Microsoft's next-gen Xbox hardware lineup is beginning to come into focus. According to a new report from Fortune, the company is gearing up to ship new hardware in the form of a handheld in 2027, followed by a full-blown console in 2028.

It's unclear if the handheld project is a first party Xbox device, or a third-party device designed and manufactured by an OEM partner like ASUS and the ROG Ally X. The console is expected to be first-party, and is likely to run a specialized version of Windows.

The report claims that Xbox and Windows have been at odds about how the OS should run on Project Helix. Windows leaders wanted the consoles to run a modified version of Windows desktop, but Xbox leaders wanted a more boutique OS experience designed for gaming.

"Tensions ran high enough that a senior Xbox executive threatened to scrap the handheld project rather than adopt the Windows build ... Xbox is now largely controlling the direction of the operating system for the project" Fortune claims.

Windows already powers the current Xbox Series consoles, as well as Xbox One. It's a modified version of the OS that the Xbox team has customized, built on top of the Windows OS core that is developed by the Windows team. It sounds like the Xbox team has decided to maintain this approach with Project Helix consoles.

Alarmingly, Fortune claims that Microsoft is currently expecting the next-gen Xbox console to cost somewhere between $1,200 and $1,800, making it the most expensive gaming console ever. It's possible that Microsoft may choose to subsidize the cost, which would bring it closer to $1,000, but nothing is confirmed.

Of course, these rumors are unconfirmed. Plans could change and schedules could slip, so nothing is set in stone until Microsoft is ready to formalize its plans officially. For now, we know that Project Helix is still in development, with first devkits expected to debut in early 2027.

Let us know in the comments what you think about Project Helix so far.

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It was just a few days ago that I was unboxing the new ASUS ROG XBOX Ally X20, which went on sale just five days ago on October 15th, and now both the handheld ($1,299) and the $2,499 bundle (handheld + XREAL glasses, dBrand skin) are sold out at both Best Buy and ASUS.com.

Indeed, I'm not even saying they sold out today, but rather that today was the first day I checked to see if there was any inventory left. Going by a Reddit thread, it appears it sold out sometime yesterday or Sunday.

That's a very impressive metric, when you consider the pricing here. The current ROG XBOX Ally X is available for $999, while this refreshed model (which is better in every way) is $300 more. And the $2,500 bundle is also no joke, especially for what many would consider a secondary gaming PC.

Sure, we can attribute this to limited production and a finite inventory on hand, but it’s worth noting that preorders began almost two months ago on August 25th, giving ASUS ample time to prepare for demand.

And we know there was demand. Looking at our internal numbers for click-throughs, we saw back in August an unusually high amount of interest in the ROG XBOX Ally X20, more than you might expect from the most expensive ROG Ally to date.

A lot of this goes back to what I've been saying for years: Gaming is one of the few price-proof areas in tech, practically insulated from the harsh economic realities that many people are facing, on top of the overall higher prices attributed to AI-driven demand for RAM and NAND (storage).

Whether a recession, a pandemic, a RAM shortage, or a crypto mining craze (remember that?), gamers are almost always willing to fork over big bucks to have the latest gear. It's one reason that, despite some of the doom-and-gloom over PC sales in the last decade, gaming PCs grew year-over-year consistently.

To wit, the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ has an MSRP of $1,799, and still sold out within days, resulting in resellers on eBay pushing $800 over retail. And people were absolutely buying those, too, as I wrote back in August. That device is still sold out at Best Buy, which raises all sorts of questions about how tight production is on it.

What's the big deal, anyway?

If you haven't followed this story closely, you'd be forgiven for thinking this is just a simple refresh of last year's XBOX Ally X, albeit with an OLED panel replacing the IPS.

That ... would be way oversimplifying it.

Yes, the same AMD Z2 Extreme and 24GB of RAM are here (albeit slightly faster memory), so overall performance is very much the same, but ASUS basically completely rebuilt this entire device with all new components. In fact, I've been documenting all the changes that I've noticed and collected from talking to ASUS and from past press events.

So, here's what's actually new:

• Larger 7.4-inch OLED panel (up from 7.0 IPS)
• 1,400 nits peak HDR (no HDR before)
• 600 nits peak SDR (was 500 before)
• Dolby Vision support
• Corning Victus + DXC anti-reflection coating
• Smaller bezels
• Redesigned airflow channel specifically for cooling the OLED panel
• Completely redesigned PCB USB4 ports
• Upgraded fan and heatsink fins for better cooling
• Hybrid metal dome switches for a more tactile D-pad
• Transforming D-pad
• TMR joysticks (Hall-effect style)
• LEDs increased from 2 to 4 per stick
• Quieter, more tactile ABXY buttons
• Realigned shoulder buttons
• Smoked black translucent housing
• Rubberized ergonomic grips
• Upgraded microSD Express slot (up to ~1 GB/s)

And this translates into a major real-world difference in terms of fit and finish, as well as overall enjoyment of the device, which is why so many people are praising the build quality.

While Intel's G3 Extreme trounces AMD in performance, the overall gaming experience on the ROG XBOX Ally X20 is very likely the best of any handheld. Plus, a faster AMD or newer Intel chip would have driven the price up even further (see MSI's $1,800 Claw).

Of course, the one pain point is still ... Windows 11. At least for the out-of-the-box experience (OOBE), but we'll talk about that another time. Once you're set up, the Ally X20 is top-tier.

ROG XBOX Ally X20 is getting great reviews

It's worth noting that reviews, both professional and from consumers, have been near-universal in their acclaim for the ROG XBOX Ally X20.

Yeah, Best Buy only has 10 reviews posted, but it's a solid 5.0 across the board, with some noting, "This is the single most refined PC handheld ... I’ve tried." and "it might be the best quality handheld device in the market," and "ASUS Definitely hit it out of the park with this one."

Going by more professional reviews, IGN says the OLED takes the machine "to a completely new level" and argues that the extra $300 is "absolutely worth it" if you have the cash. Notebookcheck is similarly effusive, calling the OLED a "game changer" and describing the image quality as "simply stunning."

And one of my favorite YouTube channels, 128KB, dedicated to handheld gaming, also gave high praise (you can see the podcast embed above).

That kind of word of mouth goes a long way, and ASUS seems to have quite a hit on its hands despite the current market circumstances.

Of course, my review is coming out shortly, but spoiler alert: I don't differ much from most of the other conclusions. Sure, "The X20 should have been the original Ally X last year" is a common theme, but OLED displays this small with variable refresh were hard to come by in 2025, so ASUS went with what it could mass-produce at the time.

The Ally X20 selling out across every configuration shows just how aggressively ASUS has captured the handheld gaming PC conversation. This launch isn’t a blip or a lucky surge; it’s a clear sign that ASUS understands what Windows handheld buyers want and is willing to push the category forward faster than anyone else.

When a premium bundle disappears instantly, it tells you the audience is hungry, confident, and ready to invest in hardware that feels genuinely next‑gen. ASUS, in my opinion (and others'), set a new bar, and the rest of the industry now has to decide whether it can keep up with the pace ASUS just established.

Now, just give me that AMD FSR 4.1 update!

Anyway, let me know in the comments what you think about the state of handheld gaming in 2026, and whether the ROG XBOX Ally X20 is on your radar (if it comes back in stock).

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Microsoft will no longer be part of a multibillion-dollar data center in Loughton, Essex, England, according to a report by The Telegraph. The planned data center is set to have thousands of NVIDIA processors and was originally planned to start operating next year. Now, major questions surround the project's future.

The data center, which is being planned by Nscale, will be part of a wave of data centers opening in the UK, assuming plans come to fruition.

Microsoft's recent decision could affect the future of the data center, but the power grid is another pressing concern. Nscale has been told by grid operators that the required power supply for the data center will not be available until 2030.

The problems could be connected. The Guardian reports that Microsoft withdrew from the project because of the power grid concerns.

Microsoft was the only company that had publicly committed to plans to use the data center. It's unclear if other tech giants will step in to fill the void.

Despite Microsoft's reported cancellation of plans to be involved with the Essex data center, Microsoft and Nscale continue to have a professional relationship. The Telegraph reports that over 40 percent of Nscale's $103 billion in contracted revenue comes from Microsoft. The Essex data center was only believed to be a small part of that even before Microsoft changed its plans.

"We remain committed to both the Loughton project and the UK and we are exploring alternative power sources for the site, in addition to other expansion sites in the UK," said Nscale. The company added,
"Our relationship with Microsoft remains strong and long-term."

Microsoft is at the center of data centers

As demand for processing power increases, Microsoft finds itself increasingly at the center of data center headlines. Just in the UK, there are three ongoing stories about Microsoft and data centers.

Almost 45,000 people have signed a petition to prevent the construction of a data center in Leeds, England. Over in Slough, England, politicians and residents have debated the construction of a different data center.

Now, Microsoft has withdrawn its planned involvement in what could become the UK's largest data center.

Windows Central take

It seems inevitable that data centers will pop up around the world. There's a good chance that a site only a few miles from my house will have a data center in the near future. I live in Nottingham, England. A former coal plant that has been shut down is expected to house a data center.

Despite several tech giants calling for AI development to be slowed down or paused, demand for data processing is accelerating. I suppose the data centers have to be built somewhere, but I confess I'm not thrilled at the prospect of one being so close to my house.

Data centers can pollute the local environment and emit noise pollution into the surrounding area. They can also raise energy prices nearby and put stress on the local grid.

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I've reviewed loads of controllers in my time, but one particularly memorable one was the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra as it was the first I'd seen with an in-built screen. Today Turtle Beach have announced a sequel in the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra 2 and I'm intrigued on how they can improve on the previous model.

I originally walked away thoroughly impressed by how premium the OG version felt with its clicky micro-switch buttons. Still, the companion software was buggy at launch and the social notification capabilities felt a bit gimmicky and worse, kind of useless. Ironically, while the promo art looks like it was yanked straight out of a GTA 6 trailer, Turtle Beach seems to have dropped the social gimmicks entirely. So instead of replying to your real-life girlfriend on your gamepad, you can just focus on Lucia in peace.

The Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra II High-Performance Wireless Controller is available for pre-order today at $199.99 / £179.99 / €199.99 ahead of its November 12, 2026 launch, and Turtle Beach seems to have focused on some serious, meaningful hardware upgrades this time around.

TMR sticks and a 8kHz polling rate

The biggest change that stands out to me is the addition of TMR thumbsticks. The original had Hall Effect, which is perfectly fine, but TMR (tunnel magnetoresistance) sensors will be more precise and have improved power efficiency and I'm always glad to see manufacturers moving ahead with this tech (while Xbox still haven't adopted Hall Effect...) Competitive players also get an upgrade with the pad now supporting up to an 8 kHz wired polling rate and up to a 1 kHz wireless polling rate for ultra-responsive input tracking.

As for the Connected Command Display on the controller, it's making a comeback, but with some far more practical on-the-fly adjustments (meaning less fiddling with that software). From the screen, you will now be able to tune audio profiles, trigger modes, Pro-Aim focus sensitivity, button remapping, and RGB lighting. The list goes on. Turtle Beach seems to have pivoted away from phone notification gimmicks altogether and toward pure, functional controller customization.

Rounding out the package, you get tactile microswitch face buttons, adjustable trigger stops, four mappable back buttons, Bluetooth support for Android and Smart TVs, and up to 12 hours of battery life out of the box (extending to 34 hours in Eco mode).

Pre-orders are live today ahead of its November 12, 2026 launch. At $199.99 / £179.99 / €199.99, it remains an investment strictly for the hardcore crowd, but just like the first model, it comes bundled with a Rapid Charge Dock and a hard-shell charge-through travel case, which helps make the premium price tag that much easier to swallow.

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Surprise! Hot on the heels of PlayStation's own upscaling tech announcements, Microsoft and AMD just revealed that the firm's flagship FSR 4.1 tech is coming to the Xbox platform.

FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution) is a technology from AMD that renders games at a lower resolution, and then uses machine learning to generate a sharper image. Since the hardware isn't working as hard, that overhead can be used for performance.

FSR 4.1 is a big leap over previous versions, and Microsoft has partnered with AMD to bring it not only to Xbox Series X, but also Xbox Ally X, Xbox Ally S and Xbox Series S — the latter two of which should benefit from very, very big performance boosts as a result.

"At Xbox, we're building a gaming platform designed to meet players where they are, and make it easier for creators to reach them," Xbox CTO Scott Van Vilet explained. "AMD has been an important partner in that journey for more than two decades. Together our teams have been pushing gaming forward, across Xbox and Windows. From the silicon at the heart of our consoles and handhelds, to technologies like DirectX, Advanced Shader Delivery, and AutoSR that helps developers get more from the hardware and deliver better experiences for our players."

"Today, we're excited to take another step forward together. With FSR 4.1 coming to Xbox. Now, we've worked very closely with AMD to optimize this technology, giving developers another powerful tool for great performance and visual quality for players. Now, whether you're playing on an Xbox Ally handheld, as well as coming soon to Xbox Series X and Series S consoles. And this is just the beginning. Our teams are continuing to work together across hardware and software, and there's even more ahead with Project Helix, leveraging FSR Diamond to power what comes next."

It's unclear exactly when these technologies will roll out to Xbox devices. It sounds as though FSR 4.1 will hit Xbox Ally X before the year end, but Xbox Series X|S are listed as "coming soon," with no exact window offered.

Sadly, it seems the Xbox Ally base model is fully incompatible with FSR 4.1, which is a bit of a shame, but it should prove transformative for those with the Xbox Ally X and the just-released Xbox Ally X20, as well as the Xbox Series S.

The Xbox Series S has historically been difficult for developers owing to its irregular RAM allocation, but if FSR 4.1 can do some of the heavy lifting, it should ease the pressure on developers to deliver a native 1080p image.

We're reaching out to Microsoft for some clarification on timelines for Xbox Ally and Xbox Series X|S consoles, and will get back to you if we hear from them.

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ShareX has been around for almost two decades, but in its 19 years as a screen capture app, it has never received an update as large as the one that just shipped to testers. ShareX version 22.0.0 brings a massive number of changes to a completely overhauled app.

The update adds native screen recording, a new screen recorder bar, and support for recording content at 120 FPS. It also brings a number of quality-of-life changes, such as a restart button for screen recordings and the option to show or hide the screen recorder timer and recording button labels.

Screenshot functionality has also expanded. Several preexisting tools have been redesigned, and new tools have been added as well.

Since the update changes so much, it is expected to be less stable than other releases. But if you'd like to give it a try, you can download the preview of ShareX version 22.0.0.

Here's the entire change log from ShareX:

• Screen recording changes:
  • Added native screen recording support without relying on FFmpeg, enabled by default. ShareX
    • Added support for recording system audio.
    • Added support for recording microphone audio.
    • Added support for recording camera overlays. ShareX
  • Added a screen recorder bar that allows users to configure recording options before starting a recording: ShareX
    • Start delay.
    • System audio.
    • Microphone.
    • Camera.
    • Cursor.
    • Mouse highlighter.
  • Increased the screen recording FPS limit to 120.
  • Added an "Automatically start mouse highlighter" option for screen recording.
  • Added a "Restart" button to the screen recorder bar and system tray menu.
  • Added an option to show or hide the screen recording timer.
  • Added an option to show or hide screen recording button labels.
  • Recorder devices are no longer bundled.
• Added HDR screenshot color corrector option (Task settings -> Capture).
• ShareX installer and assemblies are now code-signed using a certificate provided by Ember Swan. Xenthys
• Added a warning before running unsigned installers.
• Added a wide range of new tools and redesigned all existing tools from scratch:
  • Screen & color:
    • Color picker
    • Mouse highlighter ShareX
    • Pin to screen
    • Ruler ShareX
    • Screen color picker
  • Images:
    • Background remover
    • Icon converter
    • Image beautifier
    • Image combiner
    • Image comparer
    • Image converter
    • Image editor
    • Image effects
    • Image resizer ShareX
    • Image splitter
    • Image thumbnailer
    • Image viewer
    • Image watermark
  • Video:
    • Animated GIF maker
    • Animated GIF trimmer ShareX
    • Video converter
    • Video player
    • Video thumbnailer
    • Video trimmer ShareX
  • Data & text:
    • Analyze image
    • Hash checker
    • Index folder
    • Metadata
    • OCR
    • QR code
    • Remote storage browser (supports Amazon S3, SFTP, FTPS, and FTP) ShareX
  • System:
    • Borderless window
    • Clipboard viewer
    • Inspect window
    • Monitor test
    • Network monitor ShareX
  • Added categorized grid layout for tools menu.
  • Added edit button to tools menu to be able to hide or show tools. ShareX
  • Include video files in image history window.
  • Added "Trim video" context menu option to main window and history windows.
  • Added "Trim animated GIF" context menu option to main window and history windows.
  • Added drag-and-drop upload overlay to main window.
  • Added customizable task buttons to bottom of notifications.
  • Added notification button size option.
  • Added search support to setting windows.
  • Upgraded project to .NET 10.
  • Update FFmpeg to 9.0.
  • Added Czech language support.
  • Added Swedish language support.
  • Added Hindi language support.
  • Added Thai language support.
  • Added Danish language support.
  • Translated all newly redesigned ShareX windows into 28 languages from scratch.
  • Improve smart eraser with edge-matching fills.
  • Added easter egg to about window.
  • Added easter egg to image editor. ShareX
  • Added support for Amazon S3 multi-part uploads.
  • Added an option to upload Amazon S3 parts concurrently. CubityFirst
  • Support remote deletion of Amazon S3 uploads.
  • Added img.fish file uploader.
  • Added Immich file uploader.
  • Added MEGA file uploader.
  • Migrate uPaste uploader to API v2.
  • Removed Vault.ooo file uploader.
  • Show start screen on first application run.
  • Added an always on top toggle to the main window title bar.
  • Added a theme toggle to the main window title bar. ShareX
  • Added cursor centered zoom support to image viewer with Ctrl + Mouse wheel.
  • Reset image viewer zoom with Middle click.
  • Added PNG compression level option.
  • Added PNG filter option.
  • Added JPEG chroma subsampling option.
  • Added adaptive quantizer GIF quality option.
  • Added BMP bit depth option.

