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

Kia Is Bringing an Electric Truck to the US: What We Know So Far

Kia is joining the EV pickup segment. Here’s everything you need to know right now.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for April 19, #1400

Here are hints — and the answer — for today’s Wordle No. 1,400 for April 19.

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.

One of the letters in today’s Wordle puzzle almost never appears in answers — or the English language, for that matter. If that’s not enough of a hint, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. (Look down at the bottom to find this particular letter.) If you need more 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 are two vowels in today’s Wordle answer.

Wordle hint No. 3: Start letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with I.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends in one of the rarest letters in the alphabet. See our list for a full ranking.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a place where emails are received and stored.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is INBOX.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, April 18, No. 1399 was DIRGE.

Recent Wordle answers

April 14, No. 1395: CREST

April 15, No. 1396: ASHEN

April 16, No. 1397: MORAL

April 17, No. 1398: STOOD

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 19, #208

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 208, for April 19.

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.

Isn’t the purple category in Connections: Sports Edition supposed to be the hardest? Today, I thought it was the easiest — but then I love old stadiums and tend to remember their names. If you do too, you’ll ace at least one grouping today. 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: Rocky’s stock in trade.

Green group hint: Get those three points.

Blue group hint: Boston hoops stars.

Purple group hint: There used to be a ballpark, as Sinatra sang.