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 Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

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 might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them 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: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

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:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

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:

AZALEA, HEMLOCK, FOXGLOVE, OLEANDER, BELLADONNA

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is POISONOUS. To find it, look for the P that is the first letter on the far left of the top row, and wind down and across.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 23, #395

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 395.

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 has one of those crazy purple categories, where you wonder if anyone saw the connection, or if people just put that grouping together because only those four words were left. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for 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: Fan noise.

Green group hint: Strategies for hoops.

Blue group hint: Minor league.

Purple group hint: Look for a connection to hoops.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Sounds from the crowd.

Green group: Basketball offenses.

Blue group: Triple-A baseball teams.

Purple group: Ends with a basketball stat.

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 sounds from the crowd. The four answers are boo, cheer, clap and whistle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball offenses. The four answers are motion, pick and roll, Princeton and triangle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is triple-A baseball teams. The four answers are Aces, Jumbo Shrimp, Sounds and Storm Chasers.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends with a basketball stat. The four answers are afoul, bassist, counterpoint and sunblock.

Technologies

Amazon’s Delivery Drivers Will Soon Wear AI Smart Glasses to Work

The goal is to streamline the delivery process while keeping drivers safe.

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it is developing new AI-powered smart glasses to simplify the delivery experience for its drivers. CNET smart glasses expert Scott Stein mentioned this wearable rollout last month, and now the plan is in its final testing stages.

The goal is to simplify package delivery by reducing the need for drivers to look at their phones, the label on the package they’re delivering and their surroundings to find the correct address.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

A heads-up display will activate as soon as the driver parks, pointing out potential hazards and tasks that must be completed. From there, drivers can locate and scan packages, follow turn-by-turn directions and snap a photograph to prove delivery completion without needing to take out their phone.

The company is testing the glasses in select North American markets.

Watch: See our Instagram post with a video showing the glasses

A representative for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

To fight battery drain, the glasses pair with a controller attached to the employee’s delivery vest, allowing them to replace depleted batteries and access operational controls. The glasses will support an employee’s eyeglass prescription. An emergency button will be within reach to ensure the driver’s safety.

Amazon is already planning future versions of the glasses, which will feature «real-time defect detection,» notifying the driver if a package was delivered to the incorrect address. They plan to add features to the glasses to detect if pets are in the yard and adjust to low light.