If you've only used the Snipping Tool on Windows 11, you may be a bit overwhelmed by all of the options within ShareX. But the defaults in ShareX make it easy to start using the app. I've been using CTRL+Print Screen all morning to grab screenshots.

The revamped ShareX is impressive, but the main reason I love the app is that it lets you save screenshots as a JPEG. That's a small feature that's been around for ages, but it still remains unavailable in Snipping Tool.

I've only had ShareX version 22.0.0 for a few hours, but in that time the app has performed quickly. It's so snappy that it feels native to Windows 11. If you take a few minutes to customize ShareX's settings and shortcuts, it can become a powerful tool that justifies running at startup.

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In what may be one of the year's least surprising stories, Microsoft's VP of Product Design, Diego Baca, has explained how AI is being used to help designers after being asked whether it's possible to launch a "fleet of viable agents" to address issues in Windows 11.

Now, this all comes shortly after an Xbox Business Strategist spiraled on X over how everyone is using AI, expressing frustration with the pretense that people aren't. That said, I do appreciate Baca’s honesty here. I always find that kind of candor refreshing.

Windows 11 still has a consistency problem

Interestingly, Baca's post on X (formerly Twitter) also acknowledged something Windows users have been complaining about for years in his reply to tech enthusiast Chris Pirillo, and that's consistency:

“Consistency across Windows is something we all want, and it’s an active workstream we’re continuing to accelerate,” he explained.

And to be fair, I have to agree. Windows 11 is now five years old (that's made me feel so old), yet parts of the operating system still feel like they're lacking the modern stylings, almost as though some of it still belongs in Windows 7, or even earlier, as Windows Latest points out in its own take.

Don't get me wrong, Microsoft has made progress, particularly with its efforts to modernize Windows Search, Run, and other legacy interfaces using WinUI 3. But I do wish these inconsistencies had been addressed before Windows 11 launched, though perhaps I’m wishing for too much.

Baca also acknowledged the criticism, admitting, “Finally, I completely recognize that people expect more from Windows. We expect more from ourselves, too.”

Finally, he added that Microsoft hopes to “earn back your enthusiasm for Windows through what we deliver, not just what we say.” It’s a refreshingly open response, and one I massively appreciate. How do you feel about Diego Baca's comments? Let me know in the comments and be sure to take part in our poll below:

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The console industry continues to reel from the RAMpocalypse, and Xbox is certainly feeling it.

Circana analysis suggested a few weeks ago that Xbox hardware sales are at their lowest level ever, with PlayStation also suffering their lowest hardware sell-through situation since 2013. Without a doubt, the so-called RAMpocalypse is to blame, with companies like Google, Anthropic, OpenAI, and indeed, Microsoft itself buying up all the RAM for their AI-tinted ambitions.

That leaves little left over for "niche" consumer electronics scenarios, such as video game consoles ... ballooning Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo console prices to their highest levels ever in some cases.

The timing couldn't be worse really. Grand Theft Auto 6 launches in a month from now, and its mainstream appeal would've driven huge amounts of users to upgrade older consoles or perhaps enter the hobby for the first time. With global stock levels battered and prices otherwise impossible for most to consider, Microsoft is turning towards a novel approach to try to increase stock availability.

Spotted by users on X (cheers H!) and covered first by PowerUP, Microsoft is actually sending out emails to users who have dormant Xbox Series X|S hardware, recommending that they trade them in, offering links and advice on how to do so. The email specifically cites Best Buy, which has a trade-in system here you can explore for Xbox hardware.

It seems the emails are going out specifically to users who have hardware that they aren't actively using, including users who own multiple consoles potentially.

Indeed, the economics on console hardware is so bad right now that any user sitting on a dormant PS5, Xbox Series X|S, or Nintendo Switch potentially represents a big net loss for the big three. The margins are so bad, and the stock availability so low, that trying to convince users to move their consoles to others who might actually become more active players (and spenders) is more than preferable.

Ahead of Grand Theft Auto 6's launch, Microsoft and its competitors are working around the clock to source components for their hardware provisions. Call of Duty has also stopped shipping on past-gen consoles, and it seems fairly likely given how popular Modern Warfare 4 has been so far that many users would want to upgrade for that as well ... if indeed there was stock available.

Stock availability of new (and very pricy) Xbox Series X|S hardware has generally remains stable in Microsoft core markets like the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, and so on. In Asia, mainland Europe, the Middle East, and South America Xbox console stock has been almost non-existent. Tariffs, the RAMpocalypse, and general global economic instability has left the console market in a precarious state ... despite an unprecedented density of high-quality games.

Some analysts expect the "RAMpocalypse" to last through to 2028, maybe even 2029, with consumer electronics expected to take a battering between now and then. Smartphone, PC, laptop, and of course, game console shipments are all down as a direct result of the AI build out. It doesn't look like things will change any time soon.

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The Surface Laptop Ultra just started shipping, so Microsoft is busy updating its support documents to make sure buyers have all the information they need about the PC. Microsoft's support document about Surface driver and firmware lifecycles was just updated to include the Surface Laptop Ultra.

That document outlines how long each Surface device will receive driver and firmware updates.

The support window for the Surface Laptop Ultra is not surprising. In fact, it's perfectly in line with other Surface devices. Microsoft splits its driver and firmware lifecycle into two different categories: devices released before January 1, 2021 and devices released on or after January 1, 2021.

Devices that shipped before 2021 receive at least four years of driver and firmware updates. All Surface PCs in that category have already reached the end of the driver and firmware lifecycle.

The Surface Laptop Ultra will continue to receive driver and firmware updates until October 16, 2032. Microsoft is quite specific about its lifecycles. For context, the newly launched Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch will only receive driver and firmware updates until October 13, 2032.

Surface Laptop Ultra owners will need to make sure their PC is running a version of Windows 11 from the prior 30 months to continue to receive driver and firmware updates.

Even when a device reaches the end of its driver and firmware lifecycle, it will continue to receive Windows 11 updates.

Firmware is low-level software built into hardware components, while drivers allow Windows to communicate with those parts. Driver and firmware updates keep everything running smoothly. They can fix hardware bugs, battery drain, and security flaws behind the scenes.

Six years is a fair time for a PC to receive driver and firmware updates. Generally, the biggest bugs and issues should be sorted by the end of the Surface Laptop Ultra's driver and firmware lifecycle.

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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered launched last year to massive success, surpassing nine million players in its first three months and selling over two million copies on Steam, according to SteamDB.

Despite the sales figures, fans have been vocal about the game's performance. Stuttering, frame spikes, and poor optimization have been common complaints, often attributed to the use of Unreal Engine 5. However, one fan on Reddit decided to take matters into their own hands and "vibe code" a fix.

Yes, people are now using AI to generate performance patches for games. User u/LTSharpe, posting on the r/ChatGPT subreddit, explained that they are a huge Oblivion fan who was struggling with the game’s performance despite running a high-end PC setup featuring an AMD 9070 XT, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, and a Ryzen 9 5800X processor.

Can AI really fix Oblivion Remastered's performance issues?

Opting to use Claude instead of ChatGPT, LTSharpe managed to boost the game’s average FPS by 37%. If you’re interested in trying the patch yourself, you can try the GitHub repository (using proper precautions, of course).

I played the Oblivion Remaster on Xbox, and even on that hardware, I noticed stuttering and frame spikes. While I’m usually cautious about how AI is used in development, I think this is a pretty clever use case, one that most people likely won’t mind.

Seeing someone take their framerate from 30 to a stable 60, while also fixing bugs that the developers missed, is impressive, even if an AI did the heavy lifting.

We are, of course, in the midst of an AI wave in the gaming space. Community-driven projects are cropping up everywhere thanks to these tools, whether it’s mashups between games or impossible ports. We’re seeing it all lately, and it’s enough for Xbox to take notice, having launched Xbox Labs to explore these emerging AI technologies.

Let me know if you agree or disagree with me on whether this is a good use case for AI. Both views are valid, so do share your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll below:

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Microsoft is testing a way to update Edge without forcing a restart, potentially letting you keep working while it switches to a more secure version.

Browser updates can interrupt your work, so you might put off restarting the browser. However, this can delay important security fixes. Microsoft's solution aims to solve both problems by updating Edge in the background while keeping compatible tabs open.

The project is still an early experiment, not a feature you can use today. Microsoft says the prototype isn't part of Edge's production code or the Chromium project.

Microsoft wants Edge updates to be seamless

Currently, browser updates require a restart to safely switch to a newer version. Although Microsoft Edge can restore your open tabs afterward, restarting can still interrupt your work. Microsoft's prototype aims to change that by downloading an update in the background and moving the browser and its supporting processes to the newer version while keeping your work available.

For example, imagine you're filling out a long online form when a security update becomes available. Instead of asking you to restart Edge and interrupt your work, the browser would update in the background while you continue working.

Microsoft demonstrated the prototype in a video, and when the company clicked the "Update" button, the browser switched to the new version while keeping compatible tabs open. Eventually, the goal is to apply updates automatically without requiring users to click anything.

One limitation is that existing tabs can stay open only if they're compatible with the new version. Other tabs will switch to the updated version when you navigate to them.

AI makes faster security updates more important

The project isn't only about convenience. Microsoft notes that AI is accelerating vulnerability discovery and changing the pace of attacks, increasing the need to roll out security fixes more quickly. The company describes the time between a security fix becoming available and an update being applied as the "patch gap." During this period, users who don't install the fix remain vulnerable.

The requirement to restart the browser can also make the problem worse when people postpone updates because they don't want interruptions. As a result, applying security updates faster could reduce the time users remain exposed to known vulnerabilities.

So, when can we use it?

This isn't built into the current version of the browser, so don't go through the settings trying to find the option. Microsoft says that the prototype isn't part of the browser or the Chromium project. Instead, the company is sharing its work early and inviting developers and other organizations to collaborate on this project.

Edge already has an update option for idle devices

While the company continues developing its new update mechanism, Microsoft Edge already offers a feature called "Restart to update on idle," previously known as "Instant Updates."

The feature restarts Edge when your device is idle, installs the update, and reopens your tabs. It still requires a restart, but the interruption happens when you're not using the browser.

What's next?

For now, Microsoft Edge's existing update options help reduce delays, while the seamless-updates prototype offers a glimpse of what could come next. Microsoft hasn't announced when, or whether, this approach will become available. The company is sharing the prototype early to encourage collaboration with the community.

However, we'll have to wait and see whether the concept will make it into a future version of the browser. What are your thoughts on this new way to update the browser? Let me know in the comments.

More resources

Explore more in-depth how-to guides, troubleshooting advice, and essential tips to get the most out of Windows 11 and 10. Start browsing here:

• Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 doesn't even launch fully until October 23, but one of the hardest challenges in this year's game has already been beaten.

Exhibiting truly heroic levels of degeneracy, the first players have cleared the hardest difficulty setting in the campaign and unlocked their reward. Not realism, of course; this year we've got YOLO.

The reward is a Calling Card that you're definitely not going to see all that many players showing off because of how difficult it is to acquire. And also you can't show it off until at least DMZ early access begins on October 20. If you don't know why this is so hard, let me set out the path you have to take.

• Beat the campaign
• Beat the campaign again on Realism to unlock YOLO.
• Beat the campaign with one life to unlock the Calling Card.

So you have to beat the campaign twice before you can even begin, because Realism difficulty isn't available until you've done one completion. At least it doesn't seem to matter which difficulty you do first to get the Realism unlock.

I've done my traditional first run on Regular to get it done quickly and get cracking with the achievements, and I've got Realism waiting to destroy me.

YOLO is a permadeath mode on Realism difficulty. You get one life. If you go down, your run is over, and you go back to the very beginning of the campaign. It is brutal. And yet we're already seeing the first players having completed it. Presumably they haven't slept much since Friday.

There is an apparent 'cheese' some folks have suggested works, which involves quickly restarting the current mission from the menu if it looks like you're about to go down. But I've also seen people say that you can't save and quit and do it over multiple sessions, because it warns you that you'll lose your progress.

Others have said they've been able to quit just fine and come back. If you know for sure, do please put it in the comments below, because who knows what's real on the internet these days.

The apparent Calling Card reward can be seen here, though since the Calling Card collection doesn't go live until DMZ early access, it could also be a troll. We'll soon know.

If you see this Calling Card pop up in one of your lobbies, though, know what you're dealing with. A player who doesn't sleep. Or a hacker. Either way, probably run the opposite direction.

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Microsoft's Photos app is about to get a major upgrade. Microsoft recently highlighted how the app is faster, more efficient, and full of new features. The upgraded Photos app will feature a new Gallery, Editor, and Viewer.

Details about the new Photos app were shared in a Microsoft blog post, but images and videos have since shown off the level of improvement we can expect.

Based on early impressions of the app, the new Photos experience could be a go-to way to view and edit images on Windows 11 rather than an app you scroll past after right-clicking and selecting "Open with."

New features

The three main additions to the Photos app are the new Gallery, Editor, and Viewer. Those experiences are designed to, "help you rediscover and organize your collection, give you more capable tools for your favorite shots, and make the everyday experience faster," according to Microsoft.

The new Gallery gathers together photos from your PC, OneDrive, and iCloud into a single space. You can then search for images using text, filter photos to see specific people, or browse Moments created by the app or albums you've organized.

You can use natural language to find images in your gallery, such as searching "sunset at the beach." That saves you the hassle of searching for specific file names.

The new Editor loads 25 percent faster, according to Microsoft. It includes tools to crop, enhance, repair, and stylize photos.

Microsoft rebuilt the new Editor from the ground up with WinUI 3, which is the modern framework used to create apps. Notably, only certain parts of the new Photos app are built with WinUI 3.

On top of the normal features you'd expect from an editor, such as cropping an image, the new Photos app has some advanced features like Relight. With that tool, you can add up to three light sources to an image and dynamically adjust lighting in the photo.

Microsoft added support for editing and saving HEIC and WebP images as well as the ability to preserve the color and contrast of HDR photos throughout the editing process.

The new Viewer in the Photos app is also called "native" by Microsoft, though the blog post does not specify that it is built with WinUI 3. It now has better support for HDR viewing and supports more file types, including SVG files.

Speed improvements

I'm excited to try the new features in the Photos app, but the speed of the app is what has stood out to me the most. Diego Baca, Microsoft's Vice President of Design for Windows, shared a video showing the new gallery.

Baca scrolls within the Photos gallery and hundreds of photo previews load instantly. Even when pausing the video, there is only one instance of stuttering or the app having to take a moment to load images.

I thought for a moment I may have been judging the old Photos gallery too harshly, but a quick test put that concern to rest. Scrolling through my gallery on my main PC, which does not have the improved Photos app yet, I can watch thumbnails load one at a time. It's like switching from dial-up internet to broadband.

Several parts of the app have been sped up, such as Viewer launching 15 percent faster on average and up to 30 percent faster for HEIC images.

