Technologies

This Post-Prime Day Deal Lets You Save on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Before the Price Hike

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is going to be more expensive soon, but you can save money on the current price if you’re quick.

While Game Pass has long been a no-brainer for a lot of people, that’s about to change for those who have heard the news that Microsoft is bumping the monthly price up an astonishing 50%, from $20 a month to $30 a month. That’s a massive price change, and one that a lot of people aren’t going to want to pony up for.

Well, if you want to keep the subscription going but don’t want to pay the new price, you can currently get your hands on three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $57, which is 5% off the current price. If you get a couple of these, you’ll be saving a fair amount of money in the long run. We don’t know how long this deal will last, though, so act fast if you want to avoid missing out.

In the article about the price hike, CNET’s Zachary McAuliffe said, «Microsoft is likely hoping gamers appreciate having a larger gaming catalog and more choices. But depending on how much (or how little) time you have to game, the extra $10 a month for Ultimate may make you rethink your subscription.» I agree that this price hike, while coming with some extra benefits, may be a difficult pill to swallow.

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

Several writers and editors of the CNET team, including me, have jumped on grabbing some of these codes while we still can. Amazon is bound to update these soon, and I don’t want to miss out on saving some money on a service that I genuinely use daily, but will struggle to justify at $30 a month. We also have several other Game Pass deals if you feel like trying a different level.

CHEAP GAMING LAPTOP DEALS OF THE WEEK

Dell G15 Intel i5 13th Gen RTX 3050 512GB SSD 8GB RAM 15.6-inch Laptop:

$600 (save $300)
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 Ryzen 7 RTX 3050 1TB SSD 16GB RAM 14-inch Touch Laptop:

$1,000 (save $355)
HP Omen Intel Ultra 5 RTX 4050 512GB SSD 16GB RAM 16-inch Laptop:

$856 (save $564)
Gigabyte G6 Intel i7 13th Gen RTX 4050 1TB SSD 16GB RAM 16-inch Laptop:

$899 (save $100)
Acer Nitro V Intel i5 RTX 4050 512GB SSD 8GB RAM 15.6-inch Laptop:

$738 (save $43)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

Game Pass Ultimate gives you access to a massive library of games and the ability to play a lot of those games streamed to your phone or tablet. It was a fantastic price when it came out at $15 a month and a good deal at $20 a month.

Is $30 still a good deal? I don’t know, but you can try and get ahead of it with these discounts. This may even end up being my pick for the best Prime Day deal without really even being a discount at all.

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Technologies

Starlink Extends ‘Free’ Hurricane Relief Internet to the End of the Year

Technologies

Get Ready for A Minecraft Movie 2: A Sequel Film Is in the Works

Fans and chicken jockeys alike will have to wait until 2027 to return to the world of the popular game.

Stay in practice, chicken jockeys. Warner Bros. has greenlit a sequel to A Minecraft Movie, according to Variety. The follow-up to the hit live-action video game adaptation will premiere in theaters on July 23, 2027.

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

Plot details and casting are still unknown. The X account for Minecraft teased the news with a poster and the caption «building terrain.» The director of the first Minecraft movie, Jared Hess, will direct and co-write the screenplay for Minecraft 2 with Chris Galletta, according to Variety.

Building terrain. See you in theaters July 23 2027. #Minecraft pic.twitter.com/VqJSknMh0I

— Minecraft (@Minecraft) October 9, 2025

The first Minecraft film debuted in theaters in March and started streaming on HBO Max, then called Max, in June. A Minecraft Movie grossed $957 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo. Block Party screenings, where fans were encouraged to shout out popular lines, were held after certain scenes from the film — including one featuring a Chicken Jockey — went viral.

The story follows protagonists who end up in a world different from their own that thrives on imagination. The movie’s star-studded cast includes Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen and Jennifer Coolidge.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 10 #586

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 10, No. 586.

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 make you hungry. Some of the answers 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: I’m a ladle hungry

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Spoon it up

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:

RATE, GOUT, TOUT, LONE, WETS, GATE, PLANE, MINE, GAMINE

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: