Technologies

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:

YouTube in 4K
Twitch
Twitter
Facebook Live
Steam
Oculus Venues
IGN
GameSpot
TikTok Live
Trovo
Instagram Live.

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

Technologies

You’ll Soon Be Able to Buy Walmart Products Through ChatGPT

OpenAI’s chatbot already connects to Etsy and Shopify. Now you can buy bananas too.

OpenAI and Walmart will soon offer shopping via AI through ChatGPT, the retail giant said in a press release on Tuesday.

While using ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout feature, customers can buy groceries, electronics or other essentials within the chatbot interface.

Walmart has its own AI assistant in its app named Sparky. With Sparky, customers can ask questions about products and get summaries of reviews to find the best item.

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«For many years now, e-commerce shopping experiences have consisted of a search bar and a long list of item responses. That is about to change,» Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement. «There is a native AI experience coming that is multi-media, personalized and contextual. We are running towards that more enjoyable and convenient future with Sparky and through partnerships including this important step with OpenAI.»

When asked for comment, Walmart referred to its press release. Walmart also said it wouldn’t discuss the financial terms of the agreement at this time.

«We’re excited to partner with Walmart to make everyday purchases a little simpler. It’s just one way AI will help people every day under our work together,» OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a press release.

OpenAI referred to Walmart’s press release when asked for comment.

The latest deal with Walmart comes as OpenAI tries to make ChatGPT an all-in-one shopping experience. AI chatbots are increasingly being used as vehicles for online shopping. They can synthesize reviews from across the internet and give people direct answers to shopping questions. Already, ChatGPT connects with Etsy and Shopify with its Instant Checkout feature, allowing people to buy directly. OpenAI also added more shopping features in ChatGPT Search earlier this year.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Technologies

OpenAI Will Loosen ChatGPT’s Mental Health Guardrails and Allow Erotica for Adult Users

Sam Altman said the company will ease limits for adults after rolling out age verification.

ChatGPT is treading cautiously right now, but the chatbot may become more risqué by the end of the year.

In recent weeks, the generative AI chatbot has been operating under somewhat stringent limitations, as OpenAI tried to address concerns that it was not handling sensitive mental health issues well. But CEO Sam Altman said in a post on X Tuesday that the company would ease some of those restrictions because it’s «been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues.»

Though Altman didn’t elaborate on what tools are being used to address the problem, OpenAI recently announced new parental controls in ChatGPT.

CNET reached out to OpenAI for details, but the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Other changes are also expected. Altman said the company could allow «erotica» for verified adult users as it implements an «age-gating» system, or age-restricted content, in December. The mature content is part of the company’s «treat adult users like adults» principle, Altman said.

Altman’s post also announced a new version of ChatGPT in the next few weeks, with a personality that behaves more like the company’s GPT-4o model. Chatbot users had complained after the company replaced 4o with the impersonal GPT-5 earlier this year, saying the new version lacked the engaging and fun personality of previous chatbot models.

«If you want your ChatGPT to respond in a very human-like way, or use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend, ChatGPT should do it (but only if you want it, not because we are usage-maxxing),» Altman wrote.

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After OpenAI was sued by parents who alleged ChatGPT contributed to their teen son’s suicide, the company imposed an array of new restrictions and changes, including parental controls, alerts for risky behavior and a teen-friendly version of the chatbot. In the summer, OpenAI implemented break reminders that encourage people to occasionally stop chatting with the bot.

On Tuesday, the company also announced the creation of a council of experts on AI and well-being, including some with expertise in psychology and human behavior.

This comes as lawmakers and regulators are ringing the alarm on the risks AI tools pose to people, especially children. On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed new restrictions on AI companion chatbots into law. Last month, the Federal Trade Commission launched an investigation into several AI companies, including OpenAI.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 15 #591

Here are hints — and the answers — for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 15, No. 591.

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 a fun one, once you understand the theme. Some of the answers are a bit tough 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: Going up?

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Not an escalator, but…

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:

ROTATE, LOBE, NOPE, RATS, STAR, SAME, LOSE, VOTE, BUTTE, SAMS, BAMS

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:

ALARM, OPEN, CLOSE, LOBBY, GROUND, BASEMENT

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is ELEVATORBUTTONS. To find it, look for the E that’s three letters to the right on the bottom row, and wind straight up, and then straight down.