Earlier this year, we covered Microsoft's Rudy Huyn assembling a team to work on Windows apps. We've seen some of the fruits of that team already, but the new Photos app is by far the biggest improvement connected to them.

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Xbox Game Pass is, by far, one of the best deals in gaming. It gives players access to hundreds of titles at a relatively affordable price (at least after the price cut a few months ago), but PC Game Pass has always been tied to needing a Windows-based device. That meant handhelds running SteamOS were out of luck.

That has now all changed, thanks to Xodus Nexus, an independent and unofficial project that lets you natively play Xbox games on your Linux devices, including the Steam Deck and Steam Machine.

Could this convince Xbox gamers to switch to Linux?

You might be wondering how this works. Well, essentially, it lets you sign in to your Microsoft account, browse your library, and then use Proton as a translation layer to play your games natively on Linux.

According to the project documentation, you can browse the Store, install games you own or access through a subscription, and play with one shared runtime. Xbox sign-in and cloud saves are also available for supported games.

Right now, it can’t play every Xbox game on Linux, but the list so far is still impressive. It includes titles like Gears of War: E-Day, Deep Rock Galactic, Minecraft Dungeons II, Forza Horizon 6, No Man’s Sky, Doom: The Dark Ages, and Sea of Thieves, all with the usual Xbox bells and whistles and multiplayer support.

The full list of compatible games can be found here.

I always hoped Xbox would release their games on Linux at some point, though I understand how that could be a bit counter-intuitive to Xbox’s plans for Windows and their own gaming hardware. Despite Linux being home to a small number of players, it’s still a competitor in the space. And well... Xbox porting to competing hardware didn’t really go over all too well last time, with Xbox consoles now returning to exclusivity.

Still, seeing community projects like this is great, and I hope to see the project continue to expand. The Steam Deck used to be a great bit of kit, at least before the price hike, and whilst the Steam Machine seemingly released, never to be spoken about again, it is still awesome to see the community tackle Game Pass on hardware it was never meant for.

Do let me know: do projects like this mean you’d switch from Windows to Linux, or is it more of a novelty? Let me know in the comments and be sure to take part in our poll!

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Microsoft just celebrated 12 years of the Windows Insider Program by sharing a collection of wallpapers. But the origin of those wallpapers has drawn a bit of criticism. It turns out that they were not made on a Surface Laptop Ultra or, in fact, any Windows 11 device. Instead, they were created using a Mac.

Rafael Rivera checked the properties of the wallpapers and noticed that they were created using the Mac version of Adobe Photoshop.

Rivera noted in a follow-up post on X that the images were made by Microsoft's in-house design team. If accurate, that precludes the possibility of a contracted company happening to use Macs in their normal workflow and being commissioned to make the images.

Even if the images were made by a contracted company, Microsoft would have a little bit of egg on its face because that would indicate that even a creator that works with Microsoft prefers to use an Apple product.

Windows Central take

I don't think this is a big deal, but the situation has emerged at an awkward time. Microsoft is in the middle of refreshing Windows 11. The tech giant just shared a massive blog post positioning Windows 11 as a selling point to buy a new PC.

Having Windows Insider wallpapers created on a Mac opens the door to jokes like "even Microsoft staff prefer Mac."

It's perfectly reasonable for Microsoft to use tools created by another company. It's not as if Microsoft should force its design team to use the new Photos app instead of Photoshop. Creators, and any worker, need to use tools that can get the job done.

But considering Adobe Photoshop is available on Windows 11, it's a bit strange that Microsoft couldn't send a few Windows 11 PCs over to its design team.

Alternatively, Microsoft could call up ASUS and make a deal to get some ProArt P16 laptops to the design team. Our friends at Tom's Guide said "The ASUS ProArt P16 is an outstanding laptop for creativity."

The best news for whoever made the Windows Insider Program anniversary images is that Adobe Photoshop works on Windows on Arm, so it should run smoothly on any of the new RTX Spark laptops.

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Microsoft is finally giving Copilot+ PCs more capabilities on Windows 11. After the disastrous launch of Copilot+ PCs in 2024 which ultimately led to the company retiring the brand as a marketing asset this year, Microsoft has announced Hybrid intelligence, a new wave of AI features that will utilize on-device processing and the cloud.

If you thought the Copilot+ PC promise of NPU-powered local AI experiences was dead, I wouldn't blame you. Microsoft has been slow to build out NPU-based AI features on Windows 11, with Click To Do and Semantic Search being the last Copilot+ PC exclusive features to launch over a year ago.

But that seems to be finally changing with "Hybrid intelligence," a part of which is being built directly into the Copilot app on Windows 11 and will intelligently route AI tasks and experiences between on-device processing and the cloud on Copilot+ PCs. Here's what's coming soon to Windows 11:

• Local context: With your permission, Copilot can understand relevant content on your PC, including files and recent activity, bringing local context into the flow of work. 
• Local actions: Copilot can take action on your behalf across Windows, helping complete tasks like organizing files, assessing device diagnostics, troubleshooting issues, coding, and carrying out workflows directly on your device. 
• Local models: Copilot can tap into AI models running on your PC, using local compute for the right tasks while combining it with cloud intelligence when needed. 

Hybrid Intelligence looks to be a natural evolution of Copilot+ PCs. Microsoft is finally giving this AI hardware more to do, with the ability to reach out to the cloud when required for more complex workloads. These Hybrid Intelligence features enhance the new Copilot Home, Code, and Autopilot experiences that were recently announced.

"Copilot understands your PC, takes action with your permission, and uses local models when it makes sense, with you in control at every step," Microsoft says. "Copilot features powered by hybrid intelligence are expected to begin rolling out on Copilot+ PCs in the coming months."

Microsoft says Hybrid intelligence requires Copilot+ PC compatibility, which naturally implies that these new AI experiences will lean on the NPU for local processing, as that's one of the hardware requirements for meeting the Copilot+ PC feature bar.

Microsoft believes that a hybrid approach to AI will be the way forward for computing. It's important for PCs to have local AI compute power and capabilities to reduce pressure on data centers, and it's also important for privacy and security reasons too.

Agents on Windows are being heavily pushed as a local AI experience, though it requires PCs with powerful GPUs and lots of system memory to really take advantage of. The NPU is not powerful enough to handle most large language models at current, and so is reserved for less power intensive tasks and automations.

The company has also announced Aion Instruct, an on-device AI model that replaces Phi Silica and runs on not just the NPU, but GPU and even CPU in some cases. It's a small language model capable of handling text generation, instruction following, and web tasks.

Microsoft has confirmed that the Copilot+ PC brand is going away as a marketing asset, but it will continue to exist as a feature set. OEMs and Microsoft itself have stopped calling their new Surface PCs Copilot+ PCs, even though they are all Copilot+ PC compatible.

Now, the Copilot+ PC moniker is simply a checkbox on a spec sheet, and it looks like Hybrid intelligence PCs is the new marketing term that Microsoft wants to get in front of as many people as possible.

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Gears of War: E-Day has come and gone, and the game appears to have been a success. At least, that’s what the reports suggest, and ot’s hard to deny that people are genuinely enjoying it.

Critics and players alike have praised both the campaign and multiplayer modes, and if you haven't already you should check out our review here. As for E-Day, we’ve already started to see mods crop up on PC, including one that turns your entire squad into characters from Halo. Letting us see Noble Team and the Master Chief in E-Day, and having them look as good as they do is fantastic.

Speaking of mods, one user, @rockonthehillc, took to X (Formerly Twitter) to show off an extremely impressive virtual reality mod for E-Day. It features full body tracking, manual weapon reloads, and more.

Is it time for a first-person Gears of War game?

The short demonstration uploaded to YouTube has seriously made me consider dusting off my Oculus Quest 2. But perhaps more surprisingly, it has made me want a first-person Gears of War game. To some, that might seem sacrilegious, but hear me out. Gears has already expanded into turn-based strategy, and I’m a firm believer that Xbox needs to do more with its IP. Experimenting with different genres is a smart move.

Halo is the perfect example of a mishandled IP. It should have been expanded into third-person shooters, horror, and other genres long ago. I think Gears of War could equally be turned into a first-person horror game set around the Locust.

E-Day does a fantastic job at making the Locust a terrifying threat. Seeing that unfold from a different angle would be incredible.

For now, though, fans will have to make do with the virtual reality community project, which is extremely impressive in its own right.

With that said, let me know your thoughts. Would you play a virtual reality Gears game, or even a first-person one? Leave a comment down below and be sure to take part in our poll!

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Recently, I covered how the Xbox One could run a PlayStation 5 emulator, or how Original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles were being played on a jailbroken PS5. Now, the tables have turned, and we have Xbox One games running on iOS (and macOS).

In fact, just a few months ago, I wrote about an Xbox 360 emulator for iOS. At the time, that was impressive enough on its own, particularly given it could run games like Halo 3. This new development feels like a natural progression, especially considering how recent advancements in AI have seemingly propelled emulation and modding to a whole new level.

It is a wild timeline we are living in. I do suspect AI is a major driver behind this acceleration, but regardless of the cause, it is still pretty cool to see.

Utsuro, the project bringing Xbox One games to iOS and Mac

The project, created by @leviidev01 on X, works not through traditional emulation, but rather as a translation layer. It runs the console’s own "Windows-derived userland as x86-64 under FEXCore", supplying the system components that the hardware would normally provide. I will admit, some of the deeper technical specifics are lost on me, but the fact that it works at all is fascinating.

For now, the project has been shown running Minecraft with touchscreen controls relatively well, and it does include controller support.

Thinking back to the Xbox One era, it was around the time Xbox began porting its games to PC. That makes it hard for me to pinpoint exactly which Xbox One titles I would want to take on the go. However, projects like this serve as a stark reminder of just how shortsighted Microsoft was in shuttering Windows Phone.

Given the sheer volume of IP at Microsoft’s disposal now, having a dedicated smartphone capable of legitimately playing Original Xbox, Xbox 360, and even Xbox One games with full cloud saves and achievement support would have been a unique selling point.

I do think it could have really given Microsoft a genuine edge. Instead, we are seeing community projects fill that void, while Android devices are busy running full-blown Steam games. All I can do is shed a tear over what could have been.

Still, I’d be interested to know what you think. What Xbox One games would you like to see running on iOS or even Android? If anything comes to mind, let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to take part in our poll!

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Microsoft just celebrated 12 years of the Windows Insider Program by sharing special wallpapers with Insiders. The images are all reminiscent of the Windows Bloom wallpaper that ships with Windows 11 and that has been remixed several times by Microsoft and enthusiasts.

I'm partial toward the blue version, likely because I learned how to use a PC on Windows 95. There are also white, green, orange, and purple variants as well as several dark-theme wallpapers.

This direct download link should get you all of the wallpapers, but you should also see them in an email from Microsoft if you're a Windows Insider.

Microsoft shared the following message alongside the wallpapers:

"Thank you for 12 incredible years, Windows Insiders!

From exciting program changes to meetups that brought us together in the past year, you're at the heart of it all. As a thank-you, we created new backgrounds for all Insiders inspired by 12 years of the Windows Insider Program and the latest Surface design aesthetic."

The Windows Insider Program has been around for 12 years, but it has shifted in structure in that time. I've been an Insider since the beginning, as have many members of our team at Windows Central. In that time, we've seen everything from major Windows features not being tested with Windows Insiders to feedback directly shaping the future of Windows.

Microsoft refocused on the Windows Insider Program by refreshing it earlier this year. Since that refresh, we've seen more Insider builds per week and significant upgrades being tested in those builds.

Windows Insider meetups also returned this year, giving the community a chance to meet in person and interact with the Windows product team directly. The first Windows Insider meetup was in Seattle, Washington. Later, events took place in New York City (USA), Hyderabad (India), Taipei (Taiwan), San Francisco (USA), and London (UK).

I'm happy to see the Windows Insider Program on the right track. Microsoft is engaging with the community and shaping Windows 11 based on feedback.

Microsoft has shown the positive impact of listening to feedback through its recent changes to Xbox. Sometimes grabbing low-hanging fruit and addressing the top community concerns is exactly what's needed.

The wallpapers shared by Microsoft are a small gesture thanking Windows Insiders, but such gestures can go a long way. Ignored Insiders become Insiders who disengage from the Windows Insider Program, and that hurts all Windows users in the long run.

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It feels almost like Halo: Combat Evolved is becoming the new "Can it run Doom?" benchmark. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen the game run on everything from iOS and Android to Linux and even the Nintendo 64. Now, we have it running on the SEGA Dreamcast, one of my favorite consoles growing up.

The project, dubbed Halo: Dreamcast Evolved, is quite ambitious, aiming to port the entire game to the Dreamcast. That is a considerable ask, given that the console is significantly weaker than the original Xbox. The Dreamcast has four times less memory, and if we look at the FLOPS metric, it comes in at 1.4 GFLOPS while the original Xbox clocks in at 20 GFLOPS, roughly 14 times more.

Halo on Dreamcast shouldn't be possible, yet here we are

Despite this massive gap in raw power, developer @JiltedValkyrie has managed to hit around 60 FPS in certain areas, which is impressive in itself. However, I wouldn’t call the game fully playable just yet. Outside of those brief moments, you are generally looking at frame rates between 10 and 20 FPS.

The developer does mention that the build is still extremely early, with culling, lower LODs, and the math pass still needing review. The CPU is the primary bottleneck here, as the Dreamcast’s processor is more than three times slower than the Xbox’s, and the game’s animations and enemy AI eat into those resources massively. To help smooth out gameplay, dead enemies and marines now despawn instead of staying on screen, something that doesn't happen in the Xbox version.

Still, I’m considerably impressed, and I urge you to check out the 24 minutes of gameplay uploaded to X to see for yourself.

It’s truly bizarre for me to see the Dreamcast capable of running Halo. Back in my day, the Dreamcast was my main go-to console until the original Xbox released with Halo. Since then, I have admittedly been an Xbox guy, but I’ve always had a lot of love for the Dreamcast. Being a Sonic fan, how couldn’t I? Seeing a game that basically went on to define my entire early childhood now run on hardware that defined another part of my childhood is truly insane to witness.

Of course, this is likely hot on the heels of all the recent AI modding and decompiling efforts, something Xbox itself has acknowledged with the sprouting of Xbox Labs to explore projects very much like this.

Enough babbling from me, though. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you share the same feelings towards this as I do, or do you find it an abomination? Either view is fine, but let me know what you think in the comments.

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I recently covered how PS5 games are now running on the Xbox Series X, made possible by Xbox’s Developer Mode and an AI-driven port of KytyPS5, a PC-based emulator adapted for Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps.

Performance on the Series X leaves a lot to be desired, with Astro Bot running at around 10 FPS. The project is still early in development, so we can expect performance to improve over time. But 10 FPS on a Series X isn’t exactly playable, which raises the question: How does the Xbox One fare?

Somehow, PS5 emulation works on the Xbox One

Over on X (formerly Twitter), @Maccosomo, the person responsible for porting KytyPS5 to the Series X, has also managed to get the emulator running on the Xbox One. They’ve been playing lighter titles like Quake II and Marvel Cosmic Invasion, which don’t demand as much from the hardware.

It’s worth mentioning that you likely won’t be able to play demanding PS5 titles like Astro Bot on an Xbox One; the CPU and GPU power just isn’t there. But with a PS5 emulator now running on an Xbox One, I’d be interested to see what else is possible.

Maybe PS4 emulation on an Xbox One? To me, the PS4 was Sony’s last great console, packed with fantastic games like Spider-Man and The Last of Us. That doesn't exist yet, but given the AI-driven modding we’re seeing, it feels only a matter of time. Xbox has even acknowledged this trend with Xbox Labs, a new initiative focused on exploring AI-driven games and mods.

That said, as cool as this is, it’s mostly for the novelty of it. I wouldn’t expect much else to emerge in this specific scene. However, I could see Nintendo Switch emulation appearing on an Xbox One, especially since we already have it working on the Series X and, I believe, the Series S.

Do let me know your thoughts. Is all of this getting out of hand, or is it exciting? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll below:

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Senior Business Strategy Manager at Microsoft (Xbox), Brandon Stirrup, has recently taken to social media to address the elephant in the room: AI. Having spent his weekend creating what he calls his “little bad game” with no prior experience in game development, Stirrup has made a bold acknowledgment that Western fans likely won’t be happy to hear.

It is true, mind you, that you can prompt a game into existence. The quality of those games will always be up for debate, but it’s no secret that the barriers to entry for game development are shrinking, whether for better or worse, as Stirrup says, with an apparent sense of unease.

"Watch and see" — Is Stirrup breaking rules?

