Yesterday, on August 11, 2026, a post in the r/Controller subreddit shared images of what appears to be the long-awaited Xbox Elite Series 3 controller, a successor to one of the best Xbox controllers, which we gave a near-perfect score to back in 2021.

The original poster deleted their "leaked" gallery of the implied prototype (potentially in response to an unconfirmed cease-and-desist order from Microsoft). Still, the images were nonetheless preserved and shared again by The Verge's Tom Warren, who clarifies how the original post claimed the poster purchased it from "OfferUp", an online reseller marketplace.

As with any rumor —or supposed leak — it's always best to take them with a pinch of salt, as any could turn out to be fake, and these images of the Xbox Elite Series 3 controller are no exception. Then again, there are plenty of hints in its design that this is indeed a prototype that was never intended to be seen publicly. The Verge's report even confirms that the battery pack says "Prototype, not for sale".

Still, these could be knockoffs of the official Xbox Elite Series controller or an early, unfinished model that looks nothing like the final product. However, the fact that these images were quickly removed implies they may be real.

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If it is genuine, it at least doesn't appear at a glance that the Elite Series 3 has changed much from its predecessor, other than a slightly different rubberized grip design and different-looking trigger locks.

However, The Verge's analysis shows some new features. These include two new scroll wheels along the bottom edge, a wireless mode that would connect directly to Xbox Cloud Gaming servers, and a 'Pair' button that switches the controller's connection between Cloud Gaming servers and an Xbox console.

Either way, we will have to wait for Microsoft's official announcement of the Xbox Elite Series 3 controller to see whether this design becomes the final product or an outdated prototype/knock-off. Gamescom is coming up, so we'll see.

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There's a lot of debate around minimum memory requirements for Windows laptops at the moment, and that often comes with the discussion of rising costs for the same components. It could be confusing for students looking for a new portable PC as they head back to school, but there are genuinely great options out there.

• Back to school deals up to $900 off PCs and more at Dell

Dell's latest XPS 13 offers student pricing starting at $599, and comes with the absolute latest "Wildcat Lake" processors from Intel. Yes, it sticks with an entry-level 8GB of RAM — though it is high-speed (7,467 MT/s) LPDDR5x memory — but at 2.2 lbs, it's still one of the most lightweight and portable options available right now. Need more? I have some options.

How much RAM does Windows really need?

There's no doubt that manufacturers like Dell started flexing their design muscles even harder after Apple launched its MacBook Neo for $599 — later rising to $699 —and it's arguably led to better choices for Windows PC consumers on a budget. We saw the new XPS 13 at Computex, a technology convention held earlier this year in Taiwan, and learned more about its choice of Intel Wildcat Lake processors.

Dell's Konstantin Tuv described it as "a great student device" [...] we want this to be their first XPS", and revealed that it was in production far before the Neo ever appeared, so it certainly isn't some knee-jerk reaction to rush an affordable laptop to market. Indeed, the XPS 13 was designed from the beginning to be a featherweight companion for students and workers alike. Still, its release didn't suddenly remove its in-house alternatives from sale.

Microsoft itself is committed to optimizing Windows 11 for 8GB of RAM, as CVP Marcus Ash told us directly: "We're relentless at reducing the memory footprint." However, if you're certain you need more memory (RAM) or storage (SSD space), Dell still offers its 15-inch and 16-inch laptops with modern DDR5 and previous-generation DDR4 modules, so you can choose a variant that suits you.

Ultimately, the $599.99 Dell 16 comes closest to satisfying each category, albeit with a larger display (though you'll have access to its touchscreen) and increased weight at 4.18 lbs, but you get 16GB of RAM and the same sensible 512GB of storage as the $599/$699 XPS 13. Otherwise, if you're prioritizing portability, the $549.99 Dell 15 doubles the SSD to 1TB, giving you more space for your files.

Whatever you choose, it's refreshing to see Dell pushing its capable laptops below $1,000, even if it takes back-to-school-themed sales to do it. If you've been holding out for a new Windows PC, there are still brief moments of savings happening like this where it's smart to shop.

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Atlus has been on a roll these past few years with the Persona series. We've had an amazing remake of Persona 3, a cool Persona 5 XCOM-like spin-off, and now we're getting a remake of Persona 4 along with the long-awaited Persona 6, both of which are headed for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Game Pass.

Needless to say, it's been a happy time to be a Persona fan...unless you happen to be a fan of the very first few Persona games like Revelation: Persona, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment.

In which case, you feel like an abandoned puppy, as these PlayStation 1-era cult classics that helped shape the Persona franchise have not received substantial updates or re-releases in decades since the release of their PSP ports between the late 2000s and early 2010s.

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However, that may change, as during an interview with GamerBraver regarding Persona 4 Revival, an Atlus producer called Wada Kazuhisa was asked if Atlus had plans to remake the aforementioned games, as it did with Persona 3 and 4.

Wada Kazuhisa responded with, and I quote, “At this point, I can’t say for sure, but personally, I think it’s something we should definitely do. I think we have to do it.”

Windows Central's take

Revelation: Persona and 2 were very different compared to their more famous successors. There was no social link system where you bonded with characters, and there were no time management/high-school simulator gameplay elements.

These games were traditional, linear dungeon crawlers that had way darker storylines and themes that tackled psychological horror and apocalyptic scenarios that leaned more closely toward the franchise Persona originally spun off from: Shin Megami Tensei.

A tone that Atlus may be bringing back in Persona 6, judging by how creepy its announcement trailer shown at the June 2026 Xbox Games Showcase was.

Personally, I would like to see remakes of the first few Persona games, as I never got a chance to play them due to how rare and scarce they are to find where I live. Persona 2 especially, because the idea of playing a Persona game where we played as older characters instead of teenagers in most Persona games sounds really refreshing.

Heck, I'd even take a re-release of their PSP ports or even their original PS1 versions on Xbox and PC, especially considering that it will be impossible to do on PlayStation systems since Sony is shutting down the PSP's and PlayStation 3's PSN stores, making them even more scarce to find and own.

After all, if Atlus was willing to bring back a cult-classic like Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzonoha for modern systems, why can't it do the same for the games that helped shape this weird, wacky, deranged, dark, and heartwarming franchise we know and love today?

🗨️ Over to you

How do you feel about the idea of Atlus remaking Revelation: Persona, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment? Are there any other classic Atlus JRPGs you want to see come back with a re-release, remaster, or remake?

If you have any thoughts on the matter, please let us know through the poll, the comments section, or our Reddit page.

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The beauty of a handheld gaming PC is its size and that it's also a full PC. The downside is that, unlike a laptop, you need to accessorize in order to achieve productivity status.

A Nintendo Switch 2 may well have a 'mouse' now, but you're not going to use it to bang out some emails and spreadsheets on the train.

I've had a Steam Deck since the very beginning, and as an open fan of Linux, I'm more than happy using it as a PC as well as a handheld games machine. Razer has now released a new product to go with one of its existing products that's particularly useful for the former.

Unlike everything else Razer makes, it doesn't have some wild monicker. It's simply the Razer Travel Case Folio, and it's designed to transport your favorite portable keyboard and prop up your favorite portable device.

Nothing overly fancy, but in the case of handhelds, it's actually pretty nifty.

The keyboard part is designed primarily around the Razer Joro wireless keyboard, which I have, and is the only keyboard I ever travel with in conjunction with my Steam Deck. The box also says it's a seamless fit with Apple's Magic Keyboard, if you're so inclined.

As yes, one of the reasons you'd want to buy this case is if you're an iPad owner (other tablets are also available). It'll support up to a 13-inch tablet to use with your keyboard, as the back of the case opens up in a manner regulars in these parts will be familiar with.

The Travel Case Folio has a Surface-style kickstand on the back.

I have to say I'm surprised at how sturdy it is. It has zero struggle propping up my hefty Valve handheld, and in the same vein as a Surface kickstand, you can adjust your angle to suit.

The keyboard doesn't lock into place or anything, but it's secure when the case is closed, kept in snug by the magnetic closing flap. I also like that there's a cutout on the case to connect a charger without needing to open it up. One is for the Joro, and one is more centralized for Apple's keyboard.

One small gripe I have though, and it is only small, is that the cutout for Razer's own Joro could have been a little larger or had a secondary one for the power switch. I never remember to turn the keyboard off, and every single time I've pressed something as I've packed it away, and that translates to something happening on the screen.

So I have to get it out again, open up the case, turn off the keyboard, and pack it all back up. And no, after many, many times of doing this, I still haven't remembered.

It's a really nice product though. Spill resistant on the outside, soft and protective on the inside, and it works better than I expected as a kickstand for a handheld. Even with my Steam Deck in a case, it will still stand up just fine. Perfect for those of us who don't have a Legion Go.

At $55.99 from the Razer Store, it's not that expensive, either. Obviously, if you don't have one of the two keyboards it's built for, then it's probably not worth it, but given that the Razer Joro is a $140 portable keyboard, it's worth the investment. I think I'm more surprised it took this long.

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Microsoft Edge may soon let you sign in with an Apple account. The latest Canary build of Edge includes flags that, if enabled, let you sign into the browser with your Apple account.

Using your Apple account within Edge will make it easier to keep your bookmarks, history, and other content synced across your phone and your PC. Many people, including myself, use a computer running Windows 11 and an iPhone.

The change was spotted by Leo Varela, who often leaks or highlights features in Edge and other browsers.

Microsoft did not initially plan to support non-Microsoft accounts within Edge. Google account support rolled out recently and now support for Apple accounts appears to be on the way.

Of course, you could use Edge without any account at all. The browser works without requiring signing in. But syncing data and some other features require using some sort of account to sign in.

Windows Central take

It's interesting to see how Microsoft's cross-platform app strategy has shifted over the years. Some apps have been available on other platforms for over a decade, but Microsoft increased its efforts to have a presence on iOS and Android after shutting down Windows Phone.

With no phone operating system of its own, Microsoft aimed to provide a premier experience for its services on Android and iOS to meet people where they are. Microsoft bought up popular apps like Wunderlist and SwiftKey to make a Microsoft experience on mobile platforms made by Google and Apple.

Back in 2015, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talked about his "iPhone Pro," which was just a normal iPhone with a bunch of Microsoft apps on it.

These days, several Microsoft apps feel like abandonware and others lag behind the competition. The glory days of the "iPhone Pro" are over.

I do appreciate flexibility when it comes to signing in to Edge, but I can't help but wonder if adding support for Google and Apple accounts is an admission that Microsoft can't even get people to use a Microsoft account in Microsoft Edge.

Rather than trying to force users into the Microsoft umbrella, the company seems to be accepting its mobile reality. It is finally conceding that to keep PC users on Edge, it has to let them live inside Google and Apple's account ecosystems instead.

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It seems like every time I turn around, there's another round of layoffs affecting video game studios.

In July, Xbox announced its biggest downsizing ever, cutting 3,200 jobs throughout 2026 and 2027. At the same time, Xbox made deals with four major studios to go independent or take on new management.

That independence didn't come without a cost either, as studio Double Fine Productions announced it was laying off 23 employees shortly after going solo.

It's all starting to feel like white noise with the same language. Streamlining. Restructuring. Focusing resources. Adapting to changing markets.

After reading an excellent report from Rest of World about the plight of small game developers in Turkey, I realized that the entire video game industry is likely in more trouble than most people realize.

While Microsoft and other big companies at the apex of the industry have been cutting thousands of jobs at the top, there's something just as disruptive going on at the bottom.

Solo developers are shipping full games with a tiny team, empowered by tools like Claude Code and Cowork, OpenAI Codex, and Copilot. This shift in how games are developed is eating up the entry-level jobs that used to serve as a way to break into the game dev industry. The candle is burning at both ends, as they say.

Turkey's AI game development example doesn't bode well

Over the last decade, Turkey has become a mobile gaming hotspot with more than 800 studios at its peak. It served as a pipeline for young developers who finished school, applied, got hired, worked in junior roles, and eventually made their way up the ladder.

This pipeline is no longer functioning as it should, and it's largely due to AI. One developer interviewed by Rest of World went from a huge studio pumping out a game per week to founding his own studio.

With Claude Code in his back pocket, the developer realized he needed just two employees to achieve similar productivity.

This shift in Turkey's game development scene is having dire effects. Entry-level jobs are understandably disappearing at smaller studios, and the larger studios are reticent to hire inexperienced developers.

The AI stack designed to make us more productive is killing key jobs

The AI stack negatively affecting one of the largest game development booms in European history is the same AI stack that Microsoft is racing to put in front of every developer, on every platform, including the ones building for Xbox and Windows.

Microsoft has famously spent years telling Windows users that Copilot will make us all more productive. But Turkey's example is likely a preview of what that means when followed to its logical end.

👉 "The 'AI Stigma' is real and severely punishes developers": A new study shows how much using AI in games hurts sales, and the numbers are hard to believe

Not a team of developers shipping games faster (OK, maybe a bit faster). One developer doing the job that used to require a team. Set this dilemma on top of a video game industry that just saw Xbox cut thousands of jobs, and the math really starts to hurt.

It's worth noting that Microsoft stated that AI is not being used to replace the most recent batch of laid-off employees at Xbox, but the company's overall massive spending on AI infrastructure and data centers has undoubtedly played a role in cuts to underperforming sectors like Xbox.

With layoffs at the top and an ever-shrinking front door at the bottom, the entire industry is being squeezed for all its juice.

Windows Central's take

The part that stuck with me the most is the plight of junior developers. A university director in Turkey is warning students not to follow the traditional path of getting hired on in an introductory position and working their way up. Instead, they should be building their own games while in school in order to land a job.

So, yes, AI tools definitely lower the barrier to creating a game. At the same time, however, AI tools do nothing to ensure that a game actually finds an audience.

Key steps in the nurturing and maturing of a video game developer are being skipped, and artists, writers, and programmers aren't necessarily getting the experience needed to compete at the upper levels of the industry.

Turkey's degrading video game development scene seems like a preview of what's to come for the rest of the industry, and I'm not sure I like it.

Are you a developer who uses Copilot, Claude, or any other AI tools in your workflow? Has it made you more ambitious? More productive? Are you more nervous now about who you're competing with? Let me know in the comments section below!

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Microsoft PowerToys will soon add on-device support for Phi Silica. Microsoft called that small language model (SLM) "small but mighty" when announcing it in 2024. Now, that model is available for Advanced Paste in the latest PowerToys preview.

Advanced Paste is a utility in PowerToys that formats content from your clipboard. It supports several formats, including plain text, markdown, and JSON. You can also use it to extract text from images using OCR and transcode audio and video files.

When first launched, Advanced Paste required an OpenAI API key, but PowerToys later added support for other models. Azure OpenAI, OpenAI, Gemini, and Mistral are cloud services that work with Advanced Paste. Foundry Local and Ollama both work with the feature locally.

Phi Silica is now available as an option for local AI processing in the latest preview.

While you may not have heard of Phi Silica, you've likely heard of tools it powers if you have a Copilot+ PC. Click to Do and on-device rewriting in Word and Outlook are powered by Phi Silica.

Phi Silica uses the NPU of a device, which helps with efficiency.

The GitHub page for PowerToys lists all the changes in the latest preview. Here are the highlights from the same page:

PowerToys v0.101.2211.0 Highlights

• Advanced Paste: Added an on-device Phi Silica provider and more per-action AI customization options.
• Command Palette: Improved dialog handling, icon loading, memory cleanup, theme behavior, and dock performance monitoring.
• Window management: Improved shutdown behavior across FancyZones, Grab And Move, and Always On Top, and made Always On Top borders render solidly at full opacity.
• Keyboard Manager: Fixed the elevated Run Program browse flow in the new editor.
• Mouse Jump: Moved Mouse Jump to the newer WinUI app architecture and packaged its new binaries into signed release builds.
• Settings: Added an update channel selector and a guided Bug Report flow with progress and a GitHub shortcut.
• Quick Accent: Made press-and-hold activation cancel cleanly so the picker appears only when intended.
• Preview releases: Added dedicated preview-release versioning and update-channel support so preview builds can be published and tested independently from stable releases.

