Technologies

Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition for Switch 2 Reignites Controversy Over Game-Key Cards

FromSoftware’s epic game is finally coming to the Switch 2, but don’t expect to own a physical copy of it.

Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition was part of the first batch of games revealed to be part of the Nintendo Switch 2 lineup last year, but it has yet to be released. Developer FromSoftware delayed the game from its initial 2025 release, but on Thursday, preorders opened at retailers. Some gamers, however, are not happy with the news, although not for the reason one might expect.

Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition will cost $80, according to the preorder listings, although there is still no release date confirmed. The Switch 2 version includes the 2022 base game and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, which costs the same price on other platforms. What’s different with the Switch 2 version and the others is that it comes on a Game-Key Card, which is causing ire among gamers.

Game-Key Cards are Nintendo’s solution for storing larger games. Since the Switch 2 still uses cartridges, a game like Elden Ring would need carts with enough storage for the whole game, which, according to the game’s box, is 75GB. A cart to fit the size of a game would have significant hardware costs, especially considering the current storage shortage.

To offset the cost of a cart, Nintendo created Game-Key Cards, cartridges that don’t contain the game, just enough to validate the game with Nintendo’s servers and allow it to be downloaded to the Switch 2. Once the game is downloaded to the Switch 2 and the cartridge is inserted, it will not need an internet connection to play it.

Why are people upset about the Game-Key Card feature?

While the Game-Key Card feature helps reduce the cost of releasing a physical game, it also prevents the purchaser from actually owning a physical copy. There is growing concern about the lack of ownership of video games, as more publishers delist games, meaning removing them from storefronts. Once a game is delisted from an online store, it’s almost impossible to redownload that game to another device. PUBG for the PS4 and Xbox One was released in 2018, for example, but the publisher announced it would no longer support those versions, rendering them unplayable.

A consumer movement called Stop Killing Games aims to challenge the legal right of game companies to essentially destroy the games purchased by consumers. It has made strides in both the UK and EU, with hopes that the respective legislative bodies will pass consumer-protection laws to prevent companies from disabling games that have already been purchased.

Will the digital version of Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition be cheaper?

Starting with the release of Yoshi and the Mysterious Book in May, Nintendo will charge $10 less for a digital version of its games, which means a $70 physical game would cost $60 if purchased from Nintendo digitally. It’s unclear if other publishers will follow suit. Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition does have a listing on Nintendo’s website, but there is no price yet.

What’s new in Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition?

When publisher Bandai Namco revealed the Tarnished Edition of Elden Ring, it confirmed there would be some new content, although not very much. This includes new armor, weapons and customization features for Torrent’s appearance. There will also be two additional starter classes: the Knight of Idis, who is faster and more agile, and the Heavy Knight, who, as the name implies, wears heavy armor and starts with a greatsword.

Adding new starter classes to the game doesn’t change much, as players can change their stats, equipment and abilities as they play, meaning a class that starts off relying on magic could end up using heavy weapons and vice versa. Fans of the game, however, could get a morsel of new lore information from these new classes, as each starter character has their own backstory that offers a sliver of detail to the world of Elden Ring.

Bandai Namco says the new content in the Tarnished Edition will make its way to other platforms via a Tarnished Pack DLC that will be available at the same time as this version of the game. The publisher has yet to announce a price for the DLC, but it’s expected to cost $10.

Technologies

How to Watch the Artemis II Splashdown Tonight on Netflix

You can also stream it live on services like HBO Max and YouTube.

NASA’s Artemis II mission is nearly complete, and Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen are homeward bound on the Orion spacecraft. Now that you’ve watched the flyby livestream (which reportedly was NASA’s most-watched event), are you planning to see the astronauts land back on Earth? You have multiple ways to tune in for live coverage as this historic event comes to a close.

Orion’s splashdown in the Pacific Ocean will happen Friday evening, and thanks to the ability to watch live programming from the NASA Plus streaming service on Netflix, you can tune in via the streaming service. See below for details on when to watch.

How to watch the Artemis II return landing on Netflix

You can tune into live coverage of the Artemis II splashdown event on Netflix here starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT). Orion’s reentry and splashdown are expected to occur at approximately 8:07 p.m. ET.

If you want to rewatch the lunar flyby, Netflix has it available to stream as well.

Watch the Artemis flyby via CNET, HBO Max, Apple TV and more

You can also watch using streaming services such as HBO Max, Prime Video, Peacock, NASA’s YouTube channel and with the NASA apps for Apple TV, Amazon and Roku, which provide access to the NASA Plus streaming service.

If you need another way to watch the splashdown, check out live coverage here via CNET’s YouTube account.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 11, #1035

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for April 11, No. 1,035.

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 features another one of those purple categories where you need to look inside words for other words. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times 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: Vroom-vroom!

Green group hint: They provide help.

Blue group hint: They hold things up.

Purple group hint: Wavy words.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Found in the trunk of a car.

Green group: Benefactor.

Blue group: Structural supports.

Purple group: Ending in bodies of water.

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 found in the trunk of a car. The four answers are ice scraper, jack, jumper cables and spare tire.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is benefactor. The four answers are angel, champion, patron and sponsor.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is structural supports. The four answers are beam, brace, column and strut.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ending in bodies of water. The four answers are Bombay, Chelsea, screwdriver and snowflake.

Technologies

Amazon Luna to Drop Support for Third-Party Games and Subscriptions in June

Amazon looks to reshape its cloud gaming service, which has yet to catch on with gamers.

Amazon Luna, the retail giant’s cloud gaming service, will make a big change in June. In the same vein as Prime Video, users were able to bring over their third-party subscriptions and use them to play games in the cloud, but that all changes on June 10.

Luna will no longer support third-party subscriptions or games, according to the Luna support page updated on Friday. This feature allowed users to play games purchased from other online game stores such as EA, Ubisoft or GOG, as well as titles available via Ubisoft Plus and Jackbox Games subscriptions. Starting June 10, Luna subscribers will only have access to games available in the Luna library.

Amazon didn’t provide a reason for this change other than saying, «As our library continues to grow, more of that content is available to Prime members, and that’s where we’re focusing our future.»

What is Amazon Luna?

Amazon Luna is the company’s cloud gaming service. It went live back in 2020 to compete with Google’s now-defunct Stadia cloud gaming service, as well as Xbox and PlayStation’s cloud gaming. Initially, Luna required its own subscription, but it has since been added as a benefit with an Amazon Prime membership.

The Luna Standard plan that comes with Prime includes nearly 100 games, including major titles such as Alan Wake 2, Death Stranding and Hogwarts Legacy. Luna Premium is a higher tier for the service that costs $10 a month and comes with a bigger library of games that includes Madden NFL 26, Mafia: Definitive Edition and EA FC 26.

Luna is available for use on PCs, laptops, phones, tablets, Fire TVs, Fire tablets, certain Samsung and LG smart TVs, as well as Comcast’s Xfinity devices.

What’s changing with Amazon Luna?

On June 10, users will only be able to access games in their Luna library. They will no longer have access to games from third-party game stores or via third-party subscriptions.

What happens with my game saves on Amazon Luna?

According to the support page, game saves will be available for download 90 days after June 10. Accessing the saves can be done via the Settings page on Luna. Amazon does warn that the save data downloaded may not work on other platforms, and those users should access the saves right away to check for compatibility.