Technologies

Why Video Games Are Primed for a Big Comeback in 2023

Between a generous slate of new games and stronger subscription services, it’s a fantastic time to be a gamer.

The video game industry suffered serious whiplash from the impact of COVID-19. Hardware and software sales skyrocketed in 2020 as people were stuck inside their homes with little else to do. But those same lockdowns hobbled the development of upcoming games, resulting in a barren slate over the last two years. There was a serious dropoff once you got past Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok.

Now, with the industry well past the COVID lockdowns and with development back to full steam, 2023 could mark a huge comeback year for gamers. Piers Harding-Rolls, research director for UK-based market research firm Ampere Analysis, said he expects a rebound after spending in this area declined by 4% this year.

One reason spending should rise is that gamers are primed for new games. Getting a next-generation console like the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X wasn’t easy over the last two years, but supply constraints have finally loosened up to the point that you could realistically get something in the last few months.

This year also saw the release of Valve’s Steam Deck, a portable gaming device that was similarly hard to buy early in 2022 but became more available by the end of the year. More gamers with the latest hardware means more gamers looking to buy the latest titles.

As important as it is for gamers to have hardware, it’s equally critical that they have new games to play. Due to delays stemming from COVID lockdowns, titles planned for release in 2022 were pushed to 2023. Combine these delayed games with others already planned for next year, and the result is what could be a stunning year for game releases.

«There is really a lot of content coming next year,» said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. «I would say it will be the biggest since 2019.»

Some of the big-budget games that were pushed from 2022 to 2023 include Starfield from Bethesda Game Studios, Diablo 4 from Blizzard Entertainment and Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

Add those to other titles planned for 2023 release, including Final Fantasy XVI, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Street Fighter VI, Resident Evil 4 Remake and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and you’ve got a stacked lineup. And there’s a good possibility that more games planned for 2023 will be announced next year.

COVID debuffed 2022

Although this year saw the release of some amazing games, including Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarök, there were long empty stretches between these few quality titles in 2022. Between May and October there were only a handful of critically acclaimed games released, such as Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and niche indie games Stray and Neon White. Even some of the high-profile games, such as Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, felt like they needed time to smooth out a lot of wrinkles.

That was the impact of the lockdown finally hitting gamers. With developers stuck at home and unable to effectively collaborate on big projects, publishers delayed one title after another. But because the industry already had a backlog of games ready during the height of the pandemic, gamers didn’t feel much of a drought in 2020 in 2021.

The situation was akin to what the movie industry faced when a number of weekends saw few if any big film releases and theaters remained empty. Major films were delayed this year and pushed into 2023, including Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the Mario movie, Aquaman 2, Madame Web and The Flash.

And like the gaming industry, there are predictions of movie theaters rebounding in 2023 with a number of hotly anticipated titles.

Ignoring the drought

Even with few big-budget games coming out for most of 2022, gamers didn’t pay much attention as their own back catalog of games grew thanks to subscription services from Microsoft and Sony. Both companies stepped up their efforts in 2022, making for an abundance of gaming at such an affordable price.

This year saw Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media – which includes award-winning game developers such as Bethesda, id Software and Arcane Studios – continue to bear fruit for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. One of the best games of 2021, Deathloop, came to the subscription service after its exclusivity period on the PS5 ended. Then some classic Bethesda games went to PC Game Pass, including Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire, Quake 4, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard and Wolfenstein 3D. Next year, Game Pass subscribers will be able to play some big titles on Day 1, such as Starfield, Redfall and Forza Motorsports.

Next year could be even bigger for Game Pass if Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard gets approval. The almost $69 billion deal would likely mean Activision Blizzard’s catalog of games, including Call of Duty, Diablo and Starcraft, will be on Game Pass. However, Microsoft is facing opposition from regulators in the US and EU over concerns that the Xbox-maker is becoming a monopoly. The Federal Trade Commission earlier this month sued to block the deal, even as Microsoft offered to make several concessions, including bringing the Call of Duty franchise to the Nintendo Switch and allowing Sony to add the military shooter series to its subscription service, PlayStation Plus.

Sony, meanwhile, improved its standing with gamers by revamping its PlayStation Plus service this year. The PlayStation-maker now offers a tiered subscription for gamers to play some of the latest games from the PS4 and PS5, or pay a little more to run classic titles from the PS1, PS2 and PS3 generations. While PlayStation Plus still doesn’t outshine Xbox Game Pass, it’s a far better alternative than what Sony offered previously.