PowerToys has a growing library of utilities, so there's a lot to look at in the latest preview even if you do not care about AI. Command Palette will perform better and Window management has been improved across FancyZones, Grab And Move, and Always On Top.

Mouse Jump being moved to WinUI modernizes the utility and gets it in line with Microsoft's push to use WinUI across Windows.

WinUI 3 is the native framework for Windows. Microsoft is moving several key components of the OS to WinUI 3 and rebuilding that framework.

The latest preview of PowerToys also makes it possible for preview builds to be published and tested independently.

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I've been using Razer mice for decades, and have tested dozens upon dozens of iterations of the firm's products. I'm also a dedicated MMORPG and MOBA player on PC, flipping between games like World of Warcraft and Heroes of the Storm as seasons wax and wane.

For the Warcraft-faithful, I play a Demonology Warlock, which has been simplified over the years, but in previous expansions I had anywhere up to 30+ keybinds for playing the class effectively in PvE and PvP. It was a bit like learning a musical instrument back in the day, particularly when you throw in battle potions, trinkets and other additional buttons.

As such, I've tended towards Razer mice with extra inputs to make my gaming life easier. I had no idea how much easier it was going to get until I went palm-on with the new Razer Naga V3 Pro — which is quite easily one of the best mice of 2026.

Razer Naga V3 Pro: Specs and price

The Razer Naga V3 Pro builds on its predecessor in a variety of ways, but chief among those is the inclusion of a further three configurable inputs, bringing the maximum total to 23 (and many, many more if you use HyperShift and other modifier keys).

Razer also doubled down on durability with reinforced molding processes for the switches, which the firm says will now last up to and potentially beyond 100 million actuations.

The obvious headline feature is the magnetic button plates that can be customized at will, adding between two, six, and twelve additional buttons. Razer has also included a uniquely configurable scroll wheel that comes with haptic feedback capabilities.

The mouse goes into general availability on August 11, 2026, and will set you back $179.99 from Best Buy in the United States.

Razer Naga V3 Pro: Features

The Razer Naga range has long been designed with MMO and MOBA gameplay in mind, adding a huge amount of additional inputs via a unique magnetic side plate feature.

Razer has enhanced the force of the magnets to ensure it feels well and truly part of the mouse when connected, and I can say without doubt that it well and truly does. The buttons can be programmed at will using Synapse, and modified further with a ring-finger button that defaults to Razer's dedicated "Hyper Shift" modifier key. Of course, all of these can be reconfigured too.

What struck me immediately when going palm-on was the new scroll wheel. Razer has included some unique functionality here that I've not experienced previously in other mice. You can set it to free-wheeling mode, which allows it to quite literally spin indefinitely under its own weight. There's also a standard step-stop function that most users will be familiar with, but also a precision-stop feature that adds some haptic feedback and shortens the actuation for rapid hot bar or weapon switching with more forceful control.

There is a parade of other buttons and functions too. The DPI rates have been placed in the top right corner of the mouse out of the way, requiring a little more intent to reach to prevent accidents, I suppose. There are two buttons below the scroll wheel, and the scroll wheel itself can be tilted and clicked for additional inputs too.

It sports 155 hours of battery life out of the box, and supports Razer's new Mouse Dock as well as its wireless Hyper Flux charging mouse mat. Either plugged in or connected to a compatible Hyper Speed dongle, this bad boy can go all the way up to 8,000 Hz. You will not be left wanting for speed.

Razer Naga V3 Pro: Comfort and usage

How does it feel to actually use, though? I dropped into a couple of World of Warcraft raids and played a few games of Heroes of the Storm to get a feel for it, but it was in games like Age of Empires where it truly felt transformative.

As noted, you can add up to 12 extra buttons with the side plate feature. It does take some getting used to, and I think Razer could've perhaps done a bit more to help differentiate the keys, particularly on the 12-button plate. The six button plate felt like the sweet spot for me, given that the profile of the buttons made them easier to memorize, but also I didn't find it as hard to squeeze my thumb backwards to hit the keys closest to my palm.

Indeed, you might struggle with this mouse if you don't have the most flexible hands. I found its palm hump to be a bit tall for my tastes (small ass hands maybe, or perhaps poor desk ergonomics on my end), but overall it was incredibly comfortable. I suspect most people won't have any issues with it. I also suspect that it was designed quite intentionally to be "palm grippy" to facilitate the fact users will be reaching for buttons on the side more often than on other mice.

There are probably neuroscientific reasons for this, but it does feel genuinely more intuitive to actuate inputs on the same hand as your movement intentions. Perhaps it stems from my console-oriented history in some ways, but I found it a lot easier to drop Guldan's ult with a mouse swipe and mouse click, as opposed to lining up my mouse with a keyboard press.

For Age of Empires, it was particularly fun binding various quick keys directly to the mouse. Assigning regiments, bypassing certain menus, and being able to select specific units instantly from anywhere won't make up for my lack of skill with RTS, but it did boost the fun factor.

Razer Synapse is a fantastic piece of software that ties everything together. It's still better than solutions from other companies by a country mile. Configure RGB lighting, set up profiles for specific games, configure literally all the things — quick and easy.

Some of the less useful features include Razer's macro functionality, which will sadly get you banned in a lot of online games for "automation."

The Naga V3 Pro also comes with an AI assistant key by default, which lets you bind certain Copilot prompts to mouse inputs for some reason. You can turn it off, but it's 2026 so everything has to have some kind of "AI" feature in it apparently, even if it's effectively useless. Perhaps this might become more useful if Microsoft ever ships agents to consumers, but as for right now it feels like boardroom fluff. Thankfully, that's the only "feature" here I could describe as such. Practically everything else is genuinely useful and represents a demonstrable upgrade.

There is a lot of functionality in the Razer Naga V3 Pro, and you won't need all of it all of the time. It is designed primarily for people who want maximum control over their games, and indeed, it is priced as such.

Razer Naga V3 Pro: Conclusion

The Razer Naga V3 Pro is a tour de force of functionality, with unmatched versatility for practically every genre of game you can throw at it. FPS, RTS, MOBA, MMORPG, and beyond — even the most control-complex games fall before the Naga and its capacity to inject intuitiveness into the least intuitive games and control schemes possible.

But yes, it will require configuring to get there. That's ultimately who it's designed for, though; people who play more complex games to a hardcore level, and want their peripherals to reflect their desire to configure and control their experience.

You should buy this if ...

✅ You play complex input-heavy games like MMORPGs and RTS.

✅ You like to configure your controls to the nth degree.

✅ You prefer your inputs on your mouse, rather than your keyboard.

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You find configuring keybinds exhaustive and annoying.

❌ You have particularly small hands (you might find its height uncomfy).

❌ Price might be a concern.

This will become my default mouse moving forward. Being able to effectively keybind number keys 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, etc. without needing to physically reach away from WASD is a big boost in some games I play.

However, I am cognizant of the fact that I got the review unit here. Almost $200 for a mouse is tough to justify unless you're particularly passionate about the functionality the Razer Naga V3 Pro is going to provide for you. For configuration enthusiasts, there's well and truly nothing better than the Razer Naga V3 Pro right now.

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Razer, one of my favorite manufacturers that has produced some of the best PC gaming accessories I've ever used, has released a new mouse built to conquer any game you throw at it — the Razer Naga V3 Pro.

This gadget is the long-awaited evolution of the Razer Naga V2 Pro, which takes everything we loved about its predecessor (which we gave a near-perfect review score) and refines it to create the ultimate PC gamer mouse.

Here's what you need to know about the Razer Naga V3 Pro and where you can buy it.

The Razer Naga V3 Pro mouse is equipped with cutting-edge tech to improve input detection speeds and swappable button plate configurations so that it can handle a wide variety of game genres.

Its biggest selling points include:

• 23 programmable buttons and three interchangeable side button plates (a 12-button MMORPG plate, a 6-button MOBA plate, and a 2-button FPS plate).
• A Razer HyperScroll Tilt Wheel Gen-2 with new dual tactile, free-spin, and smart-reel modes to adjust its scrolling speeds to a user's preference.
• A Razer Optical Mouse Switches Gen-4 to give its buttons an upgraded lifecycle up to 100-million clicks, cleaner and faster input detection, tactile feedback, and a zero-bounce optical design to prevent accidental misclicks.
• A Razr Focus Pro 50K Optical Sensor Gen-3 with precise mouse-movement detection and adjustable sensitivity that can go as high as 50,000 DPI.
• Polling rates from 1000Hz to 8000Hz to help improve the mouse's input accuracy and detection speed.
• A lightweight build of 117g (with the 12-button MMORPG plate attached) so it's not so heavy to move for the wrist while allowing it to be moved more quickly when making sharp turns in first-person action games.
• A battery life of 155 hours on HyperSpeed connectivity (2.4GHz).

This mouse is Razer's next amazing premium outing for MMORPGs, MOBAs, FPS titles, and more

Our resident PC gaming accessory expert, Jez Corden, reviewed the Razer Naga V3 Pro and found it to be one of the best PC mice he's used so far this year. Jez praised it for possessing dozens of programmable buttons, the best-in-class software solution, and a premium feel that emphasizes tactility.

So, if you generally play input-heavy PC games and you want to get your hands on the Razer Naga V3 Pro, it will cost $179.99/£179.99/€199.99 at select digital retailers including Best Buy, directly from Razer.com, and at physical RazerStores.

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Like millions of other people, I have a Windows 11 PC and an iPhone. I'm envious of some of the ways Macs and iPhones connect, but I still rely on Windows 11 for everyday work and my hobbies.

AirDrop is one of the features I want the most when looking over the digital fence at my friends who are fully in the Apple ecosystem. While you cannot use AirDrop on a PC, there are some great alternatives.

"Does anyone actually have a good way to transfer files between an iPhone and a Windows PC?" asked Reddit user Palunath in the r/Windows11 subreddit. Users responded with several options, but two stood out: Blip and LocalSend.

Reddit delivered with both those recommendations. I downloaded both and have used them over the last week. I'm hardly the first person to highlight these apps, but if people are asking for AirDrop alternatives on Windows 11, they likely haven't heard of Blip and LocalSend.

Top pick: Blip

Transferring files is quicker and easier if both of your devices are on the same network, but Blip works when on different networks as well.

Blip is my top pick. It's easy to use, has an interface that feels familiar, and it's extremely fast. It's similar to AirDrop but without the Apple exclusivity.

Blip supports sending files and folders without any size limits (Blip's website says "99TB? Game on").

Not having to zip folders is a big plus, as is being able to send large photo files.

Blip is free for non-commercial use. If you're a business user or want priority speed, you can subscribe for $25 per user per month.

Signing up for Blip is easy and just requires entering your email and confirming the code you're sent.

Blip's website has download links for all supported platforms, including Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Linux.

Secure second: LocalSend

LocalSend works very well, but its structure has some pros and cons. Because it works through your network, it works without the internet. It's also incredibly fast, assuming your Wi-Fi network has quick speeds.

LocalSend doesn't require an account or logging in. Your devices from the network just appear within the app. You can mark devices as favorites to streamline sharing as well.

You can download LocalSend through its website (or just use the service through that site). LocalSend is free to use.

You can send files to a single recipient or multiple recipients as well, which makes LocalSend feel a bit more like AirDrop.

LocalSend is open-source, fully offline, and peer-to-peer, so it's a great choice for people who value privacy.

The obvious drawback is that LocalSend is for sending files locally. If you just need to send files at home or work when devices are on the same network, LocalSend provides a seamless experience.

OneDrive and iCloud

Blip and LocalSend are made for sharing files on demand. If you want to sync entire folders or all of your files, you can use apps like OneDrive or iCloud.

In my experience, these apps are much slower at syncing and sending files, but they're a great way to back up content.

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I've long been a fan of XCOM, which is why when I heard two of my favorite franchises were about to collide on Xbox and PC, my interest was immediately piqued.

This is Star Wars: Zero Company, an upcoming turn-based tactics game set in the legendary sci-fi universe that needs little introduction.

Developed by Bit Reactor, who themselves are comprised heavily of XCOM and Firaxis vets, I recently was lucky enough to talk to the team behind the game, as well as go hands-on for the first time.

Bit Reactor's Greg Foertsch, art director of XCOM fame, was candid on the game's origin story. It was actually the late great Vince Zampella of Titanfall and Call of Duty fame who offered it up first, and the rest is history: "Star Wars was not on my bingo card, to be quite honest, till Vince brought it up, and frankly, I was a little terrified at first, but I had to say yes."

Terrified they might've been. But from what I've seen, I think they've absolutely nailed it and have nothing to fear whatsoever. Star Wars Zero Company is now a personal game-of-the-year contender, if indeed the full game continues to be as infectious and intriguing as the demo slice I played.

Bit Reactor noted that they felt the turn-based tactics genre still had a big story to tell, even as Take Two essentially wound down the XCOM franchise in favor of focusing on Civilization. What better way to introduce the genre to a new audience than via one of the biggest franchises in the world?

But Bit Reactor has also been keen to modernize every aspect of it for modern sensibilities: photorealistic art, a third-person camera, high-quality story writing and cinematic treatment, and a Mass Effect-like character bonding system that has enormous potential.

Star Wars: Zero Company launches on Xbox and PC on August 27, 2026.

A heaping of XCOM, a dash of Mass Effect?

In Star Wars Zero Company, you take command of a "dirty dozen" style mercenary outfit, which immediately gave me Mass Effect 2 vibes.

This ragtag group of rejects, bounty hunters, and warriors of fortune come together under a variety of difficult circumstances. The Clone Wars are in full swing, and the Republic needs mercs willing to undertake missions that are perhaps beyond their remit (and missions that skirt the law ... and perhaps even basic morality.)

As such, you play as Captain Hawks, a fully customizable humanoid and former Republic officer who has gone into business for himself. You can fully tailor Hawks' identity and pick from a variety of iconic Star Wars species to lead your crew.

As you get further in, you'll meet other heroes who join your squad for a variety of their own reasons. There's Tel-Rea, who is a former Jedi Padawan, Trick, a "forcibly retired" clone trooper, and Cly, a Mandalorian driven by vengeance.

The eclectic cast led Bit Reactor to create its "Bond system," which gave me a ton of Mass Effect 2 vibes. As your crew collaborates both in missions and during trips to The Den (your base of operations), they build relationships and synergies that benefit your tactical options and also develop their characters.

"I wanted that to have a long arc of play over the course of the whole campaign… you’re not just learning to power your characters up, but you’re also having them develop relationships that’s evolving in your head," game director James Brawley explained to us. "Characters grow stronger as a result… that’s why they’re able to beat these overwhelming threats, because they know how to work together."

"This is your Star Wars game… how you get there, what you experience, the characters you build, the relationships and bonds you make — they’re all unique to your playthrough."

The team explained that the events of Zero Company take place adjacent to The Clone Wars, in the shadows, using an entire cast of new characters. And indeed, like any good XCOM-like, permadeath is a feature here. If you have two characters that synergize well and unlock powerful abilities as a result, having one of them die not only severs that bond but also deprives you of access to those powerful abilities. The stakes remain incredibly high as a result, in true XCOM-fashion. You'll also lose the resolution of their stories and experiences too, making every playthrough potentially unique (unless you save scum, that is ... but there are auto-saves-only Ironman modes for those who don't want to be enticed into such heretical gameplay styles.)

I didn't get to experience too much of the combat gameplay, but from what I played, it felt every bit as satisfying and fun as previous official XCOM-style games I've played from the team here. Bit Reactor is comprised of XCOM and Firaxis vets, as noted, and you can feel that pedigree in every aspect of play. The team said Disney was on hand too to verify the Star Wars authenticity but was also incredibly open to Bit Reactor's own agency therein. The team said they "couldn't praise Disney enough," in what sounds like a very productive working relationship.

Disney hasn't always handled the Star Wars IP as well as I would've liked ... but it's hard to deny that they've had some absolute bangers on their hands. Rogue One has been a particular highlight for me, but also the games. Cinematic delivery I'd argue is more important in a Star Wars-adjacent title, which obviously comes with certain expectations. You can expect great characters, a grand adventure across the galaxy, and big cinematic moments sprinkled throughout Zero Company, the developers tell me. But crucially, also dark villains.

