Technologies

EA’s Upcoming Star Wars Tactics Game Will Be Officially Revealed This Weekend

Star Wars Zero Company, as it’s called, will be shown off at Star Wars Celebration Japan on April 19.

A couple weeks ago, word started to spread about an upcoming Star Wars game developed by Bit Reactor and Respawn. The wait for more details wasn’t very long, as EA formally announced it — Star Wars Zero Company — today in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The upcoming title will be a turn-based, tactical combat game, and if rumors are true, it’ll be similar to XCOM.

For now, details are fairly slim. EA announced the game, but hasn’t released a trailer or any specifics beyond the official game art above, so the final gameplay remains a mystery. However, there is a name and a genre, which is a start.

«Recruit an unconventional team of operatives and deploy them on missions unlike any other in the galaxy far, far away in Star Wars Zero Company,» said the official Star Wars blog. «The newly announced single-player turn-based tactics game will share the first details about the game currently in development with attendees at Star Wars Celebration Japan.»

That means people won’t have to wait too long to learn more details. Star Wars Celebration in Japan is set to start on April 18 and run through April 20. Per EA’s tweet, the full announcement and gameplay reveal will take place on April 19.

In the meantime, fans can sign up with their email to get more details when they become available. In either case, more information will be provided over the coming weekend.

A Star Wars twist on a tactical classic

While EA didn’t provide any gameplay footage, existing rumors show that the game is heavily influenced by XCOM. This is based on screenshots shared by a Bit Reactor employee from 2023. Thus, they likely came from an early build of the game, and the final product may look much different.

For those who haven’t played the series, XCOM is a turn-based tactical combat game where you move your squad around on the map and attack the enemy. Between missions, players return to HQ to purchase upgrades and plan their next mission.

The leaked screenshots have a lot of those same XCOM elements. This one shows the potential travel path of a player-controlled character, and this one shows the attack options once the character has moved. Finally, this GIF shows off the HQ players will supposedly visit between missions to buy gear, upgrade characters and check out the next mission.

It isn’t too surprising that Zero Company would look a lot like the beloved team-based tactical game, as Bit Reactor itself is formed of veterans who worked on Firaxis’ XCOM. In a January 2024 story from PC Gamer, Bit Reactor developers talked about their close collaboration with Respawn, the EA studio that progressed from its Titanfall and Apex Legends first-person shooter roots to release the acclaimed Star War Jedi games (Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor).

But even this year, fans were connecting the dots between Bit Reactor, Respawn and this year’s Star Wars Celebration, with StarWarsNet predicting a reveal at the event in January and IGN reaffirming it in March.

There’s been no word yet as to which platforms the upcoming Zero Company will support. However, the existence of controller buttons in the leaked screenshots indicates that it’ll likely come to both PC and console.

EA and the company should release a full-blown trailer at the event, so people only have to guess for a few more days.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 10, #730

Here are some hints and the answers for Connections for June 10, No. 730. There’s an ’80s category.

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.

My 1980s brothers and sisters, the blue category is calling our names. Gag me with a spoon! If you need help with today’s NYT Connections puzzle, read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now 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 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: Make peace.

Green group hint: Deck out your essay.

Blue group hint: Totally tubular!

Purple group hint: A moral or legal obligation.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Arbitrate.

Green group: Things you can insert in a document.

Blue group: ’80s slang.

Purple group: ____ duty.

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 arbitrate. The four answers are chair, judge, mediate and moderate.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is things you can insert in a document. The four answers are chart, image, table and text box.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is ’80s slang. The four answers are chill, psych, radical and word.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is types of duty. The four answers are civic, customs, heavy and jury.

Toughest Connections puzzles

We’ve made a note of some of the toughest Connections puzzles so far. Maybe they’ll help you see patterns in future puzzles.

#5: Included «things you can set,» such as mood, record, table and volleyball.

#4: Included «one in a dozen,» such as egg, juror, month and rose.

#3: Included «streets on screen,» such as Elm, Fear, Jump and Sesame.

#2: Included «power ___» such as nap, plant, Ranger and trip.

#1: Included «things that can run,» such as candidate, faucet, mascara and nose.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for June 10, #260

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 260, for June 10.

Looking for the most recent regular 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 and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition was fun but not too difficult. It helps to know a little baseball, and to be familiar with football in a certain city acclaimed for its weather and zoo. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Throw it in there.

Green group hint: How to watch.

Blue group hint: Signal-callers, in a famously sunny city.

Purple group hint: Moving back and forth.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Baseball pitches that end in «ball.»

Green group: Ways to take in a sporting event.

Blue group: Chargers QBs, past and present.

Purple group: Things one can swing.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is baseball pitches that end in «ball.» The four answers are curve, fast, knuckle and screw.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is ways to take in a sporting event. The four answers are in person, radio, streaming and television.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Chargers QBs, past and present. The four answers are Brees, Fouts, Herbert and Rivers.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is things one can swing. The four answers are baseball bat, fist, golf club and momentum.

Toughest Connections: Sports Edition categories

The Connections: Sports Edition puzzle can be tough, but it really depends on which sports you know the most about. My husband aces anything having to do with Formula 1, my best friend is a hockey buff, and I can answer any question about Minnesota teams.

That said, it’s hard to pick the toughest Connections categories, but here are some I found exceptionally mind-blowing recently.

#1: Series A Clubs, Jan. 11. Answers: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma.

#2: WNBA MVPs, Jan. 21. Answers: Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles and Stewart.

#3: Premier League team nicknames, Jan. 17. Answers: Bees, Cherries, Foxes and Hammers.

#4: Homophones of NBA player names, Jan. 26. Answers: Barns, Connect, Heart and Hero.

Technologies

Act Fast to Get an Apple Pencil Pro for Just $80 While This Open-Box Deal Lasts

The Apple Pencil Pro is $50 off right now and comes good as new with some warranty remaining, too.

If you’re a committed Apple fan, then you probably want to get all of the best accessories. One that’s often overlooked is the Apple Pencil Pro. It’s normally $129, which is a big ask, but we’ve found an excellent deal today that makes it more affordable.

Woot currently has a deal on a new, open-boxApple Pencil Pro that brings it down to just $80. This is the cheapest we’ve ever seen the device, and while it’s not brand-new, it still comes with at least 60 days of warranty. Act quickly, though, as we’re not expecting this deal to last long.

The Apple Pencil Pro, the first new model introduced since 2023, launched in May of 2024. This upgraded version has pressure sensitivity that closely resembles the feel of a real pen, along with the convenience of magnetic charging. Notably, the Pro model also incorporates gestures and haptics, allowing you to perform actions like squeezing the pen to open menus, rolling it to select different tools and using a hover gesture to preview strokes. These enhancements are designed to eliminate barriers between you and your digital creations, making the drawing experience more intuitive and seamless.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

The Pro model Apple Pencil is compatible with the iPad Pro 13-inch (with the M4 chip), iPad Pro 11-inch (M4), iPad Air 13-inch (M2) and iPad Air 11-inch (M2).

If you’ve been eyeing a new Apple Pencil, now is the time to jump on this deal. Looking at fleshing out your Apple ecosystem? We’ve got all the best deals on Apple’s tablets and we’ll be updating the list regularly to make sure you get the best prices, too.

Why this deal matters

The Apple Pencil Pro rarely goes on sale, and even when it does, the lowest price we’ve ever seen for it is $90. This deal is $10 less than that, and while it’s technically open box, it still comes with a warranty for at least 60 days. So if you’re interested, act fast.