Stirrup argues that the gaming industry is uniquely resistant to this shift. “Gaming is the only industry slow-walking the transition because users have negative sentiment. Everyone else accepts reality,” he claimed.

He also added, “Gaming is the only industry where leaders are afraid to talk about ai. Users want the truth. We’re using AI.”

It’s quite the admission, but it doesn’t come as a surprise, at least to me. While Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has been rather hesitant to fully embrace AI, we did just recently get Xbox Labs, an initiative to explore AI-driven game development and modding.

For what it’s worth, I hope Stirrup doesn’t get fired over these comments. As weird and scary as AI can be, I imagine many developers are using it, even ones you might not expect, like Capcom, which has admitted to its use.

The issue comes down to how AI is being used. As good a tool as it is, developers still need to understand what is being created by AI; otherwise, you end up with a hotbed of spaghetti code, which just leads to more issues down the line.

Do let me know how you feel about Stirrup’s comments. Do you agree, disagree, or land somewhere in the middle? And don’t forget to take part in our poll!

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Fans of Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator are getting another new wheel to consider in 2027. It comes from Chinese brand, PXN, that already has a healthy ecosystem of racing wheels, flight sticks, and other assorted hardware for simulator fans.

The W TS may still be a little way off actually launching, but I spotted one at the SimRacing Expo in Frankfurt, where PXN was exhibiting. It was a non-working model, as in, I only got to see it on a table, but first impressions are pretty good.

I've really been getting into the truck simulator games this year, and moving onto a wheel for it is the next step. One thing that immediately stands out with PXN's truck wheel is the price I was told to expect it at.

I was told they're aiming around the €160 - €170 mark, which would undercut the existing competition by a good amount. It doesn't feel cheap, though, despite targeting a lower price.

The design is "Scania-influenced" which, without a license, is as close as it can get. I've also never driven a real Scania truck, so I've got no point of reference. But the wheel is trimmed entirely in leather, and it feels really soft and high-quality.

It's a typical 400 mm wheel design for truck driving and is packed with 34 buttons to do all of the things you want to do with your virtual truck cockpit. You would assume that it'll be plug and play with both SCS truck sims, since these are the target audience.

Obviously without actually using it, this is just a very quick first impression. But first impressions are good. The horn is nice and clicky, perfect for some virtual road rage.

It also looks like PXN will be selling a complete bundle to get you ready to start trucking. It'll include a set of Hall Effect pedals, a 6 nm direct drive wheelbase, and a clamp to adjust the angle so you can go full, authentic trucker. But I don't know how much this bundle is going to cost.

PXN is also pretty good at supporting other companies' wheelbases, so there's a good chance you'll be able to use it on your existing setup.

From what I've experienced of PXN hardware so far, it's a definite contender for the more budget-conscious, but without having to give up on features. The company has also debuted some more serious wheelbases, but for trucking, especially beginners, 6nm in the planned bundle will be plenty.

I'm also told that the PXN W TS is targeting a Q1 2027 launch. So you can't treat yourself for Christmas, but it's not too long to wait.

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It might seem weird to complain about having "too much content." I've been around World of Warcraft for over two decades, more than half of my entire existence, and I've known some of the game's notorious and mighty content droughts.

When Blizzard first introduced roadmaps a few years ago, I was pretty excited. The World of Warcraft team offered unprecedented transparency about where the game would go over the coming weeks and months ahead. In a subscription-based game, that is a pretty great thing. I pay for the 12-month subscription year in, year out, rain or shine. WoW is my go-to game, and I presume it always will be. I've taken breaks; I've even said I'm totally done with it a few times. But I, like many others, always come back.

With World of Warcraft: Forever on the horizon, I can't help but lament the state of the separate Retail experience. It should be the core of what WoW ultimately is. It comes with expansion packs; it has the most investment, the most history, and legacy. Yet, it feels worse than ever in a lot of ways.

I've come to decide Blizzard's self-imposed 8-week patch cadence is to blame. But whatever the cause, something needs to change.

Blizzard is destroying WoW's setting and story, chasing short-termism

I wrote this week about Blizzard's mid-season patch, which featured the highly unceremonious death of a major lore figure. The 30-minute quest chain concludes with a painfully anticlimactic cutscene, at the hands of an entity that has about 5 seconds of screen time.

The death felt undeserved and unearned, and continues Blizzard's losing streak in handling major Horde characters ... representing another issue I have with the writing in general. Blizzard built up and threw away this character like they were nothing, echoing previously failures with the likes of Vol'jin and others.

I'm sure the death will serve some ham-fisted gameplay purpose in the coming weeks. Some are already speculating it could be to do with the introduction of Undead Paladins on the Horde, for example, but even still ... it was so oddly handled, anticlimactic, and uncinematic, and does subscribers a disservice in general.

This absolutely isn't the first time I've written about these kinds of problems, and they've been going on for some time. It's especially problematic when World of Warcraft sits side-by-side with recent Blizzard writing wins like Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred, and even Warcraft 3: Forsaken Kingdom. Why does World of Warcraft, its flagship product, feel as weak as a Saturday morning kids' TV show right now?

Much like a Saturday morning kids' TV show, I want to firmly believe it's deadline expectations and patch cadence driving the utter crater in quality. Unlike a Saturday morning kids' TV show, though, Blizzard is utterly imposing these deadlines on itself, to the detriment of the game.

The deciding factor for shipping a product should always be quality, and WoW hasn't walked this line for what feels like forever.

World of Warcraft players are in their 30s and increasingly 40s and even 50s ... I think players want an end to their intelligence being insulted like this. I think players want a more mature tone, and higher-quality treatment of the setting and characters we all know and love.

The story feels as rushed out and forced as Shadowlands did, an expansion so notorious for its damage to WoW that it is whispered like a curse in discussions about the game.

It's beyond writing. I feel like WoW hasn't been this buggy in over 20 years.

I already conceived this article last week to focus generally on the story delivery, but Blizzard itself injected another point I might've otherwise overlooked.

As recently as patch 12.0.5, Blizzard literally issued an apology for bugs and the state of the game in general. Yet here we are again, another patch, more game-breaking bugs.

12.1.5 should've been a big deal arguably. We have a mid-season boss battle featuring lore that pushes the story forward. Instead we have cringeworthy writing and needless character death that has become a meme in of itself. But hey, at least we got the first Labyrinth, right?

WoW retail has long focused on linear dungeons designed for the timed Mythic+ race experience, but Labyrinths sounded like a great opportunity to get back to the old-school "lets get lost and have an adventure"-style dungeon of WoW: Classic. Like BRS, Scholomance, Stratholme, BRD, etc. Alas, it too, is broken.

Whether it's progression resetting unexpectedly or total game-breaking blockers and walls, the first Labyrinth has been an unmitigated disaster so far. Reddit is full of complaints like the above over how wings aren't being registered as completed, with random disconnects resetting progress and the like.

Blizzard can't even get its microtransactions right either. It pulled a new Rexxar-themed outfit from sale just yesterday, owing to weird missing textures and clipping. I wrote about the Haranir race, a major expansion inclusion, suffering from similar issues months ago. Blizzard said they would improve ... alas, here we are, with more examples of the exact opposite.

Is Blizzard just AI vibe coding the game? Are there not enough QA people left? Or is it, once again, the self-imposed deadlines that some CFO spreadsheet says are well worth ditching quality for?

I think people would accept a slower patch cadence for higher quality

I'm sure what has ultimately happened here is that Blizzard has some magical telemetry data that suggests 8 weeks is the sweet spot to prevent churn. Churn is the un-subscriber factor, and World of Warcraft is a very big, complex, and expensive game to run.

Built out of California, one of the most expensive game development communities on Earth, World of Warcraft has long been Blizzard's golden goose. Former writer Eric Covington suggested on X that it represents load-bearing revenue for the entire Blizzard operation.

Blizzard President Johanna Faries said in a recent email to staff that the storied publishing house is now Xbox's top studio after a successful sprint across Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Diablo IV. BlizzCon 2026 just wrapped up with World of Warcraft: Forever, which has seen subscribers flock back into the game in abundance not seen in over a decade.

I asked World of Warcraft director Ion Hazzikostas if World of Warcraft: Forever would end up becoming what Blizzard points to when Retail players ask for higher quality in certain areas of the game ... he assured me that isn't the plan. But we've seen the apologies before. Apologies for bugs, promises to do better, and "we're listening to feedback."

I think putting major story beats on a 16-week, or even 24-week cadence instead of an 8-week cadence might help. Mid-season patches, if they must exist, shouldn't try to squeeze in major character deaths out of the blue with no real build-up or inference.

Bugs are one thing, but shitty story delivery threatens to unmake the entire game, turning it into cringe meme fodder, serving to turn people off the setting in a big way. We don't need this. Given how out-of-the-blue Kith'ix has been, he could've worked better as a boss with story context delivered entirely in text, as a side mission-type experience for "player mercenaries." The rush job to inject the major characters has only served to hurt the entire feel of the current arc. It all just continues to contribute to the sense that WoW's writing team is utterly rudderless.

RELATED: World of Warcraft players beg Blizzard to slow down

World of Warcraft is still fun. I have a great guild, I love the gameplay, and I love the relationships I've made and the memories I've carved out. I've met tons of people from the WoW team, and I know they're all passionate, well-meaning people who want to deliver the best quality possible. I imagine it's frustrating for them too, seeing reactions like the above. But something needs to change.

As someone who has played pretty much non-stop through every permutation of the game, I'm wondering if World of Warcraft: Forever will take some of the pressure off the retail team to keep driving this self-destructive 8-week dance. I'm also wondering if WoW: Forever will end up harvesting up resources that would otherwise go to Retail, making the situation there even worse. I'm also wondering if I'm part of the problem by remaining subscribed despite my dissatisfaction ...

Indeed, perhaps there's only one piece of feedback Blizzard will listen to here, and it's to unsubscribe.

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Microsoft might be planning to take a sharp left turn on the whole digital games argument, with this new Xbox job vacancy.

The summer has been quite fractious for the gaming industry. Xbox has laid off hundreds and divested, closed down studios. And Sony nuked all the good will it has built up over the years by announcing PlayStation will no longer support physical discs, while reiterating in court testimony that it doesn't consider purchases to represent true ownership.

Xbox has pulled in the opposite direction so far, in some ways. Xbox's new Disc-to-Digital program gives disc-based game owners digital rights simply for inserting the game into a compatible Xbox One or Xbox Series X console. But, Microsoft alone can't really stop the tide. It remains true that the only mass-market use case for Blu-ray drives these days are video game consoles, and if PlayStation is pulling out, the supply chain generally won't be viable at scale. Disc drive manufacturers are pivoting their assembly lines to adjacent industries, like lenses and lasers, ditching mechanical disc drives and putting disc-based games on notice.

But, could there be an alternative?

Users on X noticed last night that Microsoft has posted a vacancy for a "Xbox Games Supply Strategist" specifically focused on physical games.

"The Xbox Games Supply Strategist will coordinate the launch of physical Xbox games across all platforms, lead development & oversee execution of global supply positioning strategies across all stages of the product lifecycle, ensure that inventory is positioned to deliver working capital/cost/service goals, and oversee the sales & channel execution of those games. You’ll work closely with Product Marketing, Finance & various groups within Supply Chain to establish & manage supply and sales plan of record. Every day will bring a new challenge, and you’ll be continually looking for ways to drive business profitability by planning and executing a predictable, reliable & low-cost supply chain."

Notice that the copy makes no mention of discs here specifically ...

Indeed, with disc drives for laptops, Blu-ray players, and even CD players being phased out, it doesn't seem entirely likely to me that Xbox Helix will have a traditional disc drive. But, it increasingly seems like Microsoft may be looking at alternatives. The Nintendo Switch range for example uses SD cartridges to deliver game licenses, and in some cases entire games when the speed is adequate. Could Microsoft be looking to follow suit here?

Will Xbox Helix support physical games?

Microsoft has stayed fully quiet on its plans for physical games, even as PlayStation leaps head-first into self-imposed brand damage by telling users it's going all-in on digital.

Digital-based games are the norm now, owing to convenience and often times price. Xbox Game Pass delivers hundreds of games for a low monthly fee, all digital. Steam accelerated the death of disc-based games on PC, and the Steam sales, cloud saves, and family sharing, and offline playback have become the gold standard for a digital games platform. Mobile games too have converted entire generations to assume gaming is a digital-first medium.

Yet, in the core gaming audience, the hobbyist audience that makes up Xbox, Nintendo, and PlayStation's bulk customers — perhaps there's an opportunity for Microsoft here with Xbox Helix.

Retail presence, physicality, that sense of ownership, and resale viability are all hugely popular aspects of the hobby. Microsoft would score a huge win with large swaths of the most passionate fans were it to announce long-term support for physical games delivery. But, Microsoft would also be swimming hard against the tide. The quiet majority has signalled pretty loud and clear they prefer digital, whether it's via Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, or gaming itself. But ... vinyl, 4K Blu-Ray, and even music cassettes have fought back in recent years, as discussions about ownership heats up.

Perhaps Xbox could do something similar to Nintendo with Helix, delivering games via cartridges. Perhaps they could come up with something alternative, low cost and proprietary, even if it was just discs. Perhaps they could revive Skylanders toys and put game licenses on NFC chips inside action figures. Who knows? I guess we'll have to wait and see what Microsoft's ultimate play here is.

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The first wave of RTX Spark laptops just started shipping and hit store shelves. Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra likely turned the most heads, but there are actually seven different laptops powered by NVIDIA's new superchip (more if you count different sizes of similar laptops as separate devices).

ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, and MSI all have new laptops with the RTX Spark inside, and reviews for many of those PCs just went live. We're still waiting for reviews of several RTX Spark laptops, but first impressions are in.

• DEAL: Get Surfshark VPN 86% OFF with Windows Central 🦈

Reviews for these devices rolled out a bit differently than other product launches. Experts and reviewers were allowed to share their thoughts about the RTX Spark a day before publishing any reviews of laptops with the RTX Spark inside.

So, if you want to see what people have to say about the processor, check out our RTX Spark review roundup. Below is a collection of opinions about the first wave of RTX Spark laptops.

Note that these reviews were made possible thanks to review samples provided by NVIDIA or laptop makers.

Surface Laptop Ultra: Reviews

• Windows Central (4/5): "It's a laptop for those who know they need it, and it's mainly for AI developers and high-end content creators. If you find yourself leaning on local agents to complete tasks for you, or enjoy generating images and videos using AI models, this is the laptop for you."
• Tom's Hardware (3.5/5): "If you want the nicest Surface Laptop Microsoft has ever released, the Surface Laptop Ultra is for you. The system definitely copies the MacBook Pro in some areas, but is a luxury machine with a solid build, exceptionally bright display, a clever charging connector, and powerful components. It's the most exciting Surface hardware in years, and I hope it’s a signal that Microsoft is looking at the brand for more reinvention."
• The Verge (6/10): "Microsoft has come closer than ever to building a Windows alternative to the MacBook Pro. The hardware looks and feels great, and Nvidia’s GPU brings CUDA support and decent gaming capabilities to a high-end laptop design. But the Surface Laptop Ultra’s biggest selling point is also its biggest question mark: local AI. It all feels like a work in progress."
• Wired (7/10):"The Surface Laptop Ultra is a true MacBook Pro competitor for Windows—if only it weren't for the lack of battery life."
• Gizmodo: "It’s not the most performant laptop available today. It’s not the cleanest PC experience, either. It is, however, a laptop that can finally close the gap between performance and battery life. With all the wrinkles ironed out, the Surface Laptop Ultra is the laptop I wish I could carry with me for work, pleasure, or whatever the AI overlords think to do with my degrading body next."

Asus ProArt P16: Reviews

• Tom's Guide (4/5): "The Asus ProArt P16 is an outstanding laptop for creativity, with its legacy continuing with the might of Nvidia's RTX Spark N1X. With an even slimmer design that's light enough to bring with you anywhere, a knockout OLED touchscreen with amazing brightness and colors, the right ports and battery life that can (finally) get you past a workday and still have juice left, Asus has done its creator laptop justice."
• Trusted Reviews (4.5/5): "The Asus ProArt P16 (2026, RTX Spark) is a slim, stunning creator laptop that shows what RTX Spark can do, with standout integrated graphics, capable performance and nearly 14 hours of battery life. Gaming is a little behind a discrete RTX 5070 and the screen is slightly dim next to other ProArts, but it’s an impressive debut for Nvidia’s Windows chip."
• Notebookcheck (9/10): "The new ProArt P16 is a stunning laptop and even after using it for more than a week, we are still baffled how thin and light this 16-inch laptop really is without compromising in terms of stability, build quality or features. "
• Wccftech: "The ASUS ProArt P16 with NVIDIA RTX Spark N1X feels like a genuine first-class Windows PC rather than a compromised “Windows on Arm” experiment."