The Clone Wars are in full swing in corners of the galaxy, but while bounty hunting, Hawks and his crew get caught up in a uniquely dangerous situation. The separatist-aligned cult known as the Infinite Coil rears its head early on. Its members seem infected with a mysterious space plague that, if I were a betting man, potentially has dark side origins.

The Jedi Fallen Order franchise has been well-received, and before Vince Zampella's passing, it seemed like EA was on an upward swing with its Star Wars license stewardship. Zero Company looks set to continue that legacy and also maintain the quality bar Jedi Fallen Order established.

Indeed, I was surprised to discover how far Zero Company diverges from the typical XCOM formula from a story perspective, where most of the characters are throwaway soldiers designed to ultimately be expendable. The detailed characterization of the heroes in Zero Company are every bit as cinematic and interesting as any story-heavy action game or big-screen Star Wars experience you might expect.

Zero Company makes heavy use of a traditional third-person over-the-shoulder camera for some of these sequences too, making the game feel almost more like a CRPG in the vein of Baldur's Gate 3 or Wasteland 3, as opposed to a pure tactics game. Tactics games with fixed isometric cameras often come with stylized art given that the camera is zoomed out a lot of the time. Zero Company went deeper on visuals to accommodate its more cinematic delivery, and the results speak for themselves. Zero Company feels painstakingly authentic.

"We should be better looking, not worse. We should be better frame rates, not worse. We should have more stories, more immersion," Bit Reactor explained. "We’re just making a great game — it just happens to be turn‑based.”

If you've never played an XCOM-like before, its RPG systems might be what entices you most

I was incredibly encouraged by Star Wars: Zero Company's preview cycle. I was immediately drawn to the characters and intrigued by the potential of the game's Bond system. What events and storytelling opportunities would I be able to unlock? What consequences would befall me for mismanaging those bonds and potentially getting some of my heroes killed? What exactly is the Infinite Coil, and what do they want?

Star Wars: Zero Company is a bit of a rarity in 2026, as big publishers chase service games, infinite experience, and microtransaction hellscapes. Take Two itself no longer seems to want to service the XCOM franchise sadly, and other companies that have attempted it have often struggled to broaden their appeal. Truly "AAA"-grade tactics games have become vanishingly rare.

Star Wars is the perfect universe to offer a take on this genre in my view, particularly in the Clone Wars era. But Bit Reactor's clear efforts on the cinematic and story-delivery side give Zero Company broad potential that similar attempts at the turn-based tactics genre have missed in recent years. Baldur's Gate 3-style cinematics and character delivery, atop modern high-quality visuals and focused XCOM-style tactical play? Zero Company has everything I didn't know I needed from this quarter's very busy slate of games.

Star Wars: Zero Company is something every Star Wars and turn-based afficionado should put on their wishlist.

If you have any questions about the game, drop them in the comments and I'll get them answered!

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I've spent a lot of time this summer gaming on my Steam Deck. It's hot outside, it's hot inside, and my desktop gaming PC simply creates too much heat.

The only major problem I have with my Steam Deck is that it doesn't play nicely with PC Game Pass, to which I'm a subscriber. Yeah, I could stream games to my handheld, but there's now a better solution in the works.

I'm talking about Xodus, an open-source project that's attempting to build a bridge between PC Game Pass and Linux systems, including the Steam Deck. The project is also attempting to iron out similar issues on macOS. No Windows install needed.

Xodus comes from the developers behind the Heroic Games Launcher, a separate open-source app that brings Epic, GOG, and Amazon Prime titles to Steam Deck (it also works on Windows, macOS, and other Linux systems).

The developers are undoubtedly up against a grind with this project. Xbox PC games that come from the Xbox app rely primarily on a Microsoft Game Development Kit (GDK) runtime, which is a far cry from DirectX and Win32 layers that Valve's Proton already handles quite well.

This Microsoft GDK is really what has kept PC Game Pass from running directly on the Steam Deck (and macOS) for so long.

Is Xodus ready for public release?

According to updates shared on the Xodus GitHub page, the developers have cracked Xbox authorization, license checks, and MSIXVC package (the containers that PC games come in) download and decryption.

In a Reddit post, a Xodus developer noted that the team's main focus is now getting the Software Development Kit (SDK) for each title to run through Wine. It appears that Xodus has its own Wine and Proton forks for this purpose, as well as an open-source version of the xgameruntime.dll file that Game Pass games depend on.

Xodus likely won't support all Game Pass games when it launches, either. Older games that eschew GDK and MSIXVC for UWP will likely come later, if at all.

Why I'm so excited to try out Xodus on my Steam Deck

As mentioned, the biggest drawback to my Steam Deck, aside from its growing age, is its lack of native PC Game Pass support.

Sure, I could upgrade to a newer handheld that natively runs Windows, but it looks like I might not need to quite yet. That's especially exciting considering just how expensive gaming handhelds have become of late.

Then there's the Steam Machine, another Valve device running the Linux-based SteamOS. A whole bunch of gamers recently got their hands on the Steam Machine when it launched in June, and making PC Game Pass an option can only benefit Microsoft.

Here's the rub: Xodus has no affiliation with Microsoft. It's an unofficial community project created by independent developers. Does that mean Microsoft will have a problem with it? Not likely, but you never can tell.

Xodus still doesn't have an official release date, but it's something I'll be keeping my eyes on as it progresses. If you're a Linux gamer who wishes they could use PC Game Pass natively, you'll definitely want to keep watch as well.

What do you think about Xodus as a bridge between Steam Deck/Machine and PC Game Pass? Is it something you'd use regularly? Do you already have an alternative method that works better for you? Let me know in the comments section below!

(via VideoCardz.com)

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Razer's gaming keyboards rank among the best on the market, whether you're looking to crush the competition in games or type up school reports. However, if you've ever shopped around, you've probably noticed how many are on the higher end of the affordability scale.

• Crush the new semester with Razer keyboards

Fortunately, one of Razer's top-rated wired gaming keyboards, the Huntsman V3 Pro 60%, has managed to evade lofty pricing for a limited time, thanks to a 28% discount bringing it to $129.99 at Best Buy, giving you a chance to get a leg up on multiplayer and get a head start on your studies for less.

What buy the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Mini 60%?

For starters, this keyboard features Razer's Analog Optical Gen-2 switches, which grant it extremely precise and responsive input detection speeds, which can be enhanced further with a Rapid Trigger mode and adjustable actuation that ranges between 0.1 mm and 4.0 mm.

The Huntsman V3 Pro 60% also features textured double-shot PBT keycaps with a keystroke lifespan of 100-million clicks to help it endure many years of intense button mashing.

Other notable features include a sleek and compact 60% form factor that makes it very portable-friendly while saving tons of vital desk space, buttons that double as arrow keys, and a Razer Snap Tap feature, which prioritizes the latest input between two selected keys without letting go of the previous one for near-instant directional movements in action games.

The only noticeable drawbacks of this keyboard are the somewhat noisy switches with no sound dampening (as noted in GamesRadar's review), the lack of wireless connectivity, and its usually steep listing price of $179.99.

So, it's a blessing to see its high price taken down to somewhat more affordable levels thanks to Best Buy's 28% discount, especially during this general RAM crisis where almost everything else in tech has become so insanely expensive.

If you're looking for a high-quality wired gaming keyboard that doubles as a high-speed workhorse keyboard for helping you ace exams or assignments, you can't go wrong with the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro 60%.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Xbox is legally required in some territories, such as the UK and, more recently, Australia, to verify the age of its users in order to access certain features.

Whether we like it or not, there's no way around it. Governments will always government. But what most of us objected to more was the use of faceless third-parties that were being used to verify some of our most personal information. In Xbox's case, it was Yoti, a company that's found itself in hot water before over its handling of data.

Fortunately, at long, long last, if you've held out on completing Xbox age verification, it looks like you won't have to. A message is hitting the inboxes of those accounts that haven't yet verified their age through other means but have been determined as having an "adult account" through their activity.

Our own Ben Wilson was one such holdout and got the message himself last night. Here's what it says in full:

Due to longstanding account activity, we've estimated your Xbox profile to be an adult account and updated its age verification status to "Verified." You are no longer required to complete full age verification for uninterrupted access to social features on Xbox. While no further action is required, you can update your privacy and safety settings on Xbox at any time. For more information, click "Learn more" below.

Reddit is likewise lighting up with folks who've had the same message and have been released from the requirements to verify their age for full access.

This seems to be taking place predominantly in the UK, with Australian age verification recently hitting the news as frustrated users see what us Brits were faced with at first.

But since Xbox can clearly identify your age effectively using your account data, why isn't it applied automatically to everyone immediately?

I don't personally care whether I have to be verified as an adult or not, but I do care about being asked to hand over biometric data to companies I have no usual business with. I remember many years ago, being told by a local shop they wouldn't photocopy my passport for me because they wouldn't handle personal information such as this.

Now we're being asked to funnel all that into a computer somewhere, trusting that they're going to behave responsibly with it.

But a win's a win. Even if it's a win that took a little long to get here. Hopefully it can roll out quickly in any subsequent markets that require age verification.

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Before Microsoft acquired Nokia, the company was heavily rumoured to be working on its own in-house Windows Phone device that was expected to ship in 2014 under the Surface moniker alongside its Surface Pro device. Unfortunately for Windows Phone fans, such a device never saw the light of day, but newly published images of a mysterious prototype might have just given us our first and only look at what Microsoft was exploring internally.

Possibly codenamed Raven, there isn't much information available about this prototype, other than the fact that it’s from the 2013-2014 time frame and is running an early pre-release build of Windows Phone 8.1. It’s powered by an unknown Qualcomm chip, has a 720p screen, features a Microsoft logo on the back, and a silver metal frame that matches the colour of the Surface 2 that released that same year.

We can see in the photos that it has dedicated hardware keys for navigation, which are also coated in the same silver color as the chassis. The build of Windows Phone that it’s running appears to be from September 2013, and is from an internal development branch building towards what eventually became Windows Phone 8.1.

While not viewable in the images, I understand the device features individual up and down volume buttons and a camera button on the right-hand side of the device, and a power button on the top of the device. It also features a micro-USB port and headphone jack on the bottom side, and a SIM card slot on the left side.

This is likely one of dozens of prototype designs that Microsoft’s hardware teams cooked up during this era, but it’s certainly a fascinating look at what could have been, and it does look so clean. Development on this device was likely paused once Microsoft moved to acquire Nokia in 2014.

Back in 2013, I remember hearing from sources that Microsoft was experimenting with the concept of a "Skype Phone," a Windows Phone device with mobile data that utilized Skype for calls and messaging instead of traditional carrier networks. Perhaps this device was going to be that? Who knows.

The Surface Phone we eventually got arrived as the Surface Duo, which started development in 2016 and launched to the public in 2020. In that time, Microsoft shipped Nokia designs in the form of the Lumia 640, 650, 950, and 550 running Windows Phone, before abandoning the platform in 2017.

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According to a new report from Taiwanese publication United Daily News (UDC,) Microsoft is raising the cost of Windows license fees for hardware makers by a much higher amount than normal. According to the report, certain OEMs are seeing licensing price hikes of between 7% and 10%.

Usually, Microsoft raises Windows license fees for OEMs by a low digit percentage, making this 7% to 10% increase much more significant than normal. "A PC brand executive stated that Microsoft increases licensing fees for Windows OEMs (device manufacturers) every year. In the past, licensing fees mostly increased by single digits each year, but starting in July this year, the average increase has reached 7% to 10%, which is a significant increase compared to previous years," UDC says.

Of course, the cost of the Windows license fee is usually (at least partially) passed onto the consumer buying a computer, and UDC claims that their source says laptop pricing is already being impacted by these recent license fee increases. Microsoft charges different OEMs their own fees for Windows, so the exact increase in cost will differ for each hardware maker.

Regardless, with the ongoing memory component shortage, PCs have already seen astronomical price increases over the last year, with experts claiming that we haven't yet seen the worst of it. With Microsoft raising prices higher than usual on Windows licenses, it feels like the Redmond giant is adding extra fuel to the fire.

Windows Central reached out to Microsoft for comment regarding this story, but the company declined to provide one.

To be clear, the Windows license fee price hikes only apply to OEMs building hardware that ships with Windows. The cost of buying a license for Windows 11 as a consumer remains unchanged, being $99 for Windows 11 Home and $199 for Windows 11 Pro.

The ongoing component crisis has made computing unaffordable for many people. PCs that used to target the $600-$800 price bracket now cost close to $1,000. And flagship Windows laptops that used to cost $1,200-1,500 are now closer to $2,000. Even Apple has been hit by the shortage, being forced to raise prices by hundreds of dollars across its Mac lineup. Microsoft's own Surface line was hit especially hard, with the flagship Surface Pro and Surface Laptop being $400-$500 more expensive than the last-gen models.

(Sources: 1, 2)

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A couple of weeks ago, Xbox's live services suffered the biggest outage in the brand's recent history. For over a day, Xbox players couldn't access online services, their game library both online and offline, their apps, and more.

The outage was so bad it even prevented physical Xbox game discs from working, as it stopped their entitlement checks from functioning.

Fast forward to today, and the CTO of Xbox, Scott Van Vliet, took to social media to provide Xbox fans with a detailed explanation of how this disaster occurred, what Xbox's engineers did to fix it, and what their plans are to ensure this never happens again.

Scott reiterates from his interview with The Verge that this outage was caused by an update made to an underlying service within the Xbox's digital ecosystem that was required for Xbox Home Console sharing, Xbox Game Pass purchased content, and PC scenarios to function, putting them in an unresponsive state.

While this update was happening and causing these systems to shut down, a bug within the Xbox client software stack caused other digital game licence checks to fail. These multiple issues combined created a domino effect where the accumulating failure scenarios blocked some players from launching games while causing issues with library enumeration.

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To combat this, Scott says Microsoft is transferring ownership of the underlying licensing service to the Xbox team while Microsoft's engineers work on improving the stability of Xbox Live's services and infrastructure for future updates.

As for the client bug, it will be fixed in an update to the Xbox that rolls out today and will become mandatory to download on August 17, 2026.

In addition, Scott says Microsoft has plans to roll out new features for players along with quality-of-life improvements for system updates as it looks for more ways to improve the stability of its products and services.

Windows Central's take

On the one hand, it's nice to see Xbox be a little transparent for once regarding its mistakes and its attempts to fix them, as it shows there are people higher in the company who do care about the quality of their product.

But on the other hand, it's going to take a miracle for Xbox or anyone else to convince me to trust digital games ever again, especially when companies like Sony are so keen on killing physical media and the risk of Microsoft blocking people's entire accounts for no fault of their own if they get hacked.

To me, getting DRM-free games (like the ones you see at GOG for example) with their own dedicated launchers and storing them in external SSDs is currently the best way to preserve your modern games library and play them without being shackled to licence entitlements or online services (unless you're playing multiplayer-only games like Overwatch or World of Warcraft, in which case, you're out of luck).

Either way, time will tell if this new update to the Xbox client will prevent any future fiascos for Xbox Live's services.

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Microsoft accidentally shipped the new OneDrive Photos app to millions of PCs recently. Microsoft EVP of Apps and Agents Jeff Teper explained that the app was shipped earlier than intended.

We now have more details about the OneDrive Photos app, courtesy of the Microsoft 365 Roadmap. While the app was rolled out to PCs accidentally, Microsoft plans to release it in the future. When the app does ship (on purpose), there will be options to manage it or uninstall it.

There are two entries on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap related to OneDrive Photos. The first is about greater control that will be given to admins:

"OneDrive is adding administrative controls for the Photos experience on Windows. Organizations can manage whether users sign in with personal Microsoft accounts. These controls help IT teams align OneDrive Photos with their access, data governance, and device-management requirements."

That feature should start rolling out this month. Considering that the OneDrive Photos app was accidentally installed on some managed PCs that were unable to use the app, these administrative controls should be a welcome addition.

