Technologies

League of Legends: How Xbox Game Pass Does (and Doesn’t) Save You $1,000

The new partnership grants you access to all characters in League of Legends and Valorant, with a catch.

If you’ve been interested in trying League of Legends but were put off by the thought of having to unlock 160-plus characters, Microsoft has great news for you. The wildly popular multiplayer online battle arena is now on Xbox Game Pass. It’s a behemoth of a partnership: League has been around since 2009, has spawned an unbelievably successful esports scene and has even been turned into a Netflix animated series. And Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is CNET’s pick for the best deal in gaming. This new partnership makes that already great deal even better.

The presence of League (and Riot Games’ other titles, like Valorant and Legends of Runeterra) in Game Pass isn’t a huge deal in itself. League of Legends is free to play, so you don’t save money by getting access to the game through Game Pass. You do, however, get access to every single League of Legends champion for free for as long as you keep your Game Pass subscription.

I did the math: There are currently 162 champions in League. They cost, on average, about $6.50 to unlock. That means you’d save more than $1,000 with Game Pass, compared with paying to unlock each champion individually. For context, that would pay for more than five years of Game Pass Ultimate. You’ll also immediately unlock new champions when they’re released, typically about five times per year.

A few caveats worth mentioning: First, paying for champions isn’t the only way to unlock them — the game lets you unlock champions for free over time. You can pick one of five champions immediately after completing the tutorial. After that, you can complete daily missions to acquire five additional champs, picking one character per day from a selection of three. Players can also use Blue Essence, which you acquire just by leveling up and earning the first win of the day, and they can earn Champion Shards to reduce the amount of Blue Essence needed. So you can unlock the whole roster without paying for champions — just very slowly over time.

Second, Game Pass technically doesn’t grant you ownership of all 162 champions, according to Riot’s FAQ. It unlocks them for play, but the game doesn’t consider you an owner, which means you won’t be able to buy skins for the champions you’ve only unlocked with Xbox Game Pass. You’ll still need to buy the champion if you want to buy skins (using paid Riot Points or free Blue Essence). Champions and other content that you’ve unlocked with Game Pass will have a special indicator as a differentiator from content you own.

That means if you end your Xbox Game Pass subscription, or if the partnership dissolves in the future, you’ll no longer have access to the champions you’ve only unlocked through Game Pass. But champions you acquired through the new player missions or bought with blue essence or Riot Points will still be available to you.

Still, this partnership is a steal if you’re new to League of Legends or Valorant, especially if you already have Game Pass. (Valorant agents can also be unlocked for free over time but cost $10 to unlock immediately. Players will save about $140 compared with paying to unlock new agents, not to mention future ones.) You’ll have the ability to try out new champs and agents at will, and still have the ability to permanently «buy» the ones you really like for free, just by playing the game.

You can link your Riot account to your Xbox profile by going to the Xbox sign-in page and signing in to both your Xbox and Riot accounts. If you already have Game Pass, you should get a notification when you sign in to the game once the content has been unlocked. Riot says this process may take up to 24 hours.

If you aren’t already subscribed, Xbox Game Pass for PC costs $10 per month, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which combines the console and PC passes and also includes cloud gaming, costs $15 per month.

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.