Feature archive

January 2026

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46 articles

January 31
- Gaming stocks tank as investors panic over Google’s Genie 3 AI — but should they?
January 30
- Age of Empires 2's competitive scene is thriving — Pro play is at its best, and a grand finale is set for one of the world's most iconic venues
January 29
- I found a Linux user who switched to Windows 11 after 8 years of distros — and he actually prefers it. Here's why.
- GameSir’s G7 Pro ZZZ Edition might be the coolest Xbox controller collab yet
January 28
- 'Love Eternal' is an upcoming Xbox indie for masochists — where uncanny psychological horror meets brutal platforming
January 27
- 4 reasons why SteamOS is quietly winning over PC gamers — and why Windows won't be dethroned any time soon
- Hytale shows that Minecraft needs to stop being complacent — Mojang should see this release (and its subsequent success) as a major kick in the butt
January 26
- 4 ways the Dell XPS 14 is breaking new ground in the world of laptops
January 25
- From the editor’s desk: Microsoft keeps shipping new features, but users keep getting angrier. The missing ingredient is trust.
- It's shocking what Game Freak has been able to do when it steps out of Nintendo's shadow
- Windows 11 silver lining: Why we still call this OS home — what do you love most?
January 24
- If every Xbox game can hit Fable's apparent AAA quality — it's destined for a bright future
January 23
- Why the Dell XPS 14 is a great choice for creatives on the move
- Why "Cassette Boy" might've been Einstein's favorite Xbox game
January 22
- 10 essential maintenance tips to keep your Windows 11 PC running longer — reduce slowdowns and reclaim performance
- 4 laptop features I expect will get worse as big brands contend with rising memory and storage costs — Can you live without them?
- Storage is the next PC component to disappear — Here's what to buy before it does, with prices as low as $0.08/GB
January 20
- Windows 11's reputation is at an all-time low
- How Diablo 2 rewired my brain and redefined PC gaming forever — the past, present, and future of a legendary ARPG
January 19
- The Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 bottle cap event rewards brain rot — and I don't want to see another one
- What is Bazzite, and is it better than Windows for PC gaming? I installed this trending Linux distribution to see for myself
January 18
- From the Editor’s Desk: AI PCs in 2026 — Microsoft’s big bet or consumer misfire?
- I always make these 9 tweaks in Windows Terminal for a more readable and consistent experience on Windows 11 — and they're for more than just aesthetics
- Epic Games Store grew from 108M to 295M users, but third‑party revenue barely moved — proving giveaways trained users not to actually buy games. Is Xbox PC going down the same path?
- 7 features that still make World of Warcraft awesome for relative newcomers like me in 2026 — as Blizzard Entertainment celebrates its 35th anniversary
January 17
- My 5 wishes for Blizzard Entertainment in 2026 range from a single-player Overwatch to the return of Starcraft — they may never happen, but a man can dream
- PC hardware is entering a golden age of design and engineering, while Windows — with its newfound AI obsession — has never felt worse. Something must change.
January 16
- Furry fine dining?! 'Beastro' mixes up deck-building with cozy restaurant gameplay when it comes to Xbox Game Pass this year.
January 14
- What is Wi-Fi 8? Here's everything you need to know about the next generation of wireless internet.
January 13
- Help shape the future of Windows Central with our audience survey
- Valve's Steam Deck suffers the same problem as the Xbox Ally, and the solution might be a modern manufacturing impossibility — Sony nailed it 16 years ago
January 12
- What is an "ambient intelligence layer" and why should you care? Lenovo thinks it has multi-device AI figured out with Qira, but there's more to the story
- While ARC Raiders cruises, Battlefield 6's player count has plummeted on the Steam charts — but why? Here's what a diehard fan of the FPS thinks
January 11
- 'Core Keeper' and its underground world keeps growing: What Xbox players should know about the ambitious, survival RPG before its next update
- I'm finally playing Divinity: Original Sin 2 on my gaming handheld — I didn't realize how much this would fill a Baldur's Gate 3 void and improve the co-op experience
January 10
- The Fallout event in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has a set a precedent — and leaves last year's shenanigans a distant memory
- This year's gaming handheld war rages over premium hardware — but what we really need are weird and affordable devices
January 9
- Windows Central's CES 2026 awards: Our favorite PCs and laptops announced this year
January 7
- Xbox in 2026 — What to expect from Team Green this year, and beyond
- Total War tackling Warhammer 40,000 while coming to Xbox and PlayStation can be the breakout this series deserves — and I'll remain cautiously excited
January 6
- 5 MORE great ID@Xbox titles — perfect for your holiday Xbox Gift Card
- You won't see Acer Nitro Blaze handheld gaming PCs at CES 2026 — I asked why, and this is what a PR representative told me
- HP's next-generation business laptop is so light, I thought I had been sent a dummy unit by accident
January 2
- 2025 promised a handheld revolution — and while some devices delivered, others exposed the cracks in the booming market
- Game prices rose higher in 2025, but is AAA losing out to budget titles? I tried "voting with my wallet" — and I don't regret it
- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella really wants you to stop calling AI "slop" in 2026 — "We are beginning to distinguish between spectacle and substance."