The second entry is about all users and the option to remove the OneDrive Photos app:

"OneDrive is giving people more control over their Windows experience by allowing them to uninstall the OneDrive Photos experience independently. Removing the Photos experience does not uninstall the OneDrive app, interrupt file sync, or delete photos and files. This provides a clear removal option for people who prefer to manage their photos with another app."

That feature is expected to roll out next month. As always, roadmap dates are estimates and subject to shift.

Those entries, which were first spotted by Neowin, were only added to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap after the accidental rollout and following backlash. We may see more details on the roadmap about OneDrive Photos soon.

The main question surrounding the OneDrive Photos app is why it needs to exist at all. Microsoft's Photos app for Windows already integrates with OneDrive. The OneDrive Photos app is a web-based experience that is less native and seemingly against the current goals Microsoft has set to improve its first-party apps.

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I’ll be honest: I’ve never liked Apple’s notch design. I find it intrusive, and the whole “Dynamic Island” thing always felt like a marketing trick to justify a hardware compromise.

So when I saw Notchify pop up on Reddit, my first thought was, why would anyone want that on Windows?

But curiosity won. I downloaded it from the Microsoft Store, tried the free trial, and within minutes I realized something—this indie app actually makes the concept work in a way that feels right on a PC.

That said, if you're a bit horrified at the idea, I mean, I totally get it. But hear me out.

What Notchify does

At its core, Notchify is pretty simple. The app creates a “fake” notch or “island” at the top of your screen. And yes, its functionality is what actually saves it. You can use it to display notifications, media playback controls, weather, battery, timers, microphone indicators, and more.

There's even a built-in clipboard for copied content and quick access.

You can see some of it in action in the above embedded video.

The settings are straightforward. You can toggle between Island (disconnected) and Notch (connected) modes, pick which monitor it appears on, and decide if it should launch at startup.

The Appearance tab lets you adjust the theme, blur, and popup behavior for volume or brightness changes. The Widgets section is where the fun begins, as you can mix and match small widgets like battery display, time, and microphone indicators, or go big with calendar, weather, and media playback.

The notch lives on your PC as "always on top," and when you mouse over it, it expands with whatever info you chose it to display. The animations are a bit janky, but it works.

It’s clean, modern, and surprisingly polished for an indie project. The dark theme looks great.

Why I ended up liking it (mostly)

I use a massive 52-inch Dell Ultrasharp monitor, and one of the downsides of that much screen real estate is that my eyes are constantly darting around for notifications, time, or playback controls.

Notchify fixes that by putting everything in one place.

I still don’t love the idea of a notch (it’s not my aesthetic), but I can’t deny how practical it is. Having a small, centralized hub for quick info saves me from scanning the corners of my display. It’s one of those things that quietly improves workflow without demanding attention.

And if you've listened to me on our podcast, you know my big beef with Windows 11 is how I can't adjust where notifications appear from, which seems dumb in 2026.

For anyone switching from macOS to Windows 11, Notchify might even make the transition easier. It brings a familiar visual cue while adding more flexibility than Apple’s version ever offered, and that's kinda cool.

Probably the most obvious issue is that Windows 11 doesn't "wrap" around the app, so when running apps full screen (like your web browser), you may end up blocking access to some features. And no, you can't move it around, which was a bit surprising.

The best part of this story isn’t just the app; it’s the community that helped shape it. On Reddit, user GuppyFarmer posted a detailed breakdown of Notchify’s CPU usage, pointing out that it was higher than expected. Instead of brushing it off, the developer responded, thanked them, and used the data to fix the issue.

That kind of interaction is what makes indie development fun. Constructive feedback, not just complaints, helps these projects grow. GuppyFarmer’s analysis gave the dev exactly what they needed to optimize performance, and the result is a smoother, more efficient app for everyone.

Too often, feedback online turns into negativity. Here, it turned into progress.

My takeaway

The app costs $1.99 after the free trial, which feels completely fair for what it offers. It’s not bloated, it’s not subscription-based, and it’s updated based on real user input. That’s the kind of indie pricing model I’ll always support.

I still don’t want a notch on my laptop or desktop, but Notchify convinced me that the idea can be useful when done right. It’s a small, clever utility that adds genuine functionality to Windows, and maybe it'll inspire some other creations to solve some problems.

And hey, it proves what many of us already know: good ideas don’t have to come from big companies. Sometimes, a single developer with a Reddit post can create something that feels fresh and helpful.

If you’re curious, give the free trial a spin. You might find yourself liking it more than you expect.

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Dell's latest XPS 13 (DX13260) was unveiled at Computex 2026 and launched in June, starting at $599 for students and $699 for everyone else.

Not to be outdone, Acer also unveiled a new budget $699 Windows 11 laptop at Computex; the Acer Swift Air 14 is expected to launch in North America in August ... basically any day now.

Considering how closely matched these two PCs are in price, I thought it was best to put together a comparison to help you make the right decision.

Dell XPS 13 vs. Acer Swift Air 14: Specifications

Here's a breakdown of the specs that go into each of these laptops to give you a better idea of what you're buying.

TL;DR? Acer's Swift Air 14 is a larger laptop with a much larger battery capacity, and both PCs run on the same Intel Wildcat Lake chips. I break down the differences in some detail below this table.

These budget laptops feel like they should cost a lot more than $699

One major feature that sets these budget laptops apart from other PCs in the same price range is their aluminum frames. These are laptops with a truly premium feel despite their budget pricing.

Windows Central Senior Editor Zac Bowden went hands-on with the new Acer Swift Air 14 at Computex, remarking:

Dell offers two colors — Storm or Sky — for its XPS 13, while Acer offers Sage Green, Frost Blue, Blossom Pink, and Lilac Purple colors for a bit of extra expression.

The Swift Air 14 is the larger of the two laptops due to its 14-inch screen. It's still only about 12.36 inches wide (basically the size that 13-inch laptops used to be), and it weighs in at just 2.75 pounds (1.25kg).

The XPS 13 has a width of 11.69 inches and weighs in at 2.2 pounds (1kg), which is considerably lighter. I'd say that both of these laptops are extremely portable, and there's a difference of just 0.1 inches when it comes to thickness.

The laptops feel premium, and that's really what matters with such affordable devices. Bowden, too, went hands-on with the new XPS 13, stating:

TL;DR: Both laptops have a premium design and build quality, and they're both relatively thin and light. Stick with the XPS 13 if you want to be as mobile as possible, though the Swift Air 14 isn't far behind.

Touchpads and keyboards don't suffer from budget pricing

As I mentioned, these laptops don't feel like they cost $699. Zac Bowden and I tested them both while we were at Computex, and it's clear that both brands put a lot of work into their keyboards and touchpads.

Dell skipped its lattice-free keyboard design on the new XPS 13 for a more traditional feel, and its mechanical touchpad (no haptics, unfortunately) is large and has a satisfying click.

In the same vein, the Swift Air 14's keyboard has decent travel and a comfy feel. The touchpad, again without haptics, is large and tracks well. You'll ultimately have to decide for yourself which setup you like more, but I can say that neither laptop skimps on the backlit keyboard and mechanical touchpad.

TL;DR: Your final decision will likely come down to personal preference, but I can say after testing both laptops that neither is likely to disappoint in terms of touchpad and keyboard.

Port selection might be the weak spot for some users

The XPS 13 with Intel's Wildcat Lake chips features dual USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2) ports. If you spend more on a model with an Intel Panther Lake CPU, you'll get two Thunderbolt 4 ports instead.

The Swift Air 14 is a lot better on ports, with dual Thunderbolt 4, one USB-A 3.2, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

As for wireless connectivity, the XPS 13 has more modern Wi-Fi 7 connectivity paired with Bluetooth 6.0. The Acer Swift Air 14 falls back to Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3. Is this a difference an average user will notice in day-to-day computing? Absolutely not.

TL;DR: Dell's most affordable XPS 13 models don't come with Thunderbolt 4, and there's no 3.5mm audio jack. Acer's Swift Air 14 comes with dual Thunderbolt 4 by default, plus it adds USB-A and an audio jack.

Both PCs have IR cameras for Windows Hello

Something you don't see very often in budget laptops is an IR camera for Windows Hello. This additional hardware built into the above-display cameras unlocks facial recognition for Windows 11, adding an invaluable layer of security for any type of user.

Both laptops have a regular 1080p camera for video conferencing and stills. We had limited time to test cameras during our hands-on, but each seemed to do a good job of handling varying lighting conditions.

TL;DR: There's not much difference here between the 1080p webcams with IR sensors for Windows Hello facial recognition.

Dell's XPS 13 has a superior display compared to the Swift Air 14

Measuring 13.4 inches with a 2560x1600 (2.5K) resolution, the XPS 13's display doesn't fail to impress. It's crisp, it has plenty of brightness at a 500-nit maximum, and an anti-glare finish makes it easier to see in bright conditions.

It features Dolby Vision certification for HDR content, it has a 30Hz to 120Hz variable refresh rate, and Dell clocks it at 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage.

The only aspect I can see Acer winning with the Swift Air 14's display is sizing. It measures 14 inches, giving some users a much-needed boost for multitasking. It also hits 100% sRGB color.

It does, however, have a lower 1920x1200 resolution and less brightness at 350 nits. It's unclear if the Swift Air 14's display has a variable refresh rate: it's listed as 120Hz only. That's a nice smooth picture, though the variable aspect can help conserve battery life.

TL;DR: The XPS 13's higher resolution, variable refresh rate, and Dolby Vision certification make it an attractive option, though some users will prefer a full 14 inches from the Swift Air 14 for easier multitasking.

Intel Wildcat Lake CPUs help keep prices down

Dell's Wildcat Lake Core Series 3 processors are driving both of these $699 laptops, so I don't expect there to be much difference in performance. However, there is some nuance.

The XPS 13 is currently only available with a Core 5 320 chip; a Core Ultra 7 355 chip from the more powerful Panther Lake series is expected to arrive at some point in the future. If you want the most power possible and don't mind spending more, this is the configuration I'd hold out for.

I'm expecting the Swift Air 14 to launch with the same Core 5 320 CPU in its $699 model, but Acer also lists a Core 7 350 for those with a bit more to spend. Both laptops come with 8GB or 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and only Dell plans to release a 32GB config for its upcoming Intel Core Ultra model.

TL;DR: The use of Intel Wildcat Lake CPUs in both laptops means performance should be close. If you want more power, only the XPS 13 is expected to offer an Intel Panther Lake alternative.

Acer's Swift Air 14 has a much larger battery capacity, but Dell has a secret weapon

The Intel Wildcat Lake chips used in these laptops are geared to offer exceptional battery life.

Dell says its XPS 13 with a 52Wh battery can go for up to 17 hours when streaming video, and that's boosted by the use of 800ED battery cells that hold more power while taking up less physical space.

Acer's Swift Air 14 has a larger 70Wh battery, though it doesn't have Dell's extra-dense cells. This results in an estimated 19 hours of video playback, or 16 hours of web browsing, according to Acer.

We'll have to perform our own tests on these laptops to discover the true battery life, but I can say that both PCs should be able to get through a day of work or study without needing a charge.

TL;DR: The Swift Air 14's larger battery capacity is offset by Dell's use of denser battery cells. Both PCs should be able to go for most of a day without needing a charge.

Dell XPS 13 vs. Acer Swift Air 14: Which should you buy?

Acer's Swift Air 14 is expected to launch sometime in August, starting at $699. When it does, Dell's XPS 13 — which is available now — will have some new competition in the budget-but-premium space.

Which laptop you ultimately choose should come down to several personal preferences. Want a larger display even with a lower resolution? Acer's laptop is the way to go. Want a larger battery capacity? The same goes.

But Dell's XPS 13 drops its price to $599 if you're a student, which makes it a particularly spectacular deal. Combine that with a higher-res 2.5K display, snappy performance, and long battery life, and you have a PC that's tough to beat.

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Windows 11 will soon lose a way to log in to a PC. A recent update removes the option to set up a new picture password. If you already have a picture password on your PC, you can continue to use it, but the feature is being phased out.

Microsoft is on a mission to push the world beyond passwords. The tech giant generally recommends a PIN, facial recognition, or a fingerprint to log in to Windows 11. Passkeys are often the top recommendation for authentication, though you cannot log in to a Windows 11 PC with a passkey. But back in the days of Windows 8, Microsoft introduced the option to unlock your PC using a picture.

That feature, which has remained available across Windows 10 and Windows 11, allows you to unlock your PC with a series of touches or gestures, like tapping the eyes of a smiley face then swiping across the face's mouth.

You could use a combination of three types of gestures as part of a picture password: circles, straight lines, or taps.

Picture passwords were a fun way to show off the touch-centric nature of Windows 8, but they aren't as secure as a passkey or even a strong password.

Since people often pick gestures or taps around key objects, hackers can sometimes guess the gestures needed to unlock a PC. People can look at the smudges on your screen to guess where you touch frequently.

A research paper from 2013 that was flagged by Neowin highlights the risks of picture passwords.

If you have a picture password set up now and want to continue to use it, you need to make sure to leave it set up. Once you remove it or disable it, you will not be able to set up a picture password.

Microsoft shared the following in a support document:

"To help enhance security, picture password is no longer available for new enrollment. Users who have already configured a picture password can continue to use it to sign in to Windows. If a picture password is removed, disabled, or not previously configured, it cannot be set up again. We recommend using Windows Hello PIN, facial recognition, or fingerprint recognition where available."

That change arrives alongside the July 2026 security update, which is now rolling out to Windows 11.

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One of the best laptop deals of the year is live, though I'm worried stock won't last. The Dell XPS 14 (2025) is up to $1,350 off.

I highlighted Dell's discount on the XPS 14 recently, and the deal has since gotten even better. I didn't think I'd see a laptop with these specs at this price in 2026. 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and 3.2K OLED touch display for $1,549.99 is, quite frankly, ludicrous.

My only concern is that the laptop dropping in price quickly suggests Dell is almost out of stock and wants to clear out 2025 models to push the newer XPS 14 laptops from this year.

Why buy the Dell XPS 14?

The XPS 14 is a pretty laptop built for productivity. At one time, there were a bunch of variations for this PC, but the options have been trimmed down as stock dips. The 3.2K OLED touch display in this model stands out, especially at this price.

The XPS 14 has a zero-lattice keyboard that packs large keys into a relatively small laptop body. The haptic touchpad of the XPS 14 is invisible, creating a clean look when the laptop is open.

That touchpad can take some time to get used to, but it was praised by Tom's Guide in their review:

"The keys have good travel distance and just the right amount of resistance when pressed. Once you get used to how tightly packed they are, typing is a breeze. And now that I’m used to it, the invisible touchpad doesn’t bother me. As before, I like the haptic feedback the touchpad produces, which also helps me know its location."

As a reminder, the Dell XPS 14 (2025) was originally called the Dell 14 Premium. Dell abandoned that naming scheme and resurrected the XPS brand earlier this year and retroactively renamed older models.

While I love the design of the XPS 14, it has battery life that's just OK. Our colleagues at Tom's Guide got 8 hours and 16 minutes in their testing. For context, 10 hours of battery life is considered "pretty good" in that same test.

The discounted XPS 14 model I highlighted retails for $2,899.99, but it is from last year. Many laptops from this year with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage cost well over $2,000. The new XPS 14 with those specs is $2,119.99 right now, and that's after a $630 discount. That version also has a 2K non-touch screen rather than the 3.2K OLED touch screen seen in the XPS 14 (2025) highlighted here.

FAQ

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Recently, the Australian gaming journalist website Press Start has confirmed that Xbox players in Australia are now forced to verify their age to play games rated for people aged 18+ and over on Xbox Series X|S and PC.

This was done because, according to Microsoft's email notice sent to Australian players, and I quote, "As part of our compliance program in Australia, beginning late August 2026, adult XBOX accounts must verify their age to be able to access apps and games rated 18+ on the Microsoft and XBOX Store. Access to such content may be restricted unless you verify your age. Apps and games you already own won’t be affected. Select below to verify now. Please ignore if you’ve already verified.”

Players consigned to this must verify their age either through Email-based age verification, facial age estimation by taking a self-portrait using their camera, providing credit card details, or providing government-issued ID like a driver's license, passport, national ID, or residence permit.