HP OmniBook Ultra 16: Reviews

• Tom's Guide (4/5): "The HP OmniBook Ultra 16 isn’t a laptop for general customers, but it’s great at what it was designed for. If you want a portable device for on-device AI work or creative projects, you won’t go wrong here. The fact that the laptop is a beautiful piece of work only sweetens the deal."

RTX Spark laptops reviews

Overall, reviews of the first RTX Spark laptops are positive. Unsurprisingly, they focus largely on the RTX Spark itself. That makes sense considering many of these laptops have sibling devices with chips from other companies.

Many called the RTX Spark laptops "MacBook Pro competitors," which is praise when coming from just about any laptop reviewer. Being mentioned alongside the MacBook Pro remains one of the highest compliments a laptop can receive.

Like the RTX Spark itself, these laptops should be viewed in the context of their target audience. They're primarily designed for creators and developers, though different models lean more heavily toward one group or the other.

While they're capable of playing games, gaming is not the primary focus of these devices. None of them are gaming laptops at this point, even though they're capable of playing many games.

But with so many devices launching today, we're still waiting for hands-on experience with quite a few RTX Spark laptops. Publications have taken different approaches to covering these laptops since so many RTX Spark devices launched at once. Some got their hands on as many as possible and are working to review each one separately. Others focused on the Surface Laptop Ultra, presumably due to availability and the fact that it's made by Microsoft.

As we wait for more first-hand experience with the RTX Spark laptops in everyday use, you can check out gaming comparisons of the PCs. Our friends at Tom's Guide tested six RTX Spark laptops for gaming.

The first wave of RTX Spark laptops are hitting shelves now. Our Cale Hunt rounded up all the RTX Spark laptops you can buy.

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In news that absolutely nobody saw coming (ok well the skeptics among us), the new Call of Duty game has launched to overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 kicked off its campaign early access yesterday ahead of the full lunch on October 23, and the online reception has been nothing short of glowing. Considering the feedback for the franchise recently has been that story modes have felt rushed and an afterthought as Warzone and Zombies have seemingly took priority, critics are calling Modern Warfare 4 one of the best campaigns the series has seen in years.

Steam reviews are looking great

Over on Steam, early access user reviews are currently sitting at an unprecedented 82% "Very Positive" rating. Meanwhile, major review outlets like IGN are praising Infinity Ward for delivering a focused, brutal, and genuinely emotional conclusion to the rebooted Modern Warfare saga.

Our own Call of Duty virtuoso, Cole Martin has published her spoiler free first impressions, and while she's held fire on a final review score until the full game is available, she's full of praise for the campaign "I repeatedly found myself gasping at every turn, surprised by the hows and whys that led up to the events of this blockbuster finale."

RELATED: 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4' story campaign is truly a cinematic masterpiece — a BIG return to form (spoiler-free impressions)

Social media reaction has been equally surprised.

Long-time players who have been following the series since 2003 have commented that the game feels like a genuine technical and narrative evolution rather than the standard annual production line approach.

Infinity Ward seems to have pulled off the unthinkable: making Call of Duty fans happy.

Now time will only tell if the multiplayer and Warzone integration will maintain this goodwill and upward trajectory for the franchise when the full game drops on October 23. But for now, the Modern Warfare saga looks to be going out on a high note.

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Windows 11 has a new Gaming Task View for XBOX mode that helps users hop back to the desktop or adjust power options for a device. That feature is now in testing among Windows Insiders.

Microsoft released builds in every Windows Insider channel to wrap up the week. I've listed all the changes below except those exclusive to the Release Preview channel since those features have largely been in testing before today.

While the update to XBOX mode is the headline feature of these builds, there are several other welcome changes. For example, Windows Hello can now temporarily brighten your screen to help you sign in when in a dark room.

Gaming (Beta, Experimental)

• We're introducing a refreshed Gaming Task View experience in XBOX mode, featuring a new navigation bar that provides quick access to Exit to Desktop and Power Options. This update makes key system actions easier to access while gaming.

Magnifier (Beta)

Magnifier now understands each of your displays

• More and more of the work people do happens across more than one screen. You draft on one display and keep source material open on another. You fill in a form while a reference document sits beside it. Those extra displays can be more helpful when each one can do its own job, and now Magnifier supports exactly that.
• To use this update, set your monitors to Extend in System > Display, not Duplicate, so Windows treats each screen as its own space.
• Every screen keeps its own view at its own zoom. In earlier versions of Magnifier, zooming in stretched a single magnified view across all of your displays, so one screen's zoom followed you everywhere and screen edges blurred together. With this update, each monitor's boundary is respected, and each monitor can have its own zoom percentage. Your writing screen can be at 300% while your reference screen stays at 150%, and the magnified view no longer spills from one display into the next. This behavior matters because different tasks and screen resolutions often require different levels of magnification to remain comfortable to read.

Setting the zoom on each screen is easy. Choose whichever method feels natural:

• Move your mouse pointer onto the screen you want to adjust, then press Windows key + Plus (+) or Windows key + Minus (-), or hold Ctrl + Alt and rotate your mouse wheel.
• Set the percentages directly in Accessibility > Magnifier.
• Drag the Magnifier toolbar onto a specific screen to adjust that screen from its on-screen controls.
• Per-monitor zoom is turned on by default. If you prefer the classic behavior where a single zoom spans all of your displays, you can turn per-monitor zoom off at any time from either the Magnifier toolbar or Accessibility > Magnifier. You can turn it back on whenever you like.

Keep the view that matters, right where you need it

• As you move your mouse from screen to screen, the magnified view naturally follows your pointer. Sometimes this might cause you to lose sight of the content that you're actively working on.
• Viewport locking keeps that view in place. For example, you might be drafting an email based on a section of a document open on another display. Position that display so the paragraph you need is in view, press Ctrl + Windows key + K, and the screen holds its view steady while you move your cursor over to write. The locked screen stays fully live and interactive, so you can glance back, click, or copy from it whenever you need to, and its view stays put until you release it.
• A message appears on the screen when it's locked, so you always know what's being held. To lock or unlock a screen, point your mouse at that screen and press Ctrl + Windows key + K again. To release everything at once, press Windows key + Esc to dismiss all locks. You can change the lock shortcut to Ctrl + Alt + P in Accessibility > Magnifier.

Settings - Home (Beta)

• We're beginning to expand the new Device Info Card experience for Settings Home to additional markets globally. Available for Windows Insiders signed in with their Microsoft account, the Device Info Card provides a quick snapshot of your PC's key specifications and usage. From the card, you can go directly to Settings > System > About to see more detailed information about your PC.

Settings - Privacy & security (Experimental (26H1))

• The improved Privacy & security page in Windows Settings helps you find the Camera, Microphone, and Location privacy controls more easily. It groups similar controls across the page and brings usage information from deeper linked pages onto this page.

File Explorer (Beta)

• Key file information, such as name, location, and date, now appears in a consistent layout on the File Explorer search results page, making search results easier to scan.

File Explorer (Experimental)

• Improved responsiveness of folder views so they update and sort correctly when files and folders are added or renamed.

Family Safety (Beta, Beta (26H1), Experimental (26H1))

• Improved family safety messaging when applications are blocked because of age-restricted parental controls.

Other (Beta, Experimental)

• Improved shutdown reliability, reducing the chance of a hang on shutdown in certain cases.
• The dialog for certain system messages, like low battery and permissions, should use the expected modern design again.

Other (Beta (26H1), Experimental (26H1))

• Fixed an issue with msmpeg2ac3dec.dll which was leading to some apps and games crashing recently.

Web sign-in (Experimental)

• Web sign-in now works on Microsoft Entra hybrid joined devices. Before this update, it was only available on Microsoft Entra joined devices. You can sign in to Windows at the lock screen with a passwordless credential: a FIDO2 security key, a passkey on your phone, or a Temporary Access Pass (TAP). You don't need a password. Once you're signed in, Windows gets a Kerberos ticket, so on-premises file shares and internal sites keep working. For more information, see Use web sign-in to enable passwordless sign-in in Windows.

Windows Hello (Experimental)

• Windows Hello facial recognition can temporarily brighten your screen to help you sign in when you're in a dark or dimly lit room.
• To turn on this feature, go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Facial recognition (Windows Hello) and turn on Automatically adjust screen brightness during face recognition.

Windows Search (Experimental)

• Addressed underlying issues that could cause search to appear missing or stop working after the previous update, including if you rapidly clicked the search icon repeatedly.

Search (Experimental (26H1))

• Search home has been simplified to reduce visual clutter and make it easier to get back to recent searches quickly.
• Search does a better job showing where a result comes from, whether it's an app, setting, file, web result, or Store suggestion, so it's easier to tell what you're looking at and where you'll go before you click.
• A new setting in Settings > Privacy & security > Search lets you choose whether web and Microsoft Store suggestions appear alongside local results.

Run (Experimental)

• Improved the window position when using an Arabic or Hebrew display language.
• Improved performance of the Run dialog when navigating to very large folders.
• Fixed an issue where your text might unexpectedly disappear if you started typing too quickly after opening Run.
• Made a few other small visual fixes and refinements.

Pointer Indicator (Experimental (26H1))

• We're introducing the Pointer Indicator accessibility setting. This feature enables Windows users with low vision to easily locate and use their cursor to increase productivity and efficiency when using a Windows device.
• To enable this experience, go to Settings > Accessibility > Mouse pointer and touch, and enable the Pointer indicator setting. You can also search for the setting by name. When the setting is enabled, you can toggle it on or off with the keyboard shortcut, Windows logo key + Ctrl + Shift + X.

Live Captions (Experimental (26H1))

• We're improving Live Captions with a new Include Screen Reader audio setting, which is off by default. With the setting off, Live Captions won't transcribe audio from screen readers such as Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA, keeping captions focused on microphone and system audio.

Taskbar

• New! This update improves animations of app window previews when you move the mouse across app icons in the taskbar.
• This update improves the underlying state persistence of taskbar settings related to multiple monitors across monitor connections and disconnections.

Since revamping the Windows Insider Program earlier this year, Microsoft has sped up its release schedule for builds. As a result, we often end the week with a batch of five or six new builds to check out.

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It seems like 2026 is the year of the achievement overhaul. Just as Xbox continues to revamp its achievement system, streamlining the experience across PC and Xbox and adding Mythic Achievements into the mix, Valve is also getting in on the action and rolling out Steam Achievement Sets.

Currently live in beta, this new achievement system completely changes how games handle base achievements versus post-launch DLC expansions, as well as season updates and new game modes. Completionists who have had headaches with these systems for decades can rejoice!

So what are Steam Achievement Sets anyway?

So you've poured 80 hours into a game to hit the 100% achievement mark, then merrily moved on to another game. Only to come back later and see your shiny 100% completion is now 80%. The game released new DLC, and you are now compelled to play it to get that 100% back.

Anyone who's played Vampire Survivors or the RE4 Remake can attest to this pain, though I don't really mind and enjoy the new challenge. Valve, however, is solving this issue with a new system that lets developers group achievements into distinct "sets."

Base game achievements are kept seperate from post-launch DLCs or extra mode, meaning if you 100% the base game you keep your base game completion ribbon regardless of what is added later on.

Beyond seperating DLCs, Valve is ontroducing a few other quality of life upgrades to it's achievement system.

• Archived Achievements: Developers can now officially archive dead, broken, or retired achievements. Archived achievements remain visible on the profiles of players who unlocked them, but won't block new players from achieving a 100% completion badge.
• Separating Campaign from Multiplayer: Developers can split single-player and co-op/multiplayer into separate sets. This is a massive win for titles like Portal 2 or Ghost of Tsushima, where dead servers or tacked-on online modes have blocked solo players from earning completion badges for years.
• Sub-ribbons & cleaned-up UI: Unlocking full sets earns distinct sub-ribbons, making massive achievement lists (like Payday 2 or Master Chief Collection) far less laborious to navigate.

Some notable concerns

Overall, the changes have been received positively, but developers could add seasonal or time-limited event sets to games that embrace FOMO mechanics, though I think the archiving feature Valve is proposing mostly solves this. As long as the event is archived after the fact, latecomers can still 100% the game without being walled off.

The update also removes overall Average Game Completion % from profile showcases, a metric many hardcore completionists have built up over the years. Completed game counts have also been replaced with completed sets, meaning a game with 16 sets, such as Team Fortress 2, that has a whopping 520 achievements could artificially inflate a profile's stats compared to a game with just one set. Hopefully these are issues that can be ironed out or addressed during the beta phase.

Will Developers actually use the new achievement sets?

Because Steam has historically given developers total freedom and few rules, Achievement Sets' success relies on studios manually opting in via Steamworks. Fortunately, smaller developers are already praising how easy it is to set up. The founder of Arcen Games (Heart of the Machine) has already noted on Reddit that categorizing 100 achievements into a DLC set took less than 10 minutes.

Titles like Against the Storm, Age of Wonders 4, DREDGE, PowerWash Simulator, and Modern Warfare 4 have already adopted the feature during the beta. There is full list on the Steam announcement page here.

How are you feeling about the update to Steam Achievements? Do you welcome the new structure to our virtual trophy cases, or could you not care less once you complete a game? Let me know in the comments!

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My favorite game of all time and the title many consider the best Fallout entry are now seemingly merged. I assume this is another vibe-coded mashup, but honestly? It looks annoyingly cool.

Seeing Master Chief drive a Warthog around the Mojave Wasteland, or even fly a Banshee above the ruins, is genuinely bizarre. Not only that, but you can also seemingly play through the entire Fallout: New Vegas campaign with full dialogue options; only you’re playing as Master Chief, armed with an energy sword, battle rifle, grenades, and, why not, a gravity hammer.

Two completely different games, somehow running together?

It’s kind of difficult to know where to start, given what’s been happening in the space recently. We’ve seen Skate in Call of Duty, Minecraft in Elden Ring, and Mario in Halo, among all sorts of other monstrosities. I do feel a bit weird covering these things, but given Xbox’s latest venture in essentially approving of these AI mashups through Xbox Labs, I can’t feel too bad about it, I guess.

It’s genuinely unprecedented times for gaming. If this is what AI is capable of now, it’s a harrowing thought to consider what it might be capable of just a year from now. But I digress.

The Halo 3 and Fallout: New Vegas combination is cool, and I wouldn’t mind playing it myself. Of course, you can’t right now, because that would be too much fun. The developer, Reveries on YouTube, does say this about the project:

“An integration of Halo 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, allowing both games to run simultaneously and bringing Halo's original gameplay into the Mojave... Still in active development, planned for release on GitHub soon... Not a rewrite or decompilation, inspired by Chasm's SkyCraft project.”

So, unlike other AI mashups, this one isn’t available yet, but the video does a good job showcasing what you can get up to.

With that said, let me know how you feel about these AI remixes that combine games. Do you care? Is it too far? Or do you have other thoughts entirely? Let me know in the comments and be sure to take part in our poll below:

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It feels like the emulation scene is having a moment. Not long after reports surfaced of a PlayStation 5 emulator running on the Xbox Series X, we now have a Nintendo Switch emulator appearing on the platform as well.

Similar to the PS5 port, this requires you to be in Developer Mode. The emulator appears to be based on Eden, with gameplay footage showing Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Wonder, and Metroid Prime Beyond successfully booting.

I covered the possibility of a Nintendo Switch emulator arriving on Xbox just a few months ago, though that specific project never really materialized. However, given the current landscape of AI-assisted development, I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a straightforward UWP port of Eden, brute-forced into existence through vibe coding.

Emulation is always a tricky topic to discuss. Many people get a bit cagey about it, and it’s no surprise, given that the scene is rife with piracy. But emulation itself isn’t illegal. Assuming you can legitimately source your copies of the games, this could actually be a great way to experience titles that would otherwise be exclusive to Nintendo hardware.

As for the state of this specific emulator, not much is known yet. I just happened to stumble across a post on X (formerly Twitter) showcasing it. If I had seen this a year ago, I would have jumped out of my seat in shock. But honestly, it’s par for the course given the current technological landscape, and even Xbox’s own admission of these AI-driven experiments through Xbox Labs.

It is a wild timeline to have both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 capable of emulating a Nintendo Switch. I must admit, that is a shock. But with that said, I’d love to hear how you feel about this.

Would you emulate a Nintendo Switch on your Xbox console, or would you rather stick to the proper hardware? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll!

