWJ-CFTBW-3TJ3J-WJS5R	Jan. 1, 2031
Golden Key	TZR3T-JZJKJ-WXJTC-T33TB-RFCFR	Oct. 20, 2025
Golden Key	3S6TT-CZJWT-WXJT5-3B3BJ-JS3JZ	Oct. 20, 2025
Golden Key	J96BJ-RZJWB-C6TJC-BBJJJ-5B5W9	Oct. 20, 2025
Golden Key	T9RJB-BFKRR-3RBTW-B33TB-KCZB9	No expiration

How to redeem SHiFT codes for your Borderlands 4 account

While SHiFT codes are totally free rewards for you to accumulate, you must make a SHiFT account to input any active codes in-game.

SHiFT is a service that Gearbox integrates into its biggest games, and making an account unlocks forums and exclusive beta participation. It’s also necessary to create an account to turn in any promo codes, which is what most fans care about.

Once your account is created, you can enter your SHiFT codes in two separate places. Within your SHiFT account settings, you can find a Rewards tab with a field to enter any Borderlands promo codes. Once you enter the codes, any unlocked items will be added to your account the next time you open the game.

However, an easier way to input your SHiFT codes is within Borderlands 4 itself. Within the game’s pause menu, you can access a SHiFT. Select the Rewards tab from the resulting menu, input your codes and the unlocked items will be immediately available on your save.

Where are SHiFT codes normally released?

SHiFT codes are released frequently on Gearbox and Gearbox-affiliated social media channels. For the best chance at catching every new SHiFT code that gets released, you should follow Gearbox on X and on Facebook.

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford also releases promos on his X account, so if you’re brave enough to follow him despite his frequent outbursts toward fans you can find SHiFT codes there as well.

What are SHiFT codes?

SHiFT codes are promo codes that Gearbox occasionally releases that reward players with loot and cosmetics in Borderlands games. The main SHiFT code reward is a Golden Key, which opens the Golden Chest in most Borderlands hub areas.

But don’t spend them immediately — it’s worth saving your Golden Keys until you reach the level cap and are playing on the hardest difficulty, as the loot rewards will scale to your character accordingly. This is a great way to begin farming some endgame legendaries quickly and easily.