Around the same time this happened, Australia had banned "The Halloween: The Game", an upcoming Xbox horror game based on the iconic Halloween movie franchise because of the presence of a controlled substance, rather than the violent murders that occur in the game.

A bleak glimpse at the digital future?

Now, Australia banning a horror game is nothing new, as the country has a long history of censoring games or outright banning them in the past, such as the Grand Theft Auto series and South Park: Stick of Truth.

Although some games do manage to get released under the "Adults Only" rating, such as Hotline Miami, Outlast 2, and We Happy Few, to name a few.

However, what is concerning is the age verification enforcement, as we're seeing more Western countries like Australia, the UK, and several states in the US implementing it across many websites, online services, and video games, bottlenecking what we can or cannot access.

As physical discs come under attack and governments act as a morality police over the types of content adults are allowed to consume, gamers and game developers like Hideo Kojima are increasingly concerned that we're on a slippery slope where eventually we'll own nothing digitally and what we do own will be so censored that it's not even worth owning.

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Not to mention there's the big risk to our private freedom, with gaming activists like Stop Killing Games proclaiming these age verification systems are just another means for corporations and governments to gatekeep content, collect sensitive data (which is at risk of being stolen or leaked by hackers), and make the open web harder for everyone to use.

Either way, between this and the ongoing memory crisis hiking the price of Xbox Series X|S and other related tech, the gaming industry is in a volatile and chaotic state right now that I pray we recover from soon somehow because, if things keep going the way they are...I think it may be time to invest in a new hobby we actually have ownership and freedom over.

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If you use uBlock Origin on Microsoft Edge, it's time to start looking at alternatives. Microsoft has shared a timeline for the transition away from Manifest Version 2 (MV2) extensions. That transition will end support for uBlock Origin on Edge, alongside a small group of other extensions.

Microsoft aims to fully transition consumers away from MV2 extensions by the end of 2026. Some users will start seeing notices about the change this month (August 2026). Microsoft will then gradually turn off MV2 extensions by default over the coming months.

Enterprise users will be transitioned away from MV2 extensions in 2027.

It's not a surprise that MV2 support is being discontinued. In fact, the surprise is that we finally have a confirmed date for the end of support. Microsoft has had MV2 support on the chopping block for ages but had not committed to a firm cutoff date.

MV2 and its replacement Manifest Version 3 (MV3) are extension platforms that developers can build upon. There are technical differences between the two, the most notable is that MV3 limits the WebRequest API, which allows ad blockers to dynamically intercept and block network requests before they load.

Since Edge is built on Chromium, which is Google's open-source engine, Google pushing MV3 affects Microsoft Edge.

This shift to MV3 is not arbitrary; there are practical benefits to the switch. MV3 is more secure and provides better performance than MV2. Some believe the transition to MV3 is being pushed to give Google more control over ads on the web, though that is up for debate.

The end of MV2 support will affect several extensions, but the biggest one is uBlock Origin. I suspect few would care about the end of MV2 support if uBlock Origin were unaffected.

Microsoft states that 95% of the top MV2 extensions in the Edge Add-ons store have been moved to MV3. There are only 58 MV2-based extensions in the Edge Add-on Store at all. Only three of those MV2-based extensions do not have MV3-based equivalents available.

There is a version of uBlock Origin that works with MV3, though it's uBlock Origin Lite. That extension lacks some of the granular controls of the full version. It also works differently in the background, hiding most content rather than preventing items from loading.

Many people could replace uBlock Origin with uBlock Origin Lite without issue, but power users could struggle with the change. Some people plan to switch browsers before changing ad blockers.

Mozilla Firefox still supports the tech needed for uBlock Origin to function. Brave committed to keeping MV2 extensions working as well.

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It feels like every week the component crisis worsens, driving the prices of hardware for even mid-level PC gaming to insane prices that only a few could afford without draining their savings.

Fortunately, price discounts are still a thing, giving us PC players brief respites from this RAMpocalypse. One such deal is this 26% discount for AMD Ryzen 7 7800XD, reducing the price of one of our favorite gaming CPUs from $449.99 to $333.99 on Amazon.

Why buy the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D?

The AMD Ryzen 7800X3D may be three years old, but it's still packing plenty of processing power to help your PC run games with extremely high performance that will make them feel so much smoother and more responsive to play with.

How high, you may ask? Well, my colleague, Ben Wilson, confirmed in his 4.5-star review of the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D that its 3D V-Cache makes an obvious difference to games, even if it doesn't thrill in productivity.

You can boost the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D's performance further by overclocking it using the Precision Boost feature with the Ryzen Master app. This is all done while the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D's power management system keeps it stable and cool.

However, don't expect to use this CPU for grinding through productivity tasks in a speedy manner, as its performance rates in this regard are somewhat lacking compared to Intel's (often more expensive) offerings.

Additionally, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D isn't compatible with DDR4 RAM, so folks running PC rigs with older RAM may need to upgrade (which is easier said than done thanks to this AI-induced RAM crisis sucking all our RAM dry).

So, if you're looking to upgrade your gaming PC without breaking too much bank, this 26% discount for the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D at Amazon is currently one of the safest and most affordable bets out there.

FAQ

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Last week, users began noticing a new app appearing in their Start menu on Windows 11, titled "OneDrive Photos" which was being forcibly installed by the OS. Naturally, this caused outrage among users who aren't interested in using OneDrive for photo storage, resulting in pushback online.

Now, Microsoft's EVP of Apps and Agents, Jeff Teper, has taken to X to explain what happened. He confirms that the OneDrive Photos app is an incubation project, which wasn't supposed to rollout as widely as it did. "We are incubating a new photos experience in OneDrive that went more broadly than it should have in Windows. We’re fixing that. Windows Photos will always give you the option of local and cloud photos and the choice to use OneDrive or not."

It looks like a switch was flipped on Microsoft's end which made the already pre-installed OneDrive app begin showing the OneDrive Photos experience, which is usually hidden from the user currently. Microsoft has been building this new OneDrive Photos experience for a number of months, as it first leaked back in 2025.

It's unclear why Microsoft thinks it needs to build a dedicated OneDrive Photos app, especially when Windows comes preinstalled with an already competent photo viewer that does a good job of handling photos stored in OneDrive. The new OneDrive Photos app is a web app, which is heavy on RAM usage and not very responsive.

Although Microsoft has confirmed that the rollout of OneDrive Photos was an error, the company does say that it's still looking forward to delivering this new experience soon. "We're very excited for you to try out OneDrive's photos features on desktop, web, and mobile and hear your feedback."

It's unclear if Microsoft intends to re-hide the OneDrive Photos app from appear on PCs where it shouldn't. On my PC, I can still see the new Photos (Preview) appearing in Windows Search, which opens the OneDrive Photos experience. This isn't the first time Microsoft has been caught automatically installing new apps on Windows 11. The OS has frequently been accused of automatically installing apps like Microsoft 365 Copilot, much to the dismay of users who don't want it.

The good news is it appears Microsoft is listening to the feedback, and publicly acknowledging that it made an error with the rollout of the OneDrive Photos app is confirmation that it saw the backlash and understands that a lot of users don't want this new experience. Hopefully that means the company won't forcibly install it next time.

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If you ordered any of Valve's products within Europe, such as its Steam Machine gaming PC or the modern Steam Controller, there's a chance your private information may have been compromised. This morning, an email detailed "a note about a security incident at our shipping partner in Europe" involving a cyberattack on Valve's EU shipping partner, CEVA Logistics, on August 7.

I bought the Steam Controller in May, though I skipped the Steam Machine pre-order queue, and still received the notice as a customer in the United Kingdom. Crucially, Valve clarifies that this attack on CEVA and its subsequent data breach does not affect "your payment information, passwords, Steam Guard codes or other information."

Your Steam account should remain safe, and right now, there's no reason to change your password or change any account settings. However, Valve warns that customers could "expect fake messages" from bad actors asking for money or other information. Personal details that "may have been compromised" include:

• Your name
• Your street address, postal code and city
• Your country
• Your phone number
• Your email address — the same one your Steam account uses
• The type and price of the ordered product

How did the CEVA Logistics breach happen?

Valve says that it is "pressing CEVA for the full scope of what was taken and how, and we are in the process of notifying the data protection authorities in the countries affected", and clarifies that the affected system has been taken offline and isolated from further leaks, but there is currently no confirmation on which customers have been affected or exactly how this happened.

For now, Valve invites anyone with concerns or questions to reach out to its support team at help.steampowered.com or to write to its contact point at Artana Digital GmbH, Alstertwiete 3, 20099 Hamburg, Germany.

Fake messages from convincing impersonators are unfortunately common, and bad actors will go through extreme lengths to make their text messages, emails, and phone calls appear genuine. If you're new to Steam, remain vigilant but remember that Valve only handles account issues via its dedicated support site, and "never by email, Steam Chat, or Discord — Anyone who contacts you elsewhere claiming to be Steam Support is not."

I'd also caution anyone who might be at risk that, while Valve implies that your credit card information is safe, bad actors can use other personal information to attempt various identity fraud and access accounts elsewhere. It's important to stay vigilant as data breaches like this happen, and scrutinize every message you receive from delivery companies asking for money: "Treat all of them as fake", Valve says.

Customers based in the United States and, in turn, anywhere outside CEVA Logistics' operating area in Europe shouldn't be affected by this breach. Nevertheless, it should come as an important lesson in customer privacy and data security. Keep using strong passwords that are unique to each platform, and protect yourself as much as possible.

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In a new tweet, Partner Director of Design at Microsoft, March Rogers, has confirmed that there are no plans to introduce a customizable UI transparency slider on Windows 11, after users asked for a feature similar to the Liquid Glass slider that was recently added to the next version of iOS.

For a long time, Windows has featured transparency and blur effects. However, Windows has never natively supported adjusting how strong those effects are. Users have the option to turn transparency on and off, but there's no fine-tuning options for those effects to be found in the OS.

Third-party apps such as Windhawk do allow for customizing these effects, but this customization is not natively supported by the OS on its own. As such, it's natural to find that there are users out there who wish they could adjust these settings without being forced to download a third-party app first.

Rogers confirms that there are no plans to introduce a transparency slider on Windows 11 at current. "We think hard about who will benefit from the investment, usability and accessibility considerations. We also look at our community of developers (like the amazing Windhawk project) who may already be providing what users need. We won't be making immediate changes to the transparency options already in Windows, but we love getting your feedback."

It sounds like Microsoft has looked at this option, and has found that it's not a priority at the moment, which is understandable. Windows 11 has much bigger issues that needs fixing right now, and the company is focused entirely on delivering those improvements first.

The beauty of Windows is that it's an open-platform, meaning third-party developers can easily builds tools and apps that modify the Windows experience. Windhawk is a powerful suite of customization enhancements for Windows that lets users customize everything from the Start menu design to blur effects across the OS.

It's very refreshing to see Microsoft be so open about the design process for Windows 11 these days. I'm frequently checking the X accounts of many Microsoft employees these days, as they are always responding to Windows Insiders with explanations about new features and feedback from users.

While a transparency slider isn't on the cards for Windows 11 right now, Microsoft is working on a number of new customization options for the OS. There's a new customizable Start menu coming very soon, along with a redesigned context menu that will also be user customizable.

(Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4)

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Windows 11 is finally starting to see the changes Microsoft has promised for months, except the best parts are still limited to Windows Insiders and mockups. I appreciate Microsoft's efforts to revamp Windows 11 — better late than never — but some of these improvements should have shipped years ago.

The status of Windows 11 makes me ask why Microsoft didn't aggressively start climbing the metaphorical mountain years ago. Microsoft has revamped settings and UI elements, but the big changes are part of a new initiative that honestly shouldn't need to exist.

Microsoft is updating several core parts of Windows 11 with WinUI, which improves performance and even helps Windows 11 run on PCs with less RAM. But I can't help but ask how we got here in the first place. How did we end up with a "modern" OS with legacy components and UI elements from different decades?

Biggest News of the Week

I understand that updating legacy components can be tricky. Microsoft's CVP of Design and Research on Windows, Marcus Ash, joined the most recent Windows Central Podcast and discussed the challenges of updating Windows.

Obviously, Ash knows more about Windows than I ever will. I don't question the difficulty of updating an entire OS, especially if you need to re-update components several times.

What I question is why keeping Windows up to date and unified was not a core value from the start? Why did Microsoft reach a point where user feedback became overwhelming and the tech giant finally decided to make bigger changes?

Legacy support is critical for enterprise users, so Microsoft could not just throw out old code or elements to make Windows modern. But having a unified OS could have been a priority from the beginning.

Work like this needed to start decades ago, not in 2026. Some of the groundwork has been laid for these improvements, but some projects are quite new. That's not an acceptable way to make an operating system.

Shopping with Sean

My top recommendation isn't an item on sale. Instead, it's a must-have for Xbox owners that's running out of stock. Several retailers have listed the Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S as unavailable. Best Buy ran out of stock while I was writing a piece highlighting the shortage. Below are all the listings I've found that still let you order the speedy storage card.

An excellent deal on the Dell XPS 14 slashes $1,150 off the premium PC. I love the design of the XPS 14 from last year, and the current discount makes the laptop a great choice for back-to-school shopping.

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Desktop gaming PCs have a reputation for being huge, and, to be honest, a lot of them are. However, if you're confident enough to dive into the twisted world of cable management, then a compact build could be a fantastic challenge that pays off as a space-saving monster rig. When the Cooler Master Qube 340 case appeared at Computex earlier this year, I was immediately intrigued, even if I can't afford the full gamut of parts to build inside of it just yet.

Cooler Master provided a sample but did not see the contents of my article before publishing. I'm also refraining from assigning a traditional review score to this case until I can complete a build with a full set of components.

How much does the Qube 340 cost?

For now, the best place to buy the Cooler Master Qube 340 is Newegg at $54.99. It's currently listed by Newegg itself, rather than any third-party sellers, and is in stock at the time of writing. A listing for the Qube 340 in black on Amazon US lists "Newegg Business" as a reseller at $59.49, which isn't worth the extra money. At the time of writing, the white variant of this case is "currently unavailable" on Amazon and is outright missing from Newegg.

What I like about the Qube 340

Ever since the RAM crisis ruined any prospect of affording Valve's Steam Machine gaming PC, I've thought about how I could repurpose some of the spare components I have in storage — and even then, it isn't a huge pile. Still, I knew I'd never manage anything quite as purposefully tiny, but I could come close with a mini ITX build, and the Qube 340 looked perfect on paper.

It came in a huge box, but it feels as compact in person as I'd hoped. The removable handles are also ideal for what I've planned: A desktop that I can set up and take away at a moment's notice, rather than leaving something permanently underneath our TV. Sure, I'll need to buy some more niche parts, like a compatible motherboard, but Cooler Master impressed me out of the box.

My most important consideration was whether the ASRock Challenger Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card I have would fit, depending on my front-fan decisions. I could also use an AIO radiator, but the cheesegrater-esque design of the Qube 340 feels better suited to a traditional air cooler — even if only in aesthetics — plus there's a 140mm 'DF1402512RFLN' fan pre-installed at the rear.

At a glance, there's nothing to worry about, as the 290mm GPU fits with around 78mm to spare. My immediate idea is to have a single 140mm intake fan mounted at the top, pulling cool air into the case and pushing it through a CPU air cooler before exhausting it out the back. Still, I have options, including adding an even longer card, as long as everything is measured correctly.

Next up are cable management and routing options. Like most hobbyists, I prefer to take my time with my own builds and get everything as clean as possible, which is more of a mandatory requirement in a compact case than a preference. While there aren't any dedicated trunking channels, there are a few mounting points for zip ties, so I just need to plan everything carefully.

The front-mounted I/O plate is also removable, so I can move it to the top of the case for easier access and re-route the attached cables from the start. It all depends on my motherboard of choice and how it determines the shortest route for each component, but it's fantastic to have the option. I'll always prefer my power button and front ports to be at the top of the case.