Taking those three factors into consideration – hardware availability, big-budget game releases and competitive subscription services – 2023 is poised to be a massive year for video games.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 5, #1477

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for July 5, No. 1,477.

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 pretty tough one. I grew up on a farm, so I know the word, but I didn’t put it together right away, even though the letters are common ones. 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.

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

There is are two vowels in today’s Wordle answer.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with the letter B.

Wordle hint No. 4: Down on the farm

Today’s Wordle answer describes a piece of farm equipment.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer refers to a machine for making paper, hay, or cotton into bales.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is BALER.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, July 4, No. 1476 was CURVE.

Recent Wordle answers

June 30, No. 1472: BLINK

July 1, No. 1473: MOLDY

July 2, No. 1474: INCUR

July 3, No. 1475: POPPY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for July 5, #489

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for July 5, No. 489.

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.

The theme of today’s NYT Strands puzzle isn’t terribly tough, but at least one of the words is unusual and really, really long to unscramble. 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: Every second counts.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Does anybody really know what time it is?

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:

DIAL, SOLE, MOLE, MOLES, SHAKE, CHEEP, ROLE, HOME, LOCK, MEAT, TAME, TAMES, ROLES, ROON, TRON

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:

CLOCK, WATCH, SUNDIAL, HOURGLASS, CHRONOMETER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is TIMEKEEPERS. To find it, look for the T that’s four letters down on the far left, and wind across.

Technologies

Microsoft Is Eliminating Passwords in August: Here’s What You Need to Do to Prepare

Microsoft Authenticator has already stopped autofilling passwords, but the biggest change comes next month.

In June, Microsoft Authenticator stopped letting users create new passwords. In July, it turned off the autofill password function. And in August, the login app will stop supporting passwords entirely, moving to more secure passkeys, such as a PIN, fingerprint or facial recognition.

Attila Tomaschek, CNET’s software senior writer and digital security expert, says that passkeys are a safer alternative to the risky password habits practiced by 49% of US adults, according to a recent survey by CNET.

«Passwords can be cracked, whereas passkeys need both the public and the locally stored private key to authenticate users, which can help mitigate risks like falling victim to phishing and brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks,» Tomaschek said.

Using the same password for several accounts or adding personal hints can be a convenient way to remember your login. But that puts you at a big risk for scammers, identity theft and fraud. Here’s more on Microsoft’s plan for eliminating passwords and how to make the switch to passkeys before August.

When will Microsoft Authenticator stop supporting passwords?

Microsoft Authenticator houses your passwords and lets you sign into all your Microsoft accounts using a PIN, facial recognition like Windows Hello, or other biometric data like a fingerprint. Authenticator can be used in other ways, such as verifying you’re logging in if you forgot your password, or using two-factor authentication as an extra layer of security for your accounts. In June, the company stopped letting users add passwords to Authenticator, but here’s a timeline of other changes you can expect from Microsoft.

July 2025: You won’t be able to use the autofill password function.
August 2025: You’ll no longer be able to use saved passwords.

If you still want to use passwords instead of passkeys, you can store them in Microsoft Edge. However, CNET experts recommend adopting passkeys during this transition. «Passkeys use public key cryptography to authenticate users, rather than relying on users themselves creating their own (often weak or reused) passwords to access their online accounts,» Tomaschek said.

Why are passkeys a better alternative to passwords?

So what exactly is a passkey? It’s a credential created by the Fast Identity Online Alliance that uses biometric data or a PIN to verify your identity and access your account. Think about using your fingerprint or Face ID to log into your account. That’s generally safer than using a password that is easy to guess or susceptible to a phishing attack.

Passkeys aren’t stored on servers like passwords. Instead, they’re stored only on your personal device. More conveniently, this takes the guesswork out of remembering your passwords and the need for a password manager.

How to set up a passkey in Microsoft Authenticator

Microsoft said in a May 1 blog post that it will automatically detect the best passkey to set up and make that your default sign-in option. «If you have a password and ‘one-time code’ set up on your account, we’ll prompt you to sign in with your one-time code instead of your password. After you’re signed in, you’ll be prompted to enroll a passkey. Then the next time you sign in, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your passkey,» according to the blog post.

To set up a new passkey, open your Authenticator app on your phone. Tap on your account and select «Set up a passkey.» You’ll be prompted to log in with your existing credentials. After you’re logged in, you can set up the passkey.