Technologies
Best Games on Xbox Game Pass: Hi-Fi Rush, Valheim, and More
Give these games a try.
An Xbox Game Pass subscriptionis almost essential for Xbox owners. The service, which runs $10 to $15 a month, not only includes a large, ever-changing catalog of games to download and play, but also bundles access to online multiplayer services. Each month, Microsoft adds new games to the service.
Read more: Best Game Subscription Services
If you’re on the fence about Game Pass, or just looking for some suggestions about what to play, below are some recent and classic favorites on the service.
Valheim is a multiplayer survival game based on Norse mythology that has been a hit with PC gamers since its release in 2021. On March 14, the game makes its way to Xbox Game Pass letting players explore the world of Valheim and build their own bases to fend off the monsters of the world. Up to 10 players can join up with crossplay enabled between Xbox and Steam players.
New and noteworthy
Recent hits
- Forza Horizon 5
- Pentiment
- As Dusk Falls
- Citizen Sleeper
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Death’s Door
- Farming Simulator 22 (no, really)
- Sea of Thieves
- Deathloop
- Halo Infinite
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Outer Wilds
- Psychonauts 2
- Vampire Survivors
- Tetris Effect: Connected
Read more: Best Cloud Gaming Services
Must-play classics
- Assassin’s Creed Origins (and AC: Odyssey)
- Batman: Arkham Knight
- Dishonored 2
- Dead by Daylight
- Fallout 76
- Doughnut County
- Skyrim
- Grim Fandango
PC gaming picks
- Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
- Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
- Solasta: Crown of the Magister
- Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector
- The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
- Expeditions: Rome
- Wasteland 3
We’ll keep this list updated with new additions and new staff suggestions. You can also check out our picks for the best games on PlayStation Plus.
Dan Ackerman/CNET
Game Pass has evolved far beyond its Xbox-bound origins to become a subscription that delivers something for everyone who plays games, and now encompasses console and PC game downloads, access to online multiplayer services, a deal with gaming giant EA and a cloud-based service that streams games to nearly any device.
Microsoft offers several versions, but because of how the features are sliced up between them, only the $15-per-month Ultimate plan, with all the benefits detailed above, really makes sense. Read our Xbox Game Pass review.
Game console reviews
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 14, #948
Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 14 #948.
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 is kind of tough. The blue category, not the purple one today, expects you to find hidden words in four of the words given in the grid. 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: That’s not going anywhere.
Green group hint: End user or customer.
Blue group hint: Ask a meteorologist.
Purple group hint: Not noisy.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Fixed.
Green group: Receiver of goods or services.
Blue group: Starting with weather conditions.
Purple group: Silent ____.
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 fixed. The four answers are fast, firm, secure and tight.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is receiver of goods or services. The four answers are account, client, consumer and user.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is starting with weather conditions. The four answers are frosty (frost), mistletoe (mist), rainmaker (rain) and snowman (snow).
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is silent ____. The four answers are auction, movie, partner and treatment.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Technologies
Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Jan. 14, #1670
Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Jan. 14, No. 1,670.
Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Wordle puzzle is a tough one, with a letter that is rarely used and which I just never guess. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.
Read more: New Study Reveals Wordle’s Top 10 Toughest Words of 2025
Today’s Wordle hints
Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.
Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats
Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.
Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels
Today’s Wordle answer has three vowels.
Wordle hint No. 3: First letter
Today’s Wordle answer begins with A.
Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter
Today’s Wordle answer ends with D.
Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning
Today’s Wordle answer can mean to keep away from something or someone.
TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER
Today’s Wordle answer is AVOID.
Yesterday’s Wordle answer
Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Jan. 13, No. 1669 was GUMBO.
Recent Wordle answers
Jan. 9, No. 1665: EIGHT
Jan. 10, No. 1666: MANIC
Jan. 11, No. 1667: QUARK
Jan. 12, No. 1668: TRIAL
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Technologies
Apple Launches Creator Studio Package as $13 a Month Subscription
Mac users can still buy the apps individually, but subscribers get access to Final Cut Pro and other Studio tools.
Apple is bundling its pro filmmaking and audio tools including Final Cut Pro with its productivity apps Keynote, Pages and Numbers into a subscription software suite called Apple Creator Studio.
The package, which includes apps for Mac, iPad and iPhone, includes Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, MainStage and the whiteboard app Freeform. Creator Studio will be available starting Jan. 28 at a cost of $13 per month or $129 per year, or $3 per month or $30 per year for students and educators. Mac users will still have the option to purchase software like Final Cut Pro for a one-time free. The current price for Final Cut Pro in the Mac App Store is $300.
While apps such as Keynote and Pages are already free on Apple platforms, it appears that new versions of those apps will receive access to beta features that will roll out first to Creator Studio subscribers. The announcement by Apple alludes to «new AI features and premium content» in some of the apps it otherwise makes available to use for free.
What the Creator Studio bundle comes with
The star of the show in Creator Studio is Final Cut Pro, the video editing software that will now include Transcript Search on both Mac and iPad. There is also a new Beat Detection feature Apple says uses an AI model to analyze a music track and display a beat grid, making it easier to cut video to music rhythms. The software also will include a new Montage Maker on iPad for quick social video creation.
Motion, the 2D and 3D graphics tool, and Compressor also integrate with Final Cut Pro. Apple touted Motion’s Magnetic Mask feature for isolating objects or people without the need for a green screen.
Logic Pro has new features for musicians, including a Synth Player addition to AI Session Players. Chord ID, a new AI feature, can create chord progressions from audio or MIDI recordings. A new Sound Library will have hundreds of royalty-free clips, samples and loops.
A revamped MainStage app gives subscribers access to instrument, voice-professing and guitar rig tools. Pixelmator Pro arrives with new tools and filters, and there will be an iPad version in addition to the Mac tool.
Freeform in the Creator Studio package will add premium content, including curated photos, graphics and illustrations. It will also get new AI features that include image creation.
-
Technologies3 года agoTech Companies Need to Be Held Accountable for Security, Experts Say
-
Technologies3 года agoBest Handheld Game Console in 2023
-
Technologies3 года agoTighten Up Your VR Game With the Best Head Straps for Quest 2
-
Technologies4 года agoBlack Friday 2021: The best deals on TVs, headphones, kitchenware, and more
-
Technologies4 года agoGoogle to require vaccinations as Silicon Valley rethinks return-to-office policies
-
Technologies4 года agoVerum, Wickr and Threema: next generation secured messengers
-
Technologies4 года agoOlivia Harlan Dekker for Verum Messenger
-
Technologies4 года agoiPhone 13 event: How to watch Apple’s big announcement tomorrow