What I don't like about the Qube 340

The build quality is generally great on the outside, with those sturdy carry handles and rubberized feet keeping it steady in a vertical position and similarly when laid flat for construction and upgrades. However, the metal on the inside — particularly around the motherboard tray — is quite thin with some flex, but I doubt I'd ever accidentally bend it in any permanent way.

I found the removable 2.5/3.5-inch drive tray similarly skinny and flexible, but it hardly has to do anything beyond holding my storage in place, and it at least removes with a single thumbscrew. It would likely take a heavy dent from an accidental drop to twist this case out of shape, and though it's well padded in its box, it's still worth checking everything over as soon as you buy one.

Concerns about missing rubber grommets are tempered by the fact that this is a $55 PC case. Not to excuse any internal mishaps that might happen, but again, it feels unlikely given how solid the outer shell is overall. Otherwise, being mostly toolless also raises some concern about the glass side panel, which holds well but is secured only by a single protruding tab.

Should you buy the Qube 340?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You want to build a portable mini ITX gaming PC

✅ You're prioritizing airflow with dust protection

You should not buy this if ...

❌ This is your first-ever rig; compact builds are tricky

You can go smaller, but for my first planned adventure into a mini-ITX build, the Qube 340 is exactly what I wanted it to be. If, like me, you're toying with the idea of a compact gaming PC that's easier to move around than a full-sized desktop, I think you'll be quite happy with this incredibly affordable case. Some of my opinions might change once I have enough parts to build inside it, but that won't affect the overall praise I have for Cooler Master on this occasion.

Microsoft purchased Blizzard as part of its big Activision acquisition a few years ago. The Warcraft maker has had a roller coaster decade in a variety of ways, with downturns in hit franchises like Warcraft and Overwatch prevented the legendary studio from finding its mojo.

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Free from the reins of Activision, Blizzard now operates as a limited-integration entity within Microsoft's Xbox division, and the results well and truly speak for themselves. Overwatch is arguably better than ever, with a razor-sharp focus on fan feedback and new content. World of Warcraft still has issues with its writing and polish, but the content cadence has never been so consistent. Genre-defining franchise Diablo has also seen a stunning return to form, with an overhaul of the endgame loop atop a truly spectacular expansion in the form of Lord of Hatred.

All of that painstakingly hard work has seemingly paid off. A new email sent by Blizzard President Johanna Faries to staff this past week celebrated the division's roaring return to growth.

Blizzard President Johanna Faries opened the email rallying the team ahead of BlizzCon 2026, set to go live in Anaheim on September 12, "the weekend will reflect the bold and collaborative work of everyone reading this," she said. "It's my hope that the event can shine a light on the work underway at Blizzard, and that it can serve as a powerful springboard into a new era of momentum and excitement behind our mission to bring joy and belonging for communities worldwide."

Faries also laid out Blizzard's performance through FY26, which just ended for Microsoft with Xbox 11% down overall (owing to some big franchises like Call of Duty and Candy Crush having a difficult year). While Xbox overall has struggled, Blizzard is one area that continues to thrive and grow.

"In FY26 Blizzard ended the year as the top-performing studio in Xbox's studios division, and this past year has marked our third highest fiscal for top line revenue in Blizzard's history."

Faries went on to explain that Blizzard has begun seeing consecutive years of growth again for the first time since Overwatch launched back in 2016. It's a huge feat considering intense competition from the likes of Roblox, Fortnite, and other service-type entities eating up a lot of the attention.

"FY25 and FY26 were our first back-to-back years of growth since FY17," Faries explained. "Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred and Overwatch drove exceptional performance in particular, with Overwatch delivering its strongest quarter since 2022." Faries emphasized that the success will help them invest even more in Blizzard games, staff, and other initiatives that will "shape Blizzard's future."

BlizzCon could be a really huge moment

The news comes against a fairly negative backdrop at Xbox over the summer, who is known to be seeking cuts to the tune of thousands of employees throughout the next 12 months. Microsoft has already laid off thousands of staff across its divisions, with divestitures hitting Xbox staples like Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, and others. id Software of DOOM fame has been particularly hard hit with cuts, and it remains to be seen what other studios might be hard hit in the coming months.

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Given Faries' upbeat note, it would be dire indeed if Microsoft's c-suite spreadsheet spectres decided Blizzard also needed to bear some of the burden of higher-up managerial failings of late. Xbox's confused strategy over the last few years hurt the division's revenue diversification, leading to an over-reliance on mega-franchises like Candy Crush, Minecraft, and Call of Duty to subsidize growth. A lack of investment in Xbox's core, i.e. console, has led to a decline in the division's most lucrative user base by Microsoft's own admission. Although incoming Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has begun work to strengthen this aspect of the business.

In September, BlizzCon will offer a glimpse at the near and long-term future of Blizzard's universes. We should see the next Warcraft expansion, dubbed The Last Titan, revealed in full. I've heard Blizzard is working on a variety of mobile game spin offs with partners too, as well as potential trans-media projects similar to Cyberpunk Edgerunners or the Fallout TV show for its own franchises. Blizzard is also known to be working on a StarCraft third-person shooter led by Far Cry director Dan Hay, and the next core Diablo project is also moving ahead.

Who knows what other surprises could be awaiting us? A Heroes of the Storm revival maybe?! Higher-quality remakes of Blizzard classics? Something completely new?! It's exciting to think about as a long-time Blizzard fan, but more importantly, it's encouraging to see Blizzard's industry-leading devs have a spot in the sun after many years of turbulence. Faries and the team at Blizzard should serve as an example for Xbox CCO Matt Booty to follow. Let's hope (and pray) Microsoft continues to let them cook.

What Blizzard franchise do you want to hear most about at BlizzCon? Vote in our poll!

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Every time I install Windows 11, I turn off the same handful of features before I do anything else. They're not necessarily bad features, but I don't need widgets, recommendations, badges, and constant notifications competing for my attention while I'm working.

Over the years, I've found that making a few small changes creates a desktop that feels cleaner, quieter, and easier to focus on. I prefer Windows 11 to stay in the background and only get my attention when something truly matters. If you feel the same way, you're not alone.

In this how-to guide, I'll show you the Windows 11 features I always disable and explain why I think each change is worth making.

7 features worth turning off for a calmer desktop

None of these features are inherently bad, and I know many people enjoy using them. The problem, at least for me, is that they all compete for the same thing, which is my attention. One widget or notification isn't a big deal. However, once you combine recommendations, badges, alerts, and promotional content across the operating system, Windows 11 starts to feel busier than it needs to be. That's why these are the first settings I change.

1. Widgets in the Lock screen

I like my Lock screen only to let me know it's time to sign in, and nothing more. I don't need sports scores, market updates, or suggested content before I've even reached the desktop. It's one more thing competing for my attention before I start working.

I also switch from Windows Spotlight to a static image because I don't want tips or promotional overlays appearing before I've even signed in.

For these reasons, I always try to disable the desktop widgets and use a static image, and here's how:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Personalization.
3. Click the Lock screen page on the right side.
4. Turn off the Widgets toggle switch.

5. Turn off the "Suggest widgets for your lock screen" toggle switch.
6. Select the Picture (or Slideshow) option in the "Personalize your lock screen" setting.

7. Choose the image you want to show on the Lock screen.

Once you complete the steps, the Lock screen becomes a simple place to check the time and sign in instead of another surface competing for your attention.

2. Widgets icon in Taskbar

I don't mind having quick access to Widgets, but I don't need live updates constantly trying to pull my attention away from whatever I'm doing. Removing the Taskbar button keeps the interface quieter while still letting me open Widgets with the keyboard shortcut whenever I actually want it.

If you don't want the unnecessary distraction, you can hide the icon from the Taskbar. Here's how:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Personalization.
3. Click the Taskbar page on the right side.
4. Turn off the Widgets toggle switch under the "Taskbar items" section.

After you complete the steps, the Taskbar stays free from live updates while still letting you open Widgets anytime with the "Windows key + W" keyboard shortcut if you need it.

3. Do not disturb to stop toast notifications

Another feature I always turn on is "Do Not Disturb" to prevent distractions from toast notifications.

If you want to, you can also turn off notifications altogether, but I do this because I can still access the notifications from Notification Center.

To enable Do Not Disturb on Windows 11, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on System.
3. Click the Notifications page on the right side.
4. Turn off the "Do Not Disturb" toggle switch.

5. (Optional) Turn off the Notifications toggle switch.

Once you complete the steps, Windows 11 stops interrupting your workflow, but your notifications are still waiting in Notification Center whenever you're ready to review them.

If you decide to turn off the notification feature, the system and services won't be able to show or collect notifications.

4. Start menu content recommendations

The Start menu has become much cleaner over the years, but I still don't like seeing recent files, app suggestions, and recommendations every time I open it. I prefer using the space for the apps I've pinned instead of content the system thinks I might want.

I personally like to have the "Pinned" and "All" sections in the Start menu, and I always turn off the "Recommended" section, but these steps aren't obvious to everyone.

To disable the Recommended section, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Personalization.
3. Click the Start page on the right side.
4. Turn off the "Show recently added apps" toggle switch.
5. Turn off the "Show recommended files in Start, recent files in File Explorer, and items in Jump Lists" toggle switch.
6. Turn off the "Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more" toggle switch.

7. (Optional) Turn off the "Show account-related notifications" toggle switch to prevent alerts from the Account Control menu in the Start menu.

After completing the steps, the Start menu feels cleaner and focuses on the apps you've chosen to pin instead of recent files and recommendations.

5. Search highlights from the web

When you open the Windows Search home from the Taskbar, the first thing you'll notice is web highlights with daily quizzes, image of the day, trending searches, games, news, and more, when the search experience should be about finding local and cloud files, settings, and applications installed on your computer.

Search is one of the features I use dozens of times a day, so I want it to open directly into search, not news stories, trending topics, or games. The less visual clutter between me and what I'm looking for, the better. Fortunately, you can turn off the web highlights for a simpler experience using Windows Search, and here's how:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Privacy & security.
3. Click the Search page on the right side.
4. Turn off the "Show search highlights" toggle switch.

Once you complete the steps, Windows Search opens with fewer distractions, making it easier to get straight to finding your apps, files, and settings.

6. Taskbar app badges for unseen content

Taskbar badges are another feature I disable on every new installation. These are the small counters or dots that appear on app icons to let you know something needs your attention. While they can be useful, I find they encourage me to check apps that aren't important at the moment.

I prefer opening apps when I decide to, not because a badge is telling me to. If I want to check for updates or unread messages, I'll do it on my own schedule.

To turn off Taskbar badges on Windows 11, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Personalization.
3. Click the Taskbar page on the right side.
4. Click the Taskbar behaviors section.
5. Clear the "Show badges on taskbar apps" option.

After you complete the steps, app icons will no longer display unread message counters, helping keep the Taskbar cleaner and reducing another small source of distraction throughout the day.

7. Desktop icons and files

Like pretty much everyone else, I usually place shortcuts and files on the desktop, but I don't like a crowded desktop either, so one thing I usually do is to hide the desktop icons.

You can easily do this by right-clicking the desktop, selecting "View," and clicking on the "Show desktop icons" option to clear the setting and hide everything on the desktop for a clear view of the background image.

If I want to access the content of the folder, I usually just open the "Desktop" folder within File Explorer.

I know this one isn't for everyone, but hiding my desktop icons makes the entire workspace feel less cluttered. Everything is still there when I need it, but I don't have to look at it every time I minimize a window.

Windows Central's Take

I've been customizing this operating system for years, and this is still one of the first things I do on a new installation. Windows 11 includes plenty of features that many people enjoy, but I don't need constant reminders, recommendations, or badges pulling my attention away from my work. Spending a few minutes changing these settings makes the desktop feel much calmer without taking away the features I actually use.

Out of everything on this list, Do Not Disturb is the setting I'd tell most people to try first. I don't want notifications interrupting me throughout the day, but I also don't want to miss them completely. It gives me the best of both worlds.

Microsoft has been adding more customization options recently, but I still think the default Windows 11 experience tries a little too hard to keep people engaged. Fortunately, almost everything I mentioned here can be changed in just a few minutes, making the system feel much more personal without removing features you might want later.

Which Windows 11 feature do you turn off first to create a calmer desktop experience? Let me know in the comments below.

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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The ROG Strix OLED XG32UQWMS gaming monitor is planned for release in September 2026. ASUS provided a sample, but the company had no input on the article nor saw its contents before publishing.

OLED gaming monitors have been around for a while, but concerns about text clarity and burn-in left me less excited to buy something like the ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG32UQWMS. Given the chance to test an upcoming model from its range shown at Computex earlier this year, I couldn't resist, and my review could be the moment that helps me overcome my apprehension. Here's what I learned.

How much does the 32-inch Strix OLED cost?

The ROG Strix XG32UQWMS is targeting a September launch for $899, with specific US retailers to be confirmed. In the United Kingdom, that converts to £819, with planned third-party resellers including Amazon UK, Currys, and Very. In the meantime, you can sign up for availability notifications on the monitor's official ASUS listing for your region.

Is the 32-inch Strix OLED easy to set up?

I'm a big fan of toolless setups wherever they appear, and ASUS ROG wins points for delivering a straightforward process here. Everything hinged on a push-button release mechanism that either gripped the stand or the VESA mount; I used the former and attached the footplate with a simple thumbscrew.

The display alone weighs 9.92 lbs (4.5 kg), and adding the VESA mount brings the total to 10.64 lbs (4.83 kg) in a mounted setup. Otherwise, the foot plate and strut together weigh 4.54 lbs (2.06 kg), controlling height with a sturdy but not overly stiff response. On my desk, the monitor is 14.46 lbs (6.56 kg) overall.

Attaching the stand gave me a clear view of the ports and navigation via the multi-function button (MFB) located behind the bottom-mounted ASUS ROG logo and its accompanying "Neo" proximity sensor. It's a pretty standard affair that matches rival brands, and its controls should feel familiar to most people.

While there are two HDMI 2.1 ports, a pair of USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 with a hub port, and a headphone jack, there's only a single DisplayPort cable in the box for its matching DP 1.4 port, along with the AC cord. Bundling a free USB-B cable shouldn't be too expensive, and I'm disappointed to see it missing here.

Does the 32-inch Strix OLED look good?

Moving from a 27-inch IPS Alienware monitor to an OLED panel made its benefits immediately obvious, with an experience similar to the one I get from my LG C2 TV in the living room. High contrast, deep blacks, and crisp visuals come with its 4K resolution and that smooth 240Hz refresh rate. Windows 11 adjusted my settings accordingly, and the monitor looks great out of the box.

In motion, the UHD @ 240Hz mode looks fantastic, and I'm left wondering who would ever want to switch to 1080p for the sake of 480Hz on a 32-inch display. I know it has its place in ultra-competitive shooters like Counter-Strike 2 and its many rivals, but 240Hz still feels like plenty to me. If you're the target audience, I think you'll be happy, because FHD gameplay still looks quite good.

Up close, the clarity of on-screen text looks fine; nothing particularly groundbreaking, but nothing looks noticeably fringed when I sit at a comfortable distance in UHD mode. Adjusting ClearType in Windows 11 might give results that better suit you, but I didn't feel like anything looked out of place during my usual daily work and gaming.

The OSD is at least easy to navigate, and I could install the DisplayWidget Center if I really wanted to use a mouse to tweak several settings at once. Otherwise, the "TrueBlack Glossy" panel looks significantly darker at a glance than the other screens in my office, which certainly helps with the deep blacks OLED is famous for, and I found the visible room reflections were tolerable.

Testing the display

Out of the box, the XG32UQWMS defaults to "Racing mode", hitting 99% of the DCI-P3 color gamut as advertised, and sRGB accuracy earns a perfect score, while Adobe RGB maxes out at 93%. Without changing settings, a 100% brightness level reached around 306 to 311 nits, so getting it to 330 nits will require a bit of tweaking. On the whole, I'm satisfied with its stock settings.

Should you buy the 32-inch Strix OLED?

You should buy this if ...

✅ You want an OLED monitor built for preventing burn-in

✅ You're a competitive gamer who thrives on high refresh rates

You should not buy this if ...

