Windows 11 holds a Windows 9 reference — if you know where to look

For those of you who follow the timeline of Windows releases, you know that Windows 9 never came to be. There was Windows 8, 8.1, 10, and most recently Windows 11, but 9 never got its time in the sun. However, if you know where to look, you can spot glimpses of its would-be existence.

Twitter user Xeno revealed the Easter egg over on Twitter, showcasing a namedrop of the unreleased operating system within Microsoft's current ecosystem of OSes (via WinFuture).

As noted in Xeno's tweet, you can find this little secret as far back as Windows 10 build 9860 as well as in the latest Windows 11 Insider Dev build offerings, such as 22567. And alongside the Windows 9 namedrop is a mention of Windows Blue, otherwise known as Windows 8.1. In total, Xeno's info drop highlights two fun little nuggets of lore tucked away within the shells of Microsoft's current breadwinning operating systems.

Microsoft is no stranger to folding Windows projects when it decides a different course of action is needed, so it's not like Windows 9 is anything particularly notable, nor is its quiet existence as a reference inside of Microsoft's successfully released operating systems. But it's still fun trivia, much like it's fun trivia that there's a country on Earth where, in 2022, Windows XP is still the go-to operating system. And while on the topic of novelties, don't forget Microsoft recently put a person inside a Clippy suit.