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It looks like the early-stage Halo 2 and Halo 3 remakes were planned to far exceed the bare-minimum content that Halo: Campaign Evolved offered. It’s no secret that Halo: Campaign Evolved was a polarizing remake, releasing with very little content and bonus missions that I’d describe as on par with Halo 5's level of bad storytelling.

But I’m not here to pour my heart out over that. In a new report from @Mr_Rebs_, he provides us with some insight into how vast in scope a Halo 2 and Halo 3 remake was going to be before Halo Studios was gutted and the mantle of responsibility was handed over to Activision.

Multiplayer, Forge, Firefight, and more: What could have been

According to Rebs, Halo Studios reportedly conducted a survey among select community members regarding what they wanted from a Halo 2 and a Halo 3 remake, with the studio allegedly referring to the trilogy of remakes as “Project Manihi.”

For the Halo 2 survey, Halo Studios reportedly asked the following questions:

• Bringing back dual wielding and how important it was to the experience.
• Including a full multiplayer component retaining Halo 2's classic gameplay.
• Having a complete selection of multiplayer playlists available at launch.
• Adding Firefight.
• Reusing Blur Studio's Halo 2: Anniversary cinematics.
• Potentially introducing entirely new bonus missions.

Rebs claims that participants pushed back against reusing Blur cutscenes because Halo Studios wanted to reuse assets from Campaign Evolved, creating a visual mismatch. Respondents also believed that dual wielding was essential to a Halo 2 remake, and on that, I do agree.

As for multiplayer, participants reportedly wanted the classic gameplay preserved while ensuring it remained appealing to casual and competitive players, with a full selection of playlists available from day one.

For Halo 3, however, Rebs alleges the studio's ambitions were even greater, with Halo Studios looking to take everything it had learned from Campaign Evolved and the proposed Halo 2 remake and apply it to Halo 3.

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The survey reportedly evaluated how important it was to deliver the complete experience, and participants essentially said yes to everything: multiplayer, Forge, Theater, and additional modes like Firefight.

One of Rebs' sources suggested that Halo 3 was intended to become the flagship project of the entire remake initiative, with Halo Studios apparently looking to invest more resources into making it the most complete experience of the three.

It is also reported that Halo Studios were planning to do more bonus missions similar to what we got in Campaign Evolved, and that these next two remakes would also exist alongside the next mainline Halo game.

Since the layoffs at Halo Studios, though, all these plans are pretty much dead in the water, and I can’t say I’m not happy about that. I had zero faith in Halo Studios' ability to even remotely deliver one more remake, let alone two remakes alongside a new mainline entry, but maybe that’s just me.

Let me know how you feel in the comments. Would you have been excited for the prospects of a Halo Studios crack at a Halo 2 and Halo 3 remake, or are you like me and glad we’ll never see them?

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Minecraft Bedrock Edition has long been confined to.. well, hardly anything, actually. The game is available on almost every major platform, including Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows. That leaves just two platforms notably absent, which would be Mac and Linux.

For some reason, Mojang never thought to bring the Bedrock Edition of the game to Apple’s Mac line of hardware, despite its older sibling, Minecraft Java Edition, being readily available for download.

That is where creator @multision comes in. A 22-year-old self-taught developer, they have taken it upon themselves to get Minecraft Bedrock Edition working on Apple Silicon. Dubbed Blockintosh, the project is looking pretty good based on early previews, and you can check it out in their Discord.

Minecraft Java Edition already runs on Mac, so why does Bedrock matter?

Well, I’m glad you asked. Minecraft Bedrock Edition is completely cross-platform. This means if your friends are on Nintendo Switch, Xbox, or PC, you can jump in with them. Until now, Mac users have been a bit out of luck in that regard.

Not only that, but unlike Java Edition, Bedrock comes with native controller support without the need for installing mods. There is also the Minecraft Marketplace. Yes, it isn’t as robust as the Java modding scene, but there tends to be some high-quality content on there, including impressive crossovers with games like Sonic and Dragon Ball Z, just to name a few.

Personally, I think this is great. The more players, the better, and it's weird that Mojang hasn’t made the leap themselves. Granted, only around 2% of Mac users game, if we go by Steam’s hardware survey results. And whilst I’ll always prefer Windows, giving people more options on where they can play matters. For a game like Minecraft that has to compete with the likes of Roblox, which pulls in over 300 million monthly active users, that extra 2% can’t hurt to invest in.

Let me know your thoughts on Blockintosh in the comments. Do you agree with my take, or do you think it isn’t worth the time needed for Mojang to invest? Be sure to take part in our poll below:

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Microsoft recently shared a lengthy roadmap detailing massive changes coming to Windows 11 over the course of November 2026. They include new Photos app features, improvements to the Search app, expanded phone integration, and enhanced performance for gaming.

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Plus, Microsoft is also offering a special surprise for PC players during this time in honor of Xbox's 25th anniversary as part of these updates. Starting in November, customers who buy eligible Windows 11 PCs will be able to claim PC versions of 25 Xbox games with a total value of over $500.

This collection includes classics like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, Minecraft Dungeons, and Gears of War: Reloaded, to name a few.

Who is eligible for the free Xbox PC games?

This free collection of games (all digital, no discs) will only be valid with the purchase of select Windows devices sold from participating U.S. retailers from November 2, 2026, to December 31, 2026. Microsoft describes in its small print that offers to 'claim this collection' for your eligible device in the Microsoft Store app will be available until November 30, 2026.

You must activate your PC and claim the digital game bundle for your Microsoft account by December 2, 2027. You'll be able to check aka.ms/XBOXbundle on November 2, 2026, for game compatibility, system requirements, ratings, and full offer terms.

When you claim these titles, their PC versions will be linked to your Microsoft account and will become playable on any compatible Windows PC. Plus, some select titles will also be playable on Xbox Series X|S consoles with Xbox Play Anywhere support.

Note that some devices eligible for this giveaway will not be able to play all the games within this collection.

Christmas is coming early for Xbox fans in November

This free Xbox giveaway list is already stacked with some incredible titles from the few confirmed titles alone. We have Gears of War: Reloaded, the HD remaster of the iconic third-person shooter that still holds up today with its brutal gunplay, gritty story, and addictive multiplayer.

There's also Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, the first HD remaster of the first Halo that completely retains the gameplay of the original game while improving its graphics. Plus, unlike Halo: Campaign Evolved, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary comes with PvP multiplayer modes to keep players busy long after beating the campaign.

Then there's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition, Bethesda Softworks' magnum opus of an open-world RPG that people still play to this day for its immersive world and lore, engaging gameplay, and near-infinite modding compatibility.

We also have the cutesy Minecraft Dungeons, which is a fun, beginner-friendly ARPG that combines the hack-and-slash and looting gameplay of Diablo with the universe of Minecraft. Finally, we have Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, a full-blown remaster of the genre-revolutionizing real-time strategy game that features co-op, competitive multiplayer, mods, and full crossplay.

With such high-profile games, I can't wait to see what the rest of the free Xbox games being given away by Microsoft are as we inch closer to Xbox's 25th anniversary. Needless to say, it's going to be one heck of a birthday party.

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Last week, I demonstrated the new Xbox PC app which ended up being uploaded prematurely to some users' devices (including mine, apparently!) but, some of you were asking how it works on an Xbox Ally. The answer is: pretty damn great.

The Xbox PC app has improved leaps and bounds over the past couple of years as Microsoft turned its attention more seriously to Windows and PC gaming in general. Steam OS has been giving Microsoft a well-deserved kick up the backside both in the usability and performance space for gaming, and the competition has led to improvements for those in the Xbox ecosystem on PC, both via Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox / PC Game Pass.

The Xbox PC app is undergoing a big revamp later this year, and here's a video detailing a very early build you can expect to see (in a far more polished form) in the coming weeks.

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The primary gain here is raw performance. The Xbox Ally paired with the Xbox PC app offers very middling navigational responsiveness, with this weird "rubber banding" quirk where the cursor gets stuck, and you have to wait for it to become unstuck for a couple of seconds. If you get frustrated and spam buttons, as I often do, the inputs will queue up and then all play out instantly, leading to the highlighted object flipping all over the place.

In the new Xbox PC app, the rubber banding is completely gone I'm happy to report, even on this early build. Navigating through even massive lists of games is smooth and pleasant, and the loading speed is vastly improved across every panel. Whether it's your own library, the Xbox Game Pass library, the store page, individual game pages, and beyond. Navigation also now feels a lot more "d-pad" native. On the existing app, sometimes the cursor moves in a diagonal direction unexpectedly, adding to the sense that it isn't truly native for console-style use.

RELATED: Hands-on unboxing with the new Xbox Ally X20

The new Xbox PC app doesn't offer much by way of new features yet, but I am told that there are plans to add new stuff before it all goes live. Indeed, this is an early, unfinished build as mentioned, and some of the things I saw people dislike from the video I put out last week have already been addressed on internal builds I'm told.

It's unclear exactly when this will ship. I'm expecting it to go out to Xbox Insiders on PC at least towards the end of the year, by which time it should be a lot more polished and refined over what I've been messing around with now. It's unclear if the Xbox Game Bar guide will get similar treatment, but I would hope so, since now it has a very different visual style to the Xbox PC app itself.

Xbox is getting serious about PC gaming

I would like to see more customization, with custom backgrounds to give us a greater sense of "ownership" in our increasingly-digital investment in the hobby. I'd like to see more data surface more quickly when navigating the store too. I shouldn't have to enter a store page to see screenshots of a game or try to figure out what it is from its thumbnail in my view. Also, I think Xbox could still improve the search tool a bit, although some of this is on the developer's side with regards to tagging their games properly and so on.

For sure, some of Xbox's issues on PC move beyond the app itself, and emerge on the developer ecosystem side. Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon for example shipped with two builds simultaneously when it hit Xbox Play Anywhere a couple of weeks ago, allowing users to download the Xbox console version to their PC (which naturally wouldn't run). It's small issues like this which simply shouldn't be possible, and wouldn't be possible on Steam. Xbox needs to look towards fixing a litany of small things with its PC gaming ecosystem overall, and address things like native modding ecosystem support, systems for developer interactions with the community, social features potentially, and beyond. Perhaps the new Xbox Labs team will have some interesting things for Xbox PC up its sleeve in the future too.

In any case, it's great to see Microsoft double down on all of its endpoints. Xbox console has had a ton of new features lately, with Mythic Achievements, 1440p remote play streaming, and voice clipping in the Game DVR. Xbox Cloud Gaming is also getting a new interface that looks very close to the new PC app, and we should be seeing a new Xbox Elite Series 3 controller emerge soon.

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NVIDIA's RTX Spark is almost here. Laptops powered by the chip launch on October 16, 2026, but reviews of the chip are already out.

Reviews of the first wave of RTX Spark laptops work a bit differently than some other product launches. Today, those who were given access to RTX Spark laptops can share their experience with the chip itself, but thoughts on specific RTX Spark laptops cannot be shared until October 16, 2026.

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While that is different than what we normally see, it's not that surprising. RTX Spark is not just a new chip akin to a new processor from AMD, Intel, or Qualcomm. It is a new platform for NVIDIA, a major addition to Windows on Arm computing, and the mark of a new silicon partner for Windows.

Note that reviewers of the RTX Spark were limited to sharing details about the performance and benchmarks of the processor. Dedicated GPU performance varies based on the laptop it's paired with, so some reviewer experiences may differ depending on the hardware used to test RTX Spark.

RTX Spark: Reviews

• Windows Central: "The RTX Spark GPU is very performant and is capable of pretty much handling anything you'd want to throw at it on a mobile workstation. Where it really shines, however, is running local AI models directly on it. It's the reason NVIDIA built this platform to begin with, and it does this very well."
• Tom's Hardware: "Still, for a first-generation mobile platform that joins complex silicon IP from multiple design teams onto one chip and relies on several OEM partners to bring it to life in highly integrated notebook form factors, the maturity of the RTX Spark platform is an impressive achievement. (Take it from someone who has seen a couple of rough product launches from the inside.)"
• Tom's Guide: "Judging RTX Spark purely by its single-core CPU speeds is like judging a Ferrari by its cup holders. And after a week of stress-testing the Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra with Spark — running every synthetic and real-world test we can throw at it — it's clear that this is so much more."
• HotHardware: "In its most potent form, which is what we’ve tested here, the RTX Spark N1X is a powerful SoC that offers competitive multi-threaded CPU performance versus today’s top mobile platforms, with class-leading GPU performance. The RTX Spark N1X’s AI performance and capabilities are also unmatched, not only because of the powerful hardware on tap and unified memory architecture, but because NVIDIA’s AI software stack is so pervasive and mature."
• Lowyat: "For NVIDIA? They basically took multiple pages out of Qualcomm’s book of trial and errors, added their gaming DNA, made damn sure that the majority of compatibility issues between the x86 and ARM architectures were resolved, and what you have is something I’d never thought I’d see: playing AAA titles on an SoC, along with all the accoutrements that comes with an NVIDIA chipset."

NVIDIA RTX Spark shows promise, but you have to understand who it is for

Early impressions of RTX Spark are largely positive. Across multiple reviews, experts praised the processor's strong GPU performance, AI capabilities, and surprisingly polished first-generation experience.

At the same time, several reviewers cautioned against viewing RTX Spark through the lens of traditional gaming benchmarks, reminding readers that the platform is designed for AI workloads, creators, and developers.

The RTX Spark is not meant to power gaming laptops. It is aimed at developers and high-end creators. The processor is especially focused on local AI performance, an area many expect to be the next major shift in personal computing.

That being said, the RTX Spark is capable of gaming. It may show the future of Windows on Arm gaming, but that's yet to be seen. Over the coming weeks I am sure we will see countless reviewers test games on RTX Spark laptops. I think they'll be surprised by how well the processor does, but gaming-focused reviews still won't be the best way to judge those PCs.

The first wave of RTX Spark laptops are already available for preorder and hit shelves tomorrow. Our Cale Hunt rounded up all the RTX Spark laptops you can buy, which you can also find below.

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We've pretty well known all along that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 did not live up to expectations. While I personally enjoyed (mostly) Black Ops 7 and there was no shortage of content, it didn't do well.

Battlefield 6 launching before Black Ops 7 didn't help, neither did the fact it was a back-to-back Black Ops release cycle, coming after back-to-back Modern Warfare titles.

In an interview with The Game Business, Activision's Chief Marketing Officer, Tyler Bahl, admitted that it didn't perform well and that it wasn't what players were looking for. A couple of key quotes:

“I don’t think we were happy with every aspect of last year’s game, and we heard the feedback loud and clear. With Modern Warfare 4, we’ve tried to adjust based on that feedback. It’s getting back to a grounded military shooter. Making it cinematic, making it authentic, and bringing that edge back that Call of Duty is known for.”

"It was not something that our community was looking for. They wanted something fresh, and even though there were different time settings, and ways to play the game with new features, that tonal shift is something that they were looking for."

I've spoken before of Call of Duty fatigue, and to me it's personified by the sheer quantity of Black Ops and Modern Warfare games in recent memory. Aside from Vanguard, eight of the last nine Call of Duty games have been either Black Ops or Modern Warfare.

As we're already expecting, Call of Duty 2027 is set to be a new sub-franchise spearheaded by Sledgehammer Games. It certainly feels refreshing to have something completely new to look forward to.

Early signs for Modern Warfare 4 are positive, though. At least, speaking personally. DMZ is looking really interesting; the campaign will absolutely be better than last year's game, and the movement and mechanics we experienced in the beta I thought were pretty good.

The uphill battle Activision faces is the slide in player sentiment and, as a result, player retention. Bahl talks in the interview about nostalgia, lest we forget how successful the Black Ops and Black Ops 2 ports were on PS5.

But he also acknowledges that the teams working on Call of Duty have to be part of the community. They need to listen to players, they need to engage with players and they need to be more transparent. He points to the widespread appearance of the game at public events, putting the game in as many people's hands as possible before it comes out and letting them form their own opinion. Rather than parroting that of the internet echo chamber.

The other interesting point I pulled from the interview was Bahl's remarks on how Modern Warfare 4 will be judged a success or not:

"We’re not really holding ourselves to a specific number. It’s more about living up to those expectations that we set out at the beginning of the year... Because even if it delivers on sales, if people don’t like the game, we’ve missed the mark.”

I really want to believe that player satisfaction is a priority metric. But we need to see it play out that way. We've had two years of Call of Duty on Xbox Game Pass, which instigated a price increase and then a price decrease and the removal of the franchise from being added during its first year.