❌ You want an out-of-the-box USB hub monitor

A built-in presence sensor probably sets off alarm bells for some gamers, but the proximity detection is literally there to help protect this OLED panel by switching off when you walk away. That, along with adjustments to uniform brightness and pixel-cleaning settings, helps prevent burn-in, which was my biggest concern with monitors like these. ASUS definitely could have thrown in a free upstream USB cable for its hub, but the display itself is solid, so it still wins praise.

The next premium Call of Duty release, Infinity Ward's upcoming Modern Warfare 4, is just a few months away from hitting consoles and PCs, and it's finally time for players to get a good look at the upcoming first-person shooter's multiplayer gameplay.

As it has with previous Call of Duty launches, Activision will show off Modern Warfare 4's multiplayer in detail during this year's Call of Duty NEXT showcase. COD NEXT is a fan-favorite event where many of the top Call of Duty players — from popular streamers to esports pros — go live to broadcast gameplay, dev commentary, and more across YouTube and Twitch.

Here's everything you need to know so you don't miss out on COD NEXT 2026.

When and where to watch Call of Duty NEXT 2026

Call of Duty NEXT 2026 is set to go live on August 21 at 9 AM PT/12 PM ET. Players can tune in to the official Call of Duty channels to catch the live stream. Those who have preordered or have otherwise received an early access beta code can hop into the Modern Warfare 4 beta via the Call of Duty HQ immediately following the broadcast.

The Early Access Beta for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is only for players on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via Xbox on PC, Steam, and Battle.net. Modern Warfare 4 will not release on last-gen consoles, but it will be available on the Nintendo Switch 2 for the first time. Switch fans will have to wait until the open beta on August 28 to try out multiplayer.

What to expect from Call of Duty NEXT 2026

Official Call of Duty NEXT details remain scarce, even as the event draws nearer. Activision and Infinity Ward have been oddly tight-lipped on what players can expect to see during the showcase, but there have been some vague clues that the experience may be a bit different this year.

In previous years, Activision would pool together popular streamers, sports professionals, and more to show off gameplay. However, Xbox and Activision previously partnered with Fanatics Fest in July to spotlight the upcoming Kill Block map. Many of the popular streamers who typically participate in Call of Duty NEXT were present at the Fanatics Fest event for hands-on gameplay.

In an official blog post, the Call of Duty team calls COD NEXT 2026 a "global event featuring live gameplay, an in-depth briefing on the lineup of content coming to Modern Warfare 4's Multiplayer, developer insights, and new reveals ahead of the Beta."

The description is a bit vague, but the phrase "global event" has led many to speculate that this year's COD NEXT event will not feature the in-person gameplay event that has been a staple for the showcase. For the first time ever, the beta for this year's Call of Duty title will go live immediately following the COD NEXT broadcast — a welcome move that just might help the hype generated by the NEXT showcase carry over into the beta experience.

That move, however, may ultimately make it unfeasible to bring big-name gamers who might not want to miss streaming the beta during its early access period to an in-person event.

Infinity Ward has confirmed that it will showcase multiplayer during COD NEXT 2026, but the team has been surprisingly mum on Modern Warfare 4's third mode since the initial DMZ reveal. DMZ is not expected to be playable during the two beta weekends for Modern Warfare 4.

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Sony's decision to kill physical games from 2028 is the discussion that won't go away, and we're still waiting to see what the Xbox stance will be.

But wading in today is Strauss Zenick, CEO of Take Two (via IGN), otherwise known as the company that counts Rockstar Games among its portfolio. The same Rockstar Games that recently printed a ridiculous sum of money when GTA 6 pre-orders went live.

Only this time, and for the first time in the franchise, there will be no physical version at all. If you buy it from a retailer, all you get is a download code. Naturally, Zelnick is all for this.

“Our business is well over 90% digitally distributed,” Zelnick said. “It's already a digital business. So in certain instances, especially if it's a big game, discs just — and note I said discs — don't really make sense for the consumer.

Also, most instances you have to register online to play anyhow. So if you're already connected, who cares if you download digitally? It's all the same and it's much more convenient."

Granted, I'll give Rockstar Games specifically a little more slack here. GTA V came on two discs on the Xbox 360 originally because the game was too big for one (PS3 used Blu-Ray and was a single disc). Likewise, even on the larger capacity discs for Xbox One, Red Dead Redemption 2 suffered the same fate.

Nobody wants to get up and have to change discs. Not to mention more raw materials, manufacturing costs, etc. But I take particular exception to the second part of the quote above.

It's not our fault we have to register online to play a game. It's not our fault we need to have a Microsoft or Sony account, probably also a Rockstar Games account created alongside either of those. A subscription to play online. Alongside an account for every other different publisher who says we need to have an account.

Are digital games more convenient? Of course they are. But let's not pretend that this has anything to do with making our lives easier. Without a physical copy of something in our hands, we know that at any point it could just vanish without a trace.

It's not remotely surprising GTA 6 is digital-only. Even ignoring the likely technical issues fitting much of it onto a disc, it kills the resale market stone dead. Used game stores won't have copies of GTA 6 on the shelves after players are done with it. GTA Online is the cash cow, but there are still plenty of us who will play the campaign and call it a day. Those players can't sell on or trade in their copy anymore.

Curiously, Zelnick also said that "It doesn't mean that we won't have physical additions now and then, I'm sure we will in the same way that there’s still vinyl in the recorded music business." I don't even know where he's going with that one.

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Everyone knows Xbox isn't doing so hot these days, but new research from Statista Consumer Insights has put that common belief to the test.

Xbox is "unhealthy" according to new CEO Asha Sharma, which has led to thousands of layoffs this summer and many more throughout the next fiscal year. Gaming as a whole is struggling from a variety of headwinds, including the memory crisis, dilution of attention, competition from non-gaming hobbies, and potentially an unhealthy dependence on free-to-play forever games like Fortnite.

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Indeed, Microsoft's gaming division saw a decline to the tune of 11% last fiscal year, which sources tell me almost entirely revolves around Call of Duty having an off year. I suspect diversifying the Xbox business would probably be a good idea to reduce dependence on the firm's handful of mega-games, but that's a discussion for another time.

It's no secret that Xbox One was ill-received by the core gaming community, and Microsoft is still paying for those mistakes over a decade later. New data from Statista Consumer Insights put common beliefs about Xbox's performance to the test, surveying over 3,200 gamers in the United States.

Users were asked which console platforms they frequently play on specifically, with PC and mobile excluded from the picture. Of console players in the United States, some 85% frequently play on PlayStation platforms, 76% play on Nintendo platforms, with Xbox coming in last at 58%. The figures suggest that most people own multiple consoles and frequently play across different platforms. What is perhaps most striking is how popular the Xbox 360 still is, which is even giving the Nintendo Switch 2 a run for its money. It aligns with what I've previously heard about Xbox 360 engagement, which is uniquely sticky for Microsoft.

In a universe where some service games last "forever," there are arguably few reasons to upgrade from a PS4 or an Xbox One if all you enjoy playing is Fortnite or Minecraft and the like, which are still updated and fully functional on older platforms. At least it shows that users remain engaged, even if they are playing on older platforms. The challenge is figuring out how to convince them the upgrade is worth it.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is exclusive to Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, which in a usual console cycle would likely have a dramatic upward impact on the current-gen systems. That uptake is likely going to be a tad muted for Xbox, which is struggling to source memory at reasonable prices for its Xbox Series X|S range. The box is already more expensive than ever, and has firmly slipped beyond your average luxury purchase.

It'll be interesting to see how Xbox CEO Asha Sharma addresses the delta here. Xbox PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming are obviously excluded from the results here, and both of these platforms represent a huge growth area for Microsoft. Microsoft has barely marketed Xbox Cloud Gaming arguably, and Xbox Game Pass on PC remains a fantastic deal too. Putting more investment into these products (and maybe I dunno, marketing them?) could make for an easy win.

Sharma said that there are "200 million" Xbox players last month, but it's unclear exactly how Microsoft arrives at this figure. Does that include Minecraft players on PS5 or Nintendo Switch for example? It's hard to parse. What isn't hard to parse is the scale of the challenge facing Xbox, whose identity has been rocked by a variety of experiments that landed with mixed results.

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Xbox has a new console on the horizon, in the form of Project Helix, but so too will PlayStation. The competition for the future will remain fierce, but it's unclear if Microsoft still has the stamina to keep investing in gaming as shareholders heap demands for more AI.

It'll be interesting to see how Xbox weathers the next few years, with no end in sight for memory shortages, demographic shifts to PC, and the rise of free-to-play perpetuating something of a race to the bottom.

We've seen where the United States prefers to play, but where do YOU prefer to play, Windows Central reader? Vote in our poll below!

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It's the year of Linux, haven't you heard? You may as well pack up your PC, study your favorite distro, and get ready to evangelize the open-source platform that will run on all systems in the future.

Joking aside, Linux has grown a bit in popularity and Microsoft continues to embrace it. While the tech giant has several apps and projects on Linux, Microsoft has not released an official Copilot app for Linux.

Sure, you could use Copilot on the web. Heck, you could even open up Microsoft Edge for Linux and install Copilot as a PWA (Progressive Web App). But where is the fun in that?

Instead, you could install the unofficial Copilot app for Linux built by Hayden Barnes. The app opens the Copilot web app in a dedicated GTK window and keeps your login session safely on disk. It also integrates with the desktop for autostart, system downloads, app launcher execution, and accessing hardware permissions like the microphone.

Barnes shared the project on X alongside a link to the app's GitHub page.

Many of the unofficial Copilot app's features overlap with using the web version of Copilot since Microsoft's AI tool is the center of the experience. But building the unofficial app as a native GTK application means its developer can deeply integrate system shortcuts, allow it to run quietly in the system tray, and trigger native OS notifications as opposed to relying on browser notifications.

Other benefits include native support for desktop accent colors and system dark themes. Overall, the app looks and feels far more natural on a Linux desktop than a standard browser window, and keeping Copilot isolated prevents it from slowing down if your main browser gets bogged down with dozens of open tabs.

The unofficial Copilot app for Linux is new, so we'll have to use it for a while to determine its long-term stability and performance. The first publicly available release of the app shipped this week.

We have a few systems running Linux spread across our team, so we'll let you know how the unofficial Copilot app performs over time.

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The Seagate Xbox Expansion Card is a must-have accessory for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. It's a plug-and-play drive with quick enough speeds to play games right from the card.

But the Seagate Xbox Expansion Card is running out of stock. Scanning the web shows retail listings with warnings of low stock or a lack of stock at all. Other stores have the cards but at inflated prices. If you want to get a Seagate Xbox Expansion Card, you need to act quickly.

Below, I'll list all places I've found the card in stock. It's now difficult to find them at all, let alone at a good price.

Is it a good time to buy a Seagate Expansion Card?

Right now is a good time to buy a Seagate Xbox Expansion Card for three reasons. First, the card is below its launch price at certain retailers. Second, the card is running out of stock, so if you want one you need to act quickly. Third, games like GTA 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will take up a lot of space, so you'll need more storage.

Gaming prices are out of control right now. RAM and storage seem to get more costly each month. There aren't signs of the market correcting any time soon, either.

The most pressing factor here is that stock of the Seagate Xbox Expansion Card is running out. Literally as I wrote this article, Best Buy marked the card as unavailable. Newegg and Amazon have the card in stock but at wildly inflated prices.

The only Seagate Xbox Expansion Cards I've found in stock are the ones listed above, including the 2TB model at Walmart. If you spot a model in stock, please flag it and I'll update this piece.

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As price rises hit everything thanks to the RAMpocalypse, with SSDs, memory, graphics cards, PCs, handhelds, consoles, and literally everything getting more expensive, let's celebrate when someone beats the system.

Sure, it's only one person, but at this point, I'm so utterly depressed with the state of things that I'm ready to buy this person a beer and shake their hand.

You see the doom and gloom everywhere, so when I was browsing Reddit this morning and came across a post where someone had secured an NVIDIA RTX 3050 graphics card for just FIVE DOLLARS, I have to shout it out.

Is it the greatest deal of all time? Honestly, even before the price rises, I'd have grabbed this, thrown down a $5 bill, and run out of the store before anyone realized what they'd done putting that price tag on it.

Is the RTX 3050 a particularly good graphics card? I mean, it depends what you want to do with it. It'd be pretty good as a budget video encoding card for streaming; it'll play games at 1080p fairly well, too. Hell, I'd have absolutely put it into a machine and given it to my son.

For five bucks I would have found something to use it for. Maybe slap it inside the home server I've been wanting to build again for years to handle video transcoding. I don't care; I'd have found something to do with it.

That's assuming it works properly, of course. The post does show a Windows boot screen, so it would appear it at least gives video output, so that's a start. With a used, mystery GPU like this, you'd have to test it properly, and most definitely you'd want to strip it down, clean it up, and give it some new thermal paste.

But for $5, who cares? Worth a go, right? It's just nice to see someone have a win right now. If you were to buy a brand new RTX 3050 right now, you're looking at paying at least $250 if you went to somewhere like Best Buy. Nobody should pay $250 for a two-generation-old budget graphics card.

It also gets me thinking: What's the absolute craziest deal you've ever found on a piece of hardware? I think I've only ever been so lucky once, managing to get a Surface Go 2 LTE with a price mistake once and securing it for essentially free with an inexpensive data SIM contract.

It should have been a couple of hundred British pounds, and I got it for £8. And even though it was a mistake, it was still honored, and I got my Surface Go 2.

So jump into the comments below and let me know your personal craziest deal. Meanwhile, I'm definitely raising a glass to this person. Hopefully it all works well, and if so, you've definitely beaten the system right now.

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Five years ago back in 2021, a game was released with a famous franchise attached that initially slipped me by. I'm talking about Aliens: Fireteam Elite.

I don't really have any affinity for the movie franchise, so that's likely why I didn't even give it a look. But after catching a couple of streamers playing it, I took a punt, and boy was I in for a surprise.

To this day I think Aliens: Fireteam Elite is woefully underrated. I can't speak to whether it's a truly authentic Aliens experience, but it's a fun game with plenty of replayability, without being too serious or requiring all your time. And it's about to leave Xbox Game Pass in 9 days as I write this, so consider this your notice to check it out while you still can.

You've got various classes and loadouts to build out, perks, different weapons, and hidden caches to find to get yourself some of the better loot. It has mild elements of a looter shooter in its mechanics, but it really isn't one.

It's a run-and-gun action game where your objective primarily is slaying alien creatures. Lots and lots of alien creatures. My former colleague, Miles Dompier, summed it up perfectly in our original 2021 review.

"Aliens: Fireteam Elite genuinely caught me off guard. I was excited about the idea of playing another co-op shooter in the Aliens universe, but I wasn't confident it would be a quality title worth spending a great deal of time with. However, my squad and I are already strategizing our loadouts for the more extreme difficulties. Despite my initial reservations, I'm fully expecting to spend the next several weeks playing Aliens: Fireteam Elite with friends."

This is exactly what happened to me, though I played more solo than with others. While it's more fun with friends, it's perfectly playable solo from beginning to end.

Better still, the Pathogen expansion is currently heavily discounted, too, and I'll be honest, that passed me by. I own the game (and it has Xbox Play Anywhere, too), but with Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 coming really soon, it's as good a time as any to revisit this gem.

But seriously, if you're stuck for something to play right now and you have Xbox Game Pass Premium, Ultimate, or PC Game Pass, take it for a spin. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

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I'm just going to say it as plain as I can: Microsoft customer support really needs to improve. We have, of course, had the recent case where someone being locked out of their account went viral on social media, which seemingly magically prompted some action.

Now, over on the Steam Deck subreddit there's an exhausting tale of a player who has been locked out of playing Forza Horizon 6 for 70 days over an issue with cloud sync. And guess what? Xbox support apparently can do nothing to help.

The detailed explanation goes through the entire ordeal, but the problem boils down to an issue with Forza Horizon 6 syncing to Microsoft's servers, not Steam. The game crashed and appears to have created a server-side block on the sync completing, and now leaves the game unplayable as soon as it tries to connect.

