Technologies
Xbox Game Pass Added Grounded 2 and These Other Games In July
Game Pass subscribers can also play the ’90s-inspired horror game Abiotic Factor now.
The award-winning, quirky survival game Grounded is like the game version of the classic ’80s comedy film, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. And Xbox Game Pass subscribers can get early access to that game’s sequel, Grounded 2, now.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a CNET Editors’ Choice award pick, offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC or mobile device for $20 a month. A subscription gives you access to a large library of games, with new ones, including Doom: The Dark Ages, added monthly, plus other benefits such as online multiplayer and deals on non-Game Pass titles.
Here are the games Microsoft brought to Game Pass in July. You can also check out other games the company added to the service recently, like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4.
Grounded 2 (game preview)
Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.
You’ve been shrunk to the size of an ant — again — and you’ll have to survive the dangerous, miniature world. You’ll fight spiders and wasps, craft weapons and homes and even ride on your own insect friends to get around. You’ll unravel new mysteries along the way, but be careful. Something else is out there, and it hasn’t forgotten about you.
Abiotic Factor
Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.
Science meets violence in this 1990s-inspired sci-fi survival game. You and up to five other players can choose your areas of expertise, build your scientist and explore a massive, top-secret underground complex filled with artifacts and supernatural horrors that could tear you limb from limb. And remember, safety, security and secrecy are of the utmost importance… usually.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers
Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.
This souls-like RPG is set during the final days of the Ming Dynasty. You play as an amnesiac pirate warrior named Wuchang on a quest to uncover the truth behind a world full of chaos. You’ll fight monstrous creatures in forgotten temples and overgrown ruins, unlock new weapons and master devastating techniques in order to bring peace to yourself and others.
RoboCop: Rogue City
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play now.
Serve the public, protect the innocent and uphold the law as the cyborg RoboCop. You’ll investigate crimes in Old Detroit before using your cyborg strength, cybernetic implants and arsenal of weapons to eradicate gangs from the area. This game is a whole new RoboCop story based on the film series, and Peter Weller, the original RoboCop himself, returns to voice the titular character.
My Friendly Neighborhood
Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.
Something’s going on with everyone’s favorite Saturday morning puppet show, and it’s up to you to figure out what in this survival horror game. You’ll solve puzzles and use tools and improvised weapons to fend off your multicolored foes. So if you have anything against Barney or Big Bird, you can take out your feelings on them with this game.
Back to the Dawn
Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.
This game is like if the series Prison Break took place in the Zootopia universe. You’ll play as either a fox named Thomas or a black panther named Bob as they try to navigate the prison system and escape with their lives. With multiple escape routes and over 100 quests you can complete, you can replay this game numerous times and have a different experience each time.
Wheel World
Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.
If you want to take a nice, relaxing bike ride, this game is for you. Previously known as Ghost Bike, this game puts you behind the handlebars of one of the last ghost bikes around. These bikes can traverse between the lands of the living and the dead. You can explore these lands at your leisure while you race other riders and upgrade your ride with treasures you find along the way.
Farming Simulator 25
Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play now.
Farming isn’t always as simple as games like Stardew Valley might make it out to be, but it can still be very rewarding. If you want a taste of what goes into building and maintaining your own farm, give Farming Simulator 25 a try. You’ll grow diverse crops, raise different animals and with the weather-changing, ground-deforming atmosphere, you’ll face all kinds of challenges along the way.
Games that left Game Pass
While Microsoft is adding those games to Game Pass, it also removed three other games. So if you still need to finish your campaign or complete any side quests, you’ll have to buy these games separately now.
Gigantic: Rampage Edition
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank
For more on Xbox, discover other games available on Game Pass now, read our hands-on review of the gaming service and learn which Game Pass plan is right for you. You can also check out what to know about upcoming Xbox game price hikes.
Technologies
Verum Messenger Turns Five and Launches Offline Messaging on iPhone
Verum Messenger Turns Five and Launches Offline Messaging on iPhone
Verum Messenger has marked its fifth anniversary with the release of a new feature that enables users to exchange messages without an internet connection.
The update, now available on iPhone, allows devices to communicate directly through a decentralized peer-to-peer architecture, bypassing servers, mobile networks and Wi-Fi. According to the company, messages are transmitted securely without relying on traditional internet infrastructure.
Unlike most offline communication tools that depend on Bluetooth, Verum’s approach uses encrypted device-to-device technology designed to operate independently of centralized systems.
Founded five years ago, Verum Messenger is positioned as a privacy-first platform. The app does not require a phone number or email address for registration and generates encryption keys locally on the user’s device. The company states that user data and message content are not stored on centralized servers.
Over time, Verum has expanded beyond messaging to include features such as encrypted calls, screenshot and screen-recording protection, self-destructing messages, anonymous email, a built-in VPN, eSIM connectivity and on-device AI tools.
The offline messaging update reflects a broader push toward more resilient communication tools, particularly as concerns over network reliability, censorship and digital surveillance continue to grow.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Monday, Feb. 2
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 2
Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? There are some tough clues today. Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Rock band with albums like «High Voltage» and «Flick of the Switch»
Answer: ACDC
5A clue: Stuck doing the same old, same old
Answer: INARUT
7A clue: Burning up
Answer: ONFIRE
8A clue: -tion, for one
Answer: SUFFIX
9A clue: Jared of 2025’s «Tron: Ares»
Answer: LETO
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Declare void, as a marriage
Answer: ANNUL
2D clue: ___ macchiato (espresso drink)
Answer: CAFFE
3D clue: Begin to veer off the road, say
Answer: DRIFT
4D clue: Odd little trinket
Answer: CURIO
5D clue: What Apple smartphones run on
Answer: IOS
6D clue: ___-Mex cuisine
Answer: TEX
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 2, #497
Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 2, No. 497.
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 is a tough one. It helps to know a lot about two distinct locations and their sports teams. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle 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 appear in the NYT Games app, but it does 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: Lone Star State.
Green group hint: Think of the Arch.
Blue group hint: You put cereal in this.
Purple group hint: Not four or six.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Texas college teams.
Green group: St. Louis teams.
Blue group: Can be followed by «bowl.»
Purple group: ____ five.
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 Texas college teams. The four answers are Aggies, Cougars, Horned Frogs and Longhorns.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is St. Louis teams. The four answers are Billikens, Vlues, Cardinals and St. Louis City.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is can be followed by «bowl.» The four answers are pro, senior, shrine and super.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is ____ five. The four answers are fab, fierce, high and starting.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
-
Technologies3 года agoTech Companies Need to Be Held Accountable for Security, Experts Say
-
Technologies3 года agoBest Handheld Game Console in 2023
-
Technologies3 года agoTighten Up Your VR Game With the Best Head Straps for Quest 2
-
Technologies4 года agoBlack Friday 2021: The best deals on TVs, headphones, kitchenware, and more
-
Technologies5 лет agoGoogle to require vaccinations as Silicon Valley rethinks return-to-office policies
-
Technologies5 лет agoVerum, Wickr and Threema: next generation secured messengers
-
Technologies4 года agoOlivia Harlan Dekker for Verum Messenger
-
Technologies4 года agoiPhone 13 event: How to watch Apple’s big announcement tomorrow