Revenue from sales was a driving factor. Game Pass players don't pay full price; even if they subscribe for a year, not all that money is attributable to Call of Duty. Revenue dropped, but then we also have Black Ops 6 experiencing a record launch.

Let's just say I'm skeptical. But I'm prepared to give Activision a chance to live up to it. Whether you enjoy the game or not, it's easy to look at it as an $80 storefront for skins, with a video game attached to it.

I want Modern Warfare 4 to be good. I want it to do well, and I want Call of Duty to get back to being the biggest and best there is. Only time will tell.

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Microsoft just shared a massive blog post recapping major Windows 11 changes, including new Photos app features, an improved Search experience, expanded phone integration, and gaming improvements.

Many of the changes highlighted by Microsoft have already been announced, or even fully detailed elsewhere. But with Windows 11 in the middle of a significant refresh, gathering them all in one place is useful.

While much of the post focuses on previously known improvements, Microsoft also used it to introduce a few genuinely new additions, including the redesigned Photos app and an Xbox anniversary game bundle for eligible PC buyers.

Here's a quick rundown of the features Microsoft highlighted:

• New Photos app
• Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD)
• Windows 11 performance improvements
  • Faster Start menu
  • Faster File Explorer
  • Faster Search
  • Faster Snipping Tool
  • Faster Settings
  • Memory optimizations
  • Reduced Widgets memory usage
  • Reduced update times
• Bluetooth and AirPods improvements
• Windows Hello improvements
• A push to improve driver quality
• Expanded Phone Link features
• Microsoft Ink Canvas
• Advanced Haptics
• Improved accessibility

One of the biggest changes is the new Search experience that allows you to perform actions from the taskbar. The new Search is faster, supports inline actions, and lets you perform tasks without opening related apps or settings menus. The new Search is already in testing among Windows Insiders.

Microsoft explains that improvements to Windows 11 results in an experience that feels up to 20 percent more responsive. That improvement comes as the result of several efforts from Microsoft, such as optimizing memory management and streamlining in-box apps.

The company also highlights that Windows 11 is more reliable and customizable than before. Over the past year the Widgets Panel has been cleaned, the taskbar has gained the option to be placed on other parts of your screen, and Windows Update has been improved.

Microsoft specifically highlighted Bluetooth improvements, including AirPods pairing that it says is up to 15 seconds faster.

On the gaming side of things, Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) reduces the initial load time of games by delivering precompiled shaders. Forza Horizon 6 and Gears of War: E-Day are supported now and more titles should gain support in the future.

The improvements to Windows 11 will help anyone with an up-to-date PC, but it's clear Microsoft is taking the opportunity to suggest people buy a new PC. As part of that effort, the company has an Xbox 25th Anniversary bundle that includes over $500 worth of games. The collection includes several major titles, including Skyrim Special Edition, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Age of Empires II Definitive Edition, Minecraft Dungeons, and Gears of War: Reloaded.

"A new PC is a meaningful purchase, and the value should show up in more than a spec sheet," says Microsoft. "The reason to upgrade is not just one feature; it is how [experiences] work together to make more of your day feel effortless."

Another Microsoft blog post highlights deals as we head into the holidays.

Microsoft shared a commitment to listen to feedback earlier this year. The company followed up with several improvements as part of its Windows K2 initiative. It's taken time for those promises to move from feedback and Insider testing to broader availability, but Windows 11 is now seeing some of its most significant changes in years.

The real question is whether these improvements change buying behavior. Microsoft clearly believes a faster, more reliable Windows experience can help convince people to upgrade.

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This is all becoming very commonplace now, and I am even starting to not be surprised when something like this comes across my feeds. This time, it's Halo: Combat Evolved running on a Nintendo 64, of all things.

The project, known as Halo-64, is playable, but it does require the Nintendo 64 8MB Expansion Pack. You also need a copy of the original Xbox version of Halo: CE to get it working. The setup process seems a bit complicated if you are uncomfortable with the Command Prompt, but the project itself is really cool and appears to be working pretty well.

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We are in the midst of pretty unprecedented times, what with all the AI modding happening and Xbox itself essentially jumping on the bandwagon with Xbox Labs. However, there’s currently no indication that this project uses AI, and I thought that was important to mention before I dive into what you can expect from Halo-64.

Halo on the Nintendo 64 shouldn't be possible, yet here we are

The game supports all 13 multiplayer maps with up to four-player split-screen, including game modes we’ve all come to know and love, like Team Slayer and Capture the Flag. It also supports bots in-game, with up to 8 AI players at four different skill levels. In a nice touch, those bots take random names from a "list of about 300 Mario, Zelda, GoldenEye, and Rare N64 characters."

Most impressively, the game features a Firefight mode. For those who don’t know, Firefight is Halo’s PvE mode featuring wave-based enemies, and it’s something that Halo: Campaign Evolved, the latest remake, doesn’t even have. The port also includes Rumble Pak support, so you can feel the shots and such on your controller.

Unfortunately, there’s no campaign, and I’d be surprised if we ever did get something like that. It’s crazy enough that we get multiplayer and Firefight, but Halo: CE’s campaign on a Nintendo 64? Now I do think that would be impossible.

I do love little projects like this, and I’ve been doing my best lately to highlight community-driven Halo creations, whether it’s Halo 5 on PC, Halo 3’s resurgence thanks to a new launcher, or Campaign Evolved getting multiplayer. It’s clear now more than ever that Halo’s community is what is driving the game forward, at least until we see what Activision cooks up with the franchise.

Do let me know your thoughts on Halo-64 in the comments, and don’t forget to take part in the poll above!

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Microsoft Edge may not have a Favorites bar after a future update. The browser may instead feature a collection of bookmarks instead. The change would bring Edge more in line with Chrome, which could help people transitioning from Google's browser to Microsoft's.

The change appears now in the Canary version of Microsoft Edge, which suggests it will make its way to the stable version of the browser at some point in the future. Leo Varela, who tracks changes to Edge and Chrome, spotted the change and highlighted it on X.

Varela also noted that the switch could be made to make Edge appear more like Chrome.

I'm curious if people are even aware that Edge has Favorites rather than bookmarks. Even if you click the star icon in Edge to add a site as a favorite and then place that site in the Favorites bar, the user interface looks almost identical to bookmarks in Chrome or other Chromium browsers.

Edge still has a poor reputation

This week I was speaking with a friend about Microsoft Edge and was somewhat surprised to hear them say it was a bad browser. I was actually more surprised that they had an opinion of the browser at all.

If you hop into our comment section or into subreddits full of tech enthusiasts, you'll often see people say something to the effect of "Edge is a fine browser; it's basically Chrome with a Microsoft paintjob."

But in my experience, that opinion is not held by non-techy users. In the rare instances that browser preferences come up in my everyday conversations, most people I speak with still connect Edge to Internet Explorer or just assume Edge is worse than Chrome.

I know Chrome gets a lot of hate around these parts, but the reality is that it's the world's most-used browser. Statcounter shows Chrome at a 66.36% market share right now. That tramples second-place Safari, which sits at 18.27%. Edge is in third place with a 6.04% market share.

That picture changes when exclusively looking at mobile devices. Chrome is even more dominant and Edge has essentially no mobile market share.

With Chrome being the de-facto standard for browsing, it's wise to make Edge look similar to Chrome. Microsoft needs to differentiate Edge in some ways, but Favorites versus Bookmarks is not one of them.

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Gears of War: E-Day is off to a fantastic start. The game has hit the top of the charts across the globe, becoming the second biggest Xbox launch this year, and that’s without even mentioning how well it has been reviewed across the board, including here on Windows Central.

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I’m not here to hype up how great the game is; fans who’ve played it already know that much. Instead, I’m here to explain the latest updates. The Coalition, the game’s developer, took to X to reveal that the game is finally getting Ranked Versus. The team says:

“It's time to lock-in, Gears. Ranked Versus is available now in E-Day... Gather your squad, choose from four playlists - Demolition, Crucible, Conquest, and Team Deathmatch, and grind your Rank for exclusive rewards.”

The Coalition rolls out dozens of E-Day fixes

The introduction of Ranked Versus came with a caveat, however. The Coalition quickly noticed an issue with placement matches that resulted in some players being placed in the wrong skill division. That issue has now been addressed, so placement matches should accurately determine your rank moving forward.

That’s not all, either. Alongside the new mode, the team has deployed a second patch for the game that addresses a range of bugs impacting the entire experience. I’ll do my best to highlight the ones I think are most important.

On PC, Xbox, and handhelds, the patch includes numerous improvements to stability and optimization across devices. It also makes multiple memory improvements to address crashing and performance degradation during long play sessions.

It also addresses multiple account linking and login issues, fixes problems with the Social Menu and friends list, and makes further improvements to server anti-cheat protection. Plus, it fixes an issue causing certain colorblind settings to not display as described, and in both Campaign and Horde Siege, it corrects multiple issues causing certain Weapon Mods to not perform as intended.

What about the story mode?

For Campaign players specifically, the patch fixes multiple issues causing parts of the War Journal and Achievement progress not to track, which is something that actually happened to me in my playthrough. It is worth mentioning, however, that missing collectibles are unable to be automatically re-granted.

Players will be able to see which collectibles are missing in order to re-collect them. Similarly, missing in-game rewards, such as skins and titles earned through Campaign completion, cannot be automatically re-granted. To work around this, players can start a new campaign from a completed mission and replay that mission to re-earn the missing rewards.

You can, of course, read the full patch notes linked here. For now, though, that’s the update. It’s great to see The Coalition hot on the heels of the launch with these updates, addressing important issues. When I played the campaign, I did come across a few bugs here and there, but nothing game-breaking.

Let me know your thoughts on E-Day’s patch notes and the introduction of Ranked Versus in the comments.

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XREAL just announced a refresh to the best AR glasses on the market. The newly announced XREAL 1 Pro+ is brighter than last year's model and features enhancements to improve image quality.

XREAL carved a niche in the wearable space with its glasses that let you enjoy content on a massive digital screen that you can take anywhere. We've covered XREAL products for years, including the XREAL Air 2 Pro, XREAL One Pro, and XREAL Beam Pro, which enhances XREAL AR glasses by adding support for Android apps.

The XREAL 1 Pro+ builds on the XREAL One Pro, retaining a 57-degree field of view and support for 3DoF (three degrees of freedom) spatial viewing. The new AR glasses are much brighter than their predecessor.

The biggest upgrade on paper is the jump from 700 nits to 1,200 nits of brightness. We've found display quality to be one of the most important factors when evaluating AR glasses.

In our XREAL One Pro review, we said you should buy a pair if you want a "bright, beautiful, and private display for all your devices." We'll have to test the XREAL 1 Pro+ but the official specifications suggest it's brighter and more beautiful than its predecessor.

XREAL added support for AI HDR to improve perceived image quality, though that feature is limited to certain types of content.

The 2D-to-3D conversion of the glasses, which adds depth to normal 2D content, has had its refresh rate improved from 30Hz to 60Hz.

The XREAL 1 Pro+ also has a new ergonomic nose pad that is supposed to make the glasses more comfortable during extended sessions.

You can order the XREAL 1 Pro+ starting today for $599. The launch is through XREAL's website, but XREAL glasses have become available through Amazon and Best Buy in the past, so it's reasonable to expect the XREAL 1 Pro+ to appear at other retailers.

At the time of publication, the XREAL 1 Pro+ glasses had not appeared on the XREAL website. I will update this piece once they are available for purchase.

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I’m sure we’ve all seen the socials by now. Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney is proudly claiming that Linux support for Fortnite was “vibe coded,” and the official @EpicGames account on X (Formerly Twitter) is doing the same for the new Epic Games Launcher. They’re boasting about faster speeds than Steam, citing improvements of up to 46%.

I will admit that it is impressive on paper. Steam takes roughly 10 seconds to boot, while Epic’s new launcher clocks in at around five seconds. At least, that’s what Epic says, and that was likely true 48 hours ago. But on the same day Epic decided to vibe code their way to success, Valve had already decided to update Steam.

Somehow, Valve managed to cut that 10-second startup time down to around five seconds as well. Which does put a bit of a damper on Epic’s bold claims.

Is the new Epic Games Launcher actually better?

As for Epic’s launcher itself, it does look rather buggy, though it is still a work in progress. I don’t have the technical know-how to know or understand what they’re cooking under the hood, and I imagine neither do the people making it, since the code is written by AI.

I'm joking, of course, but as silly as people make vibe coding seem, I do wish Epic the best in making a better launcher. At the end of the day, all we can hope is that it will push Steam to be better too, because competition is good for the industry.

I would love to see a battle of the launchers, including Xbox, which is in the middle of releasing a new and improved launcher. My colleague Jez Corden recently broke news about it, and I must admit that launcher is looking better than what we have had to put up with from the current Xbox PC app, which by all accounts is awful.

Do let me know your thoughts on the battle of the launchers. Do you appreciate Epic’s vibe-coded efforts, or will you be sticking to another launcher? Let me know in the comments and be sure to take part in our poll!

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2026 is coming to an end, so it's that time again for the long-running Golden Joystick Awards show to celebrate the best games of the year we've played.

On September 25, 2026, the Golden Joystick Awards announced all the shortlist nominees for 21 game-of-the-year categories, including PC Game of the Year, Console Game of the Year, Best Indie Game, and more.

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However, time for voting for the winners is running out, as it closes next week on October 23, 2026 at 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET / 12:00am BST.

Here is the full list of nominees for all the Golden Joystick Awards' shortlist categories, which you can vote for on GamesRadar.com, to see if your favorite games of 2026 made the cut.

Golden Joystick Awards — Shortlist nominees

Best Audio Design

• Big Walk
• Marathon
• Onimusha: Way of the Sword
• Rhythm Heaven Groove
• SAROS
• STAR WARS: Galactic Racer

Best Early Access Game

• Dead as Disco
• MENACE
• skate.
• Slay the Spire 2
• Subnautica 2
• WARDOGS

Best Game Adaptation

• Devil May Cry (Season 2)
• Exit 8
• Fallout (Season 2)
• Iron Lung
• Mortal Kombat II
• Resident Evil

Best Game Expansion

• Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven
• DAVE THE DIVER - In the Jungle Content Pack
• DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations
• Quake: Dawn of the Machine
• The Alters: Last Variable
• World of Warcraft: Midnight

Best Game Trailer

• Battlefield 6 x Top Gun: Carrier Strike Cinematic Trailer
• Big Walk - Release Date Announcement
• Cairn - Launch Trailer
• MOUSE: P.I. For Hire | Official Launch Trailer
• Prove You're Human - Announcement Trailer
• Resident Evil Requiem - Evil Has Always Had A Name

Best Gaming Hardware

• Logitech G PRO X2 SUPERSTRIKE
• Razer Viper V4 Pro
• Secretlab ATLAS
• Sony INZONE M10S II
• Steam Controller
• Turtle Beach Stealth Pro II

Best Indie Game

• Big Walk
• Denshattack!
• Esoteric Ebb
• Mixtape
• Mouse: P.I. for Hire
• Order of the Sinking Star
• REANIMAL
• Sovereign Tower
• Titanium Court
• Valheim

Best Indie Game - Self-published

• Cairn
• Fields of Mistria
• MECCHA CHAMELEON
• Mewgenics
• Mina the Hollower
• Perfect Tides: Station to Station
• Phonopolis
• Rhythm Doctor
• The Incident at Galley House
• Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors

Best Lead Performer

• Aaron Paul - Robert Robertson III, Dispatch
• Angela Sant'Albano - Grace Ashcroft, Resident Evil Requiem
• Anna Demetriou - Sophia, Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
• Liam McIntyre - Wolverine, Marvel's Wolverine
• Patrick Gibson - James Bond, 007 First Light
• Will de Renzy-Martin - Coen, The Blood of Dawnwalker

Best Supporting Performer

• Frankie Kevich - Zoe de Vera, CONTROL Resonant
• Grace Saif - Diana, PRAGMATA
• Lennie James - John Greenway, 007 First Light
• Terry O'Quinn - Richard, SILENT HILL: Townfall
• Troy Baker - Nathaniel Essex, Marvel's Wolverine
• Vic Michaelis - Runa Blask, STAR WARS: Zero Company

Best Multiplayer Game

• ARC Raiders
• Big Walk
• Marathon
• MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls
• MECCHA CHAMELEON
• Valheim

Best Remake / Remaster

• Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced
• Gothic 1 Remake
• METAL GEAR SOLID: MASTER COLLECTION Vol.2
• Star Fox
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered
• Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter

Best Soundtrack

• 007 First Light
• Crimson Desert
• Dispatch
• Lumines Arise
• Mewgenics
• Mixtape

Best Storytelling

• 007 First Light
• Dispatch
• Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave
• SILENT HILL: Townfall
• The Blood of Dawnwalker
• ZERO PARADES: For Dead Spies

Best Visual Design

• CONTROL Resonant
• Forza Horizon 6
• Orbitals
• Phonopolis
• Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
• SAROS

Most Wanted Game

• Alien: Isolation 2
• ANANTA
• Black Myth: Zhong Kui
• EXODUS
• Fable
• FINAL FANTASY VII REVELATION
• God of War Laufey
• Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
• KINGDOM HEARTS IV
• METRO 2039
• NO LAW
• Persona 6
• Resident Evil Veronica
• STRANGER THAN HEAVEN
• Stuntman: Hollywood
• The Expanse: Osiris Reborn
• The Witcher 4
• Tides of Annihilation
• Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis
• Total War: WARHAMMER 40,000

Still Playing - Mobile

• Balatro
• Genshin Impact
• Honkai: Star Rail
• MARVEL SNAP
• MONOPOLY GO!
• NTE: Neverness to Everness
• Old School RuneScape
• Pokémon GO
• Roblox
• Sky: Children of the Light
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Mobile
• Wuthering Waves

Still Playing - PC & Console

• Apex Legends
• Fortnite
• GTA Online
• HELLDIVERS 2
• HITMAN World of Assassination
• Minecraft
• No Man's Sky
• Palworld
• The Elder Scrolls Online
• Warframe
• World of Warcraft
• Call of Duty: Warzone

Studio of the Year

• CAPCOM
• Frogwares
• House House
• IO Interactive
• Nintendo EPD
• SQUARE ENIX

PC Game of the Year

• Big Walk
• Crimson Desert
• Escape from Tarkov
• Esoteric Ebb
• MECCHA CHAMELEON
• Mewgenics
• Order of the Sinking Star
• STAR WARS: Zero Company
• The Blood of Dawnwalker
• Valheim

Console Game of the Year

• 007 First Light
• Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave
• Forza Horizon 6
• LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
• Nioh 3
• Onimusha: Way of the Sword
• Pokémon Pokopia
• PRAGMATA
• Resident Evil Requiem
• SAROS

Golden Joystick Awards — Ultimate Game of the Year

On October 26, 2026, the Golden Joystick Awards will reveal nominees for its Ultimate of the Gear award, and voting for the winner will open that day.

Additionally, journalists from GamesRadar+, PC Gamer, Future Games Show, Edge magazine, Knowledge, Retro Gamer, and Future's trusted network of freelance writers and content creators will select winners in other categories.

The winners for the following awards will be selected on the night:

• Streamers’ Choice Award
• Breakthrough Award
• Critics’ Choice Award

Golden Joystick Awards — Where can we watch the show?

All of the winners will be announced during the Golden Joystick Awards ceremony on November 11, 2026, and will be hosted at Troxy, London, United Kingdom.

No start times or streaming platforms have been announced as of yet, but it is likely the show will be broadcast on major streaming platforms like YouTube, as it did last year.

Who will sweep this year's Golden Joystick Awards?

Last year, the critically acclaimed RPG, Clair Obsur: Expedition 33, completely swept almost every major category at the Golden Joystick Awards, picking up seven awards (including the Ultimate Game of the Year award).

This year, it seems the only games that have a chance to sweep awards are Resident Evil: Requiem and 007: First Light, as they've been nominated in five categories thus far.

Both of these are games incredible in their own right, but will they be nominated for the Golden Joystick Awards' Ultimate Game of the Year? Even if they do, will Resident Evil Requiem or 007: First Light be able to win it, or will an unexpected, underdog entry take home the gold?

Tune in on November 11, 2026, to find out when the Golden Joystick Awards announce its winners.

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Big Walk is one of the biggest indie game releases of this year, selling over 1 million copies in just six days following its release on August 4, 2026. It's a light-hearted, co-operative adventure game that requires friends to work together to explore its world and solve puzzles.

The game is currently available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2, which has led many fans to wonder why the Xbox release hasn't arrived yet. Well, now we have our answer. Developers House House have broken their silence, citing a line that the studio refuses to cross.

House House is boycotting Microsoft and Xbox

In a new blog post, the studio behind Big Walk and Untitled Goose Game has explained its decision not to bring the game to Xbox:

“We have made the decision not to release Big Walk on Xbox, in accordance with the Palestinian-led BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement’s call to boycott Microsoft, and their designation of Microsoft Games (and Xbox) as a priority boycott target. If you need help understanding our motives, we would recommend reading about why Microsoft is a BDS priority target, the successes this kind of pressure has already had on Microsoft, and especially, watching this great introductory piece by People Make Games.”

BDS is a Palestinian-led movement that calls for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against Israel and companies it considers complicit in violations of Palestinian rights. Since the announcement, I've seen plenty of discussion online about the decision. Ultimately, it's up to the developer to decide which platforms it wants to release its games on.

How is Microsoft connected to this?

According to BDS, Microsoft is considered a priority boycott target because of its provision of Azure cloud and AI services to the Israeli military, which the movement alleges have contributed to Israel's military operations. House House goes into some more detail in its statement, acknowledging that the decision will prevent some Xbox players from enjoying Big Walk with their friends:

“It has always been our intention for Big Walk to be played by groups of friends, and we know that keeping the game off Xbox runs counter to those intentions. This decision means that some people will miss out on playing Big Walk with their friends, and we understand the disappointment we’re causing. We are disappointed too. We would love for people to be able to play the game on Xbox, but not until Microsoft and/or Xbox have been removed as BDS boycott targets.”

For now, Xbox players hoping to jump into Big Walk with their friends will have to look elsewhere for an alternative, as House House has made its position clear. Whether that changes in the future is unknown, but the studio hasn't ruled out bringing the game to Xbox forever. However, unless Microsoft or Xbox is removed from the BDS movement's boycott targets, it seems an Xbox release of Big Walk is off limits.

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Halo 5: Guardians is, to my knowledge, the only mainline Halo title that hasn’t been ported to PC. It remains confined to consoles, with the sole exception being Halo 5: Forge, which is essentially just the custom game editor and isn’t the full experience. Fortunately, if you’ve been waiting for Halo 5 to arrive on PC, one determined fan is putting in most of the legwork.

I’ll be the first to admit that Halo 5 is probably my least liked game in the franchise, and that might even include the mobile spin-offs. In my opinion, the campaign was disastrously terrible by every metric. What wasn’t a disaster, though, was the multiplayer. While I will die on the hill that Halo 5 is a flawed game, the multiplayer was, annoyingly, pretty fun.

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Warzone was a great addition to the franchise, which makes the fact that it was missing from Halo: Infinite all the more frustrating. But alas. Now, a community-run effort is aiming to get the entire Halo 5 package working on PC, with all the PC bells and whistles you'd expect, like higher FOV, increased FPS, and more.

How 'Halo 5: Reforged' actually works on PC

Halo 5: Reforged uses a custom PC runtime built around Halo 5: Forge, adapted to work with content you supply locally. This does mean you’ll need to source your own legitimate copy of the game to extract the necessary files.

It is still a work in progress, but the campaign, multiplayer, and Warzone are all playable in development builds. All 15 campaign missions currently load into gameplay, and two-player co-op is working. On the multiplayer side, they've even managed to support up to 32 players, something Halo 5 didn't originally have. On the Warzone Firefight side of things, testing seems to be going smoothly too.

Regardless of my personal feelings toward Halo 5, I do think this is great. I genuinely believe the game’s multiplayer would have been better served on PC rather than being locked to console, and if you are interested in this project, I suggest you join their Discord here.

Will Xbox shut down this community project?

As for whether this project will get taken down, it’s sort of up in the air. Prior to Halo Studios essentially being closed down, with few staff remaining, Ske7ch, the Community Director for Halo Studios, commented on the project.

Ske7ch says that from their loose understanding, it felt potentially problematic, but after getting more context, they realized it was a wrapper of shared components with players needing their own personal copies, but they do say that they couldn't know for sure.

Now if I were to speculate, I would say that given the recent announcement of Xbox Labs and Xbox embracing all this weird and wacky game porting and mashups happening, I could see this port sticking around without much issue.

Let me know your thoughts. Are you happy PC players can get disappointed with Halo 5’s campaign and enjoy the game’s multiplayer, or are you a genuine fan of this entry? Leave a comment and be sure to take part in our poll!

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Microsoft announced (via on Xbox Wire) a brand new Xbox controller called the Xbox Nano Controller, and it will be released in November 2026 for Xbox consoles, Windows PC, iOS and Android mobile devices, and select Smart TVs.

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The Xbox Nano Controller is an extremely small gamepad (5 inches long and 3.5 ounces in weight) that can fit into your pocket for easier portability while still packing the form factor and standard 18-button layout of regular Xbox controllers.

Additionally, its smaller size makes the Xbox Nano Controller easier for players with smaller hands to use who struggle to use larger controllers.

The Xbox Nano Controller also includes a rechargeable battery, an extra reprogrammable Action Button, and Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth support.

Plus, it's designed for Xbox Cloud Gaming and casual use. It mimics a TV remote in form factor and weight, so it can sit on the sofa or coffee table without taking up space.

You can pre-order the Xbox Nano Controller right now on the Xbox website for $49.99.

It will be made available in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with additional markets to follow.

For a limited time, Xbox is partnering with Samsung to offer a special Xbox Nano Controller with two months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership (for new users) in the US for anyone who purchases select Samsung TVs during the holiday season.

Additionally, Xbox is partnering with Meta to offer an Xbox Nano Controller with two months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership (for new users) in the US for anyone purchasing a Meta Quest.

The Xbox Nano Controller has a cool nostalgic design, but some of its spec choices and price leave it to be desired

Upon first impressions of this controller, I got a wave of nostalgia, as its design reminds me a lot of the Super Nintendo controller I used as a kid. However, my interest in the Xbox Nano controller suddenly dropped upon looking at its MSRP and specs.

$49.99 is a lot of money for a controller these days. For that price, it better have some advanced tech like Hall Effect or TMR thumbsticks to justify such a cost.

Sadly, the Xbox Nano Controller does not have any such tech. On top of that, the Xbox Nano Controller has no direct WiFi connection for Xbox Cloud Gaming and instead relies on Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth connections, which are more laggy and unresponsive by comparison.

So on paper, the Xbox Nano Controller doesn't sound like a good controller at that price point. However, that won't stop us from reviewing the gamepad in the future to see if its performance, design, and ergonomics can make up for the Xbox Nano Controller's omissions of advanced tech and its steep price.

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It's no secret that Microsoft's gaming division has struggled to keep pace with PlayStation and Nintendo for active console users, and this Xbox survey suggests the firm might be considering the nuclear option to fix things.

Yesterday, a new survey appeared for a subset of Xbox users on the Insider Program, presumably among those who Microsoft tracks as having multiple devices. A user sent us the below survey screens, which Windows Central has verified as real.

Microsoft's problematic Xbox multiplatform strategy has left many users who own multiple devices with fewer reasons to actually turn their consoles on. In that universe, it reduces Microsoft's chances to earn users in it's own ecosystem considerably, impacting both first party revenue and third party port viability. Microsoft sells mountains of games on PlayStation, but it has to pay a 30% cut for the privilege. Many PlayStation users already own an Xbox too, so Microsoft is potentially handing away potential users for no real reason.

These new surveys suggest Microsoft may be considering some drastic moves to change the situation.

The survey asks a variety of questions of users across multiple ecosystems, asking how likely they would be to invest in the Xbox platform if various games went timed, or even fully console exclusive.

Microsoft asks if users would switch to Xbox on a per game basis, including pitches of exclusivity for games like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Hideo Kojima's PHYSINT, Diablo, and even Minecraft itself. The survey even stresses that existing titles wouldn't be removed from other platforms, but would no longer receive new content.

There's even a nuclear option question, asking users how they'd change their habits if every single Xbox game (except Call of Duty, likely owing to acquisition requirements) went fully console exclusive.

It asks users to consider the hypothetical scenario, offering multiple choice responses below it.

"Imagine it was announced that all future title releases from every XBOX-developed gaming franchise except Call of Duty will be console-exclusive to XBOX," the final survey question reads. "For Minecraft only, existing titles would no longer be available for purchase on PlayStation or Nintendo consoles, and would not receive any new content updates. However, there is no impact to any of the existing titles or content you already own. Nothing changes on PC in this announcement."

It asks users if they would move to an existing Xbox console they already own, buy a new one, switch to PC, or skip it entirely in this scenario.

Going multiplatform didn't work, would going maximum exclusivity work instead?

In the near term, even if Microsoft did create massive desire for its platform and was somehow able to make even GTA6 magically exclusive, the RAMpocalypse has driven hardware sales to historic lows. Even if there was Xbox stock available globally, they've become prohibitively expensive for many. But, that situation (hopefully) won't last forever.

If games like Fallout 5, The Elder Scrolls 6, and Diablo 5 were Xbox Helix exclusive, it would undoubtedly drive masses of sales for Xbox hardware. But would the stock even be available? Microsoft has historically struggled with global distribution even before the component crisis. As much as I think Xbox desperately needs exclusive content, the risks are undeniable on paper.

But sacrificing the entire platform is just as risky potentially. PlayStation itself just massively clawed back from Steam and Windows PC gaming too.

There's little point in maintaining Xbox as an entity if it was to become a simple publisher. Microsoft is more of a hardware company than it has ever been arguably, powered by data centers and increasingly home grown silicon, like its new Maia chips which has driven the stock to new highs recently. Microsoft has already sacrificed mobile as a platform endpoint, greatly limiting its ability to distribute and train its AI platforms. I can't imagine they'll seek to make the same mistake with Xbox.

Surveys are just surveys, and it all might amount to nothing. It could also be a hint around Xbox's thought processes. Perhaps there's math that exists that proves that the juice just isn't worth the squeeze. Halo Campaign Evolved on PlayStation likely did irreparable brand damage to Xbox as a hardware entity, even though the game itself wasn't spectacularly well-received.

The future of Xbox could end up being more interesting than expected.

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Microsoft held a Windows and Surface event last week that focused heavily on the Surface Laptop Ultra. Coincidentally, Panos Panay announced a new device on the same day. Panay, who led Microsoft's hardware division for years, now works for Amazon and unveiled a new range of Amazon Alexa tablets.

Those tablets aren't really direct competition to the Surface Pro, but they do have a feature I'm envious of. The nanomatte screen on one of those Amazon Alexa tablets would be perfect on a Surface Pro.

Matte displays reduce glare by diffusing light. Because the screens bounce light in different directions, the image can appear grainy. An extreme example of this is if you get a cheap matte screen protector for your phone, but even a premium PC with a matte finish can look a bit grainy.

The nanomatte display Amazon uses in its new tablets etches the screen in a way that aligns with the pixels of the display. Amazon praises the displays for providing "a first-of-its-kind cinematic viewing experience, with incredible contrast retention in bright conditions and text that feels like it’s sitting on top of the glass."

I'm not sure I agree with the claim that it's a world first. Apple's nano-texture technology is similar to what Amazon unveiled. But even if Amazon is not a pioneer in the space, it has a device with a screen I'm envious of.

Microsoft has been oddly resistant to anti-glare displays. Surface was late to the party on adding them to any device and has been selective with where it offers the screens.

Even as recently as this year, Surface Laptop 8 shoppers needed to choose between an anti-glare display or 5G connectivity.

Our Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino argued back in 2020 that Microsoft needed to use anti-reflective displays in Surface PCs. Anti-reflective screens are different from anti-glare displays, but both aim to improve visibility in bright environments.

Microsoft has yet to fully embrace anti-glare screens and it holds back Surface hardware.

The anti-glare display of the Amazon Alexa Tablet 12 Pro also has a texture that makes pen usage feel more natural. The screen is meant to make it feel like you're writing on paper, not a perfectly smooth piece of glass.

It's not surprising that a device made by Panay has features that would fit perfectly on a Surface. He shaped the Surface brand as much as anyone, and he took his expertise over to Amazon.

But as I mentioned earlier, the Alexa tablets are not competitors to the Surface Pro, so they can't serve as replacements either. The Alexa tablets run on Android and have access to the Google Play Store. That's a welcome change to the locked-down Fire Tablets of the past, but it's a far cry from a Windows-powered 2-in-1.

I'd love to see Microsoft replicate the nanomatte finish of the Amazon Alexa Tablet 12 Pro on a Surface Pro in the future. The finish would help those using the Surface Pro in bright settings and also improve the feel of using a stylus.

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