I can already hear some that would point at the Steam Deck being the problem. But for starters, the game is Steam Deck verified, and user reports on ProtonDB for the game are pretty good. But games crash on Windows, too.

The alarming part here seems to be that what's happened could, in theory, happen to anyone who bought the game on Steam and doesn't have access to an Xbox to fix it.

Because the short end to the long story is that the final official support 'solution' is to use an Xbox console to delete the cloud save. Which is fine, if you have an Xbox console. Chances are if you bought Forza Horizon 6 on Steam, though, maybe you don't? Either that or you hate money since it's Xbox Play Anywhere through the Xbox App on Windows.

Part of the frustration seems to be that neither the Forza nor Xbox support teams can delete this data on a player's behalf. I find it very hard to believe that a company the size of Microsoft with such an intricate web of servers and cloud support wouldn't be able to do this. It is, however, more convenient to try and pass it down to us to sort out.

It also potentially highlights a weakness within the Xbox cloud system itself, but that's a discussion for another day. But it wouldn't be a stretch to hope that if a sync fails, the system just falls back to the last one that didn't rather than locking up entirely.

Reading this whole drama is just disappointing. Either there are fundamental problems with Microsoft systems that need addressing, or, and I feel like this is probably more likely, customer support just isn't up to scratch.

I've had my own issues over the years with other areas of customer support within Microsoft, so I definitely don't think it's new. And let's be real, the chances of support agents being replaced by AI loom ever larger.

Fortunately, there is a potential way out, but it's not exactly what you'd call a solution. Many on the Reddit thread have suggested signing up for Game Pass and trying to utilize Xbox Cloud Gaming to see if that can help unblock the cloud sync.

Without an Xbox console handy, this is probably the only thing that could be tried, and it sounds like it could work, but the OP hasn't yet come back with an update. Even if it does, it's still some added expense and effort that shouldn't be needed.

Trying to access the cloud storage via the Xbox web app hasn't seemed to work, either, as if the game hasn't been played through cloud streaming in the last 30 days, nothing appears. Likewise, the original poster hasn't had any joy using the Xbox App on Windows 11.

But it's yet another tale after years and years of tales of poor support from Xbox/Microsoft when it comes to technical issues blocking players from their content. It should not take someone going onto the internet and going viral to prompt action.

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For the longest time, Windows has suffered from an inconsistent user interface design. It started with Windows 8, but got worse over the lifespan of Windows 10, with various levels of UI design, frameworks, context menus, iconography, and more getting thrown into the mix across the many different versions of Windows 10.

In fact, Windows 10's inconsistent UI design became so bad that it began contributing to people's dislike of Windows, citing its perceived lack of polish and craft as a reason to avoid it over competitors like Apple's macOS, a platform that takes pride in how it looks and feels to use.

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So with Windows 11, Microsoft began addressing this problem. The debut of Windows 11 in 2021 was a huge step in the right direction, attempting to modernize a number of Windows UI surfaces with a consistent design language using the company's WinUI framework.

Slowly but surely, older and inconsistent UI surfaces were updated with modernized alternatives that match the design of Windows 11. Things like the volume and brightness control, file share dialog, context menus, and more were updated with a more consistent design that look great.

More recently, Microsoft has improved dark mode across the Windows 11 interface, making it more consistent in apps like File Explorer where much of it was missing dark mode support and contributed to the "Windows never feels finished" allegations that have haunted the platform for years.

Earlier this year, Microsoft announced a renewed focus on modernizing and updating more of the Windows 11 interface, with an effort to utilize WinUI across more of the Windows 11 shell where applicable. The company also promised to deliver performance upgrades in the process, ensuring that WinUI surfaces would match or exceed the performance of the older interfaces it's replacing.

It's been a few months since Microsoft announced its plans to bring WinUI to more areas of the OS, and work has been slowly progressing. The company has already confirmed that it's rewriting the Start menu with WinUI, which should make it faster and more responsive. But there's more interfaces that the company is yet to announce that we know is also in the works.

Modernized File Properties

First up, recent Windows 11 preview builds have confirmed that Microsoft is rebuilding the File Properties dialog in File Explorer with WinUI. This is one area of the File Explorer that hasn't been touched in well over a decade, meaning it still doesn't even support dark mode.

This legacy interface is being rewritten with WinUI, and the first sightings of this work were spotted in a recent preview build, albeit only when viewing the properties of a file in the Recycle Bin.

With that said, we know Microsoft is planning to bring this modernized experience to the entire File Properties experience, meaning right-clicking and selecting properties on a file in File Explorer will soon present you with a consistent design that matches the Windows 11 aesthetic.

Modernized Autoplay Menu

This interface hasn't been touched since Windows 8, and is one of few areas of the OS that still utilize Microsoft's old Metro design language. The menu that appears when you plug in a USB drive or insert a disc is being modernized with WinUI, which will bring a consistent Windows 11 design to the aged interface.

Microsoft has confirmed this work is underway, but is yet to give us a look at the new interface, though we know it will support both light and dark mode unlike the current version. For now, we'll just have to imagine what such a modernized menu might possibly look like. Still, it's good to know the work is happening.

Modernized Print Management

It's not the sexiest feature in the world, but it looks like Microsoft is building a modern version of the Print Management experience with WinUI, replacing a decades old interface with something that looks like it was designed for Windows 11. And yes, it supports dark mode now.

This is the first MMC-based interface we're seeing get the WinUI treatement, which bodes well for future modernizations of apps like Disk Management, Computer Management, and more. These 90s era interfaces have plagued the Windows experience for years, so it's very reassuring to see Microsoft is finally working on WinUI versions of these apps.

Modernized Run Dialog

Microsoft has already announced and shipped preview builds with this redesigned interface, but the company is rebuilding the classic Windows Run dialog with WinUI, now with support for both light and dark mode, and features from PowerToys.

The company says the new UI is both better looking, more functional, and faster than the legacy Run box it replaces. With that said, it appears the modern Run interface will be shipping as an option that users will have to manually enable first if they want to see it.

The new Run interface also includes the ability to type ~\ for quick access to your home directory, and it will also show app icons when applicable in your recent search list, which is a nice touch.

Rewritten Start Menu

As mentioned up top, Microsoft has already confirmed that it's rebuilding the Start menu with WinUI, but we're yet to hear more about what that's going to entail for the end user.

So far, we know the goal of the WinUI rewrite is to make the Start menu faster and take up less system resources. This should mean (very) slightly less memory usage for the Start menu, as many WinUI interfaces will share a System Compositor, which is how Microsoft intends to make WinUI faster.

It's unclear if Microsoft is planning to redesign the Start menu alongside the WinUI rewrite. Last I checked, this was not in the plan. While there may be some minor UI differences and adjustments between the current Start menu and WinUI Start menu, I understand that the company intends to keep the experiences mostly the same.

This makes sense given Microsoft just launched new customization options for the existing Start menu, which would be odd to change so soon.

Compact Context Menus

While not technically a legacy interface, context menus on Windows 11 are a mess, and Microsoft is working to redesign them so that they are faster, more responsive, and most importantly, more customizable.

Coming this year, Windows 11's context menus will be updated with a new compact design that's smaller and lighter, meaning they won't lag or take as long to open, especially when there's lots of actions and items within the menu.

Microsoft is also planning to let users customize which items appear within the context menu, as well as configure the order in which those items appear. This means users will be able to hide certain actions and apps from the context menu if they don't use them.

More to come

It's clear that Microsoft is not done with updating legacy and problematic parts of the Windows 11 interface with WinUI. Microsoft's CVP of Design and Research, Marcus Ash, recently told Windows Central that the company has been working to improve its tooling so that it can move quicker to update even more legacy parts of the OS, including apps like the Registry Editor one day.

With that work ongoing, it's likely that we're going to see even more older and outdated parts of the Windows experience updated with modern WinUI designs. While certain legacy interfaces will likely continue to exist for years to come, it looks like Microsoft is exploring where it can best implement new UIs as fast as possible without breaking compatibility.

Moving more parts of the Windows UI under a consistent UI framework should result in better performance and reduced memory usage, which should make the OS feel faster and less bloated, thanks to that new System Compositor that's in the works that is designed to manage all WinUI interfaces across the Windows Shell. Though features like an optional transparency slider appear to not be in the works.

It's good to see Microsoft once again focused on polish and craft. It helps make Windows feel more unified and cared about, something that has not been so obvious in recent years and in my opinion has eroded confidence in the platform. Hopefully Microsoft will continue to focus on craft for years to come.

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Xbox has been on a bit of a tear when it comes to new platform features lately.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced the latest build for the Xbox Insider Program, with a variety of new features big and small. The features included better management for Xbox cloud saves, better sorting of your games library, and other bits and pieces. The headline act, however, is voice clip recording on the Xbox Game DVR. This is a feature people have been asking Microsoft to add for over a decade, all the way back to the Xbox One era.

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When you have an epic gameplay moment with friends, it would be awesome if you could also capture their reactions without having to use a complex capture rig. You'd need to use a streaming PC with StreamLabs OBS or a capture card like the Elgato 4K S to extract the audio alongside your Xbox gameplay. But yesterday's update has made it a million times easier.

Here's a clip from a quick gameplay session on Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 I had this morning, showing how the first iteration works.

As you can see (or ... well, hear) the audio levels aren't ideal out of the box. You can barely hear me in this capture over the audio of the game. You would have to lower the gameplay sound a fair bit in order to be able to hear me, but it would be ideal if Microsoft would add settings for this.

In order for this feature to work, users have to enable it in the settings. Only users who have enabled game or party chat audio capture will appear in the sound mix, giving you total control over whether or not your reactions are captured (potentially saving your more embarrassing gameplay moments from going viral.)

You can also set whether your voice is clippable in public audio settings too, such as lobby chat on Call of Duty (oh boy) or in proximity chat games like Arc Raiders and the like.

Hopefully, Microsoft will add audio mix granularity sliders in the future, as it's far too quiet in my opinion as of writing. Additionally, capturing a clip seems to temporarily freeze a game for 0.2 seconds when you have voice capture turned on. I'm not sure if that's a consequence of the feature or an instability in the latest Alpha build, but I'm sure the experience will be improved before hitting general availability.

It's potentially exciting how this feature could evolve in the future. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is a former Meta executive, and likely has thoughts on how to leverage social media virality as a vector for growing Xbox's footprint. Perhaps there's a future where Xbox supports webcam picture-in-picture clipping too, and maybe we'll even get direct sharing to social networks back again some day on top. Perhaps even native Xbox Series X|S video editing tools will return as well, who knows?!

Microsoft has been listening to user feature ideas more aggressively lately via the Xbox Player Voice portal over here. The top most requested feedback is still "Xbox exclusive games," which Xbox has delivered in the form of Clockwork Revolution and Gears of War: E-Day. Xbox also confirmed it will deliver "Platinum" completion achievements later in 2026.

What features would YOU like to see Xbox deliver? Let us know in the comments.

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The Nintendo Switch 2 is now a little over a year old, but one game that a whole bunch of owners would have been hoping for an upgraded version of hasn't yet materialised. That game is Minecraft.

The good news is that will end fairly soon, as Microsoft's behemoth is almost ready for it. The Nintendo Switch 2 Minecraft upgrade is currently confirmed for October 27, 2026.

Obviously this is good news for Switch 2 owners, which includes my own impatient son. For existing owners a "digital upgrade path" will be available, with more information to come. It also doesn't say this upgrade will be free, and the wording definitely makes me feel like there will be some kind of cost attached. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.

The Switch 2 upgrade to Minecraft will bring it more in line with other platforms, with the new Vibrant Visuals experience being enabled as default.

"Let me unfurl this metaphorical scroll a little to remind you why we’re all so excited. First, the Nintendo Switch™ 2 renders the world of Minecraft to lush life with Vibrant Visuals – set as the default visual experience. This means enhanced lighting, shadow effects and more – and you can even enjoy Vibrant Visuals* enabled content across all the supported content in Minecraft Marketplace. "

This also extends to the exclusive Super Mario pack that's only available on the Nintendo version of Minecraft. It, too, will be given some Vibrant Visuals, so have fun with it.

If anything, I'm only surprised it's taken this long. Vibrant Visuals launched around the same time as the Nintendo Switch 2, and it'll be 16 months on when the upgrade is finally made available.

Minecraft has recently been brought directly under Xbox leadership and its CEO, Asha Sharma. It's reported she feels Microsoft has underinvested in Minecraft as a platform and wants to change that in the face of increasing competition from other game-as-a-platform titles such as Roblox.

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GTA 6 + Netflix. Just completely out of nowhere. But it's not a joke.

Announced today by its creator, Rockstar Games, is "Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look" and it will be premiering on Netflix on August 27 at 3pm Eastern.

If you're still at work or you don't subscribe to Netflix, don't panic, it will be added to YouTube later.

Netflix has an exclusive on probably the hottest show of the year, but not for long. Later the very same day, August 27, the same show will be uploaded to the Rockstar YouTube channel and the GTA 6 website at 9pm Eastern.

What are we actually going to see, though? That's still a secret. But since December 2023 we've only had two actual trailers, and neither of those has shown us any gameplay. Both were full cinematics showing off some of the characters and locations we can expect to see in Vice City.

So, surely you'd expect an "extended look" to at least show us some gameplay, right?

At this point, though, any information would be good information. We know nothing official about the story, the size of the map, any online plans, gameplay. It's the most hyped game of all time and we know essentially nothing about it.

We do know that it's currently scheduled to release on November 19, 2026, and that to play at launch you'll need to be on Xbox Series X|S or PS5. And that you can pre-order GTA 6 now.

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Razer's gaming keyboards have consistently ranked as some of the best you could buy, and, of course, they double up as generally excellent options for work and studies. Because let's be honest, if a keyboard doesn't feel good for actual typing, then is it even doing its job?

• Crush the new semester with Razer keyboards

We already praised the Huntsman V3 Pro as "the world's most advanced gaming keyboard", and for now, the downside of its high price has been solved as the tenkeyless (TKL) model drops to $124.99 at Best Buy. Compared to its original MSRP of $219.99, it's instantly a much more tempting pick.

That $95 price drop stands alongside a discount on the full-size variant that we tested, bringing that to $180.74 with a much more specific $69.25 discount. Either way, you'll gain access to Snap Tap, Razer's solution for perfect counter-strafing in FPS games that prioritizes the most recently pressed button.

What makes the Huntsman V3 Pro so good?

Adjustable actuation is one of those phrases that crops up around keyboards, and it's a feature that shines when you have the time to dig into it. Essentially, you can change the depth at which the optical switches underneath the keys detect a valid press, usually opting for shallow pushes during gaming and more deliberate, deeper pushes for typing.

If you're into tweaking and personalization, you'll get a lot out of it by fine-tuning the actuation and saving it to one of the on-board memory profile slots. That, paired with its brushed aluminum chassis and double-shot PBT textured keys for more durable lettering, makes for a comfortable typing experience.

On the flip side, we noted in our (full-size) Razer Huntsman V3 Pro review that the leatherette wrist rest isn't perfect, but it is magnetic, so if you'd rather use it only for typing and remove it for a night of gaming, it's easy to detach. I'd recommend giving it a fair try, as it's generally better to use something to support your wrists than nothing at all, but your mileage may vary.

Overall, this discount makes the Huntsman V3 Pro, whether TKL or full-size, an absolute bargain. Even if you don't make use of all the extra dials at first, diving into customization would help you assign them to your most-used features soon after. It's a quality wired keyboard that works just as hard for daily typing, so you could probably argue it's a back-to-school expense if you tried.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Microsoft's stocks rallied this past week on accelerating AI growth, but the devil is always in the details.

Over the past month, Microsoft's shares have surged almost 30% following its quarterly filings, which beat Wall Street estimates by a significant margin. Microsoft proved that its AI business is accelerating in growth, and that cash flows remain healthy despite the firm's extensive capital expenditure on new data centers. However, new information suggests that there's still an enormous caveat to this news.

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Analysis from Bloomberg has poured cold water over Microsoft's AI earnings potential. Disclosures from Microsoft suggest that OpenAI accounts for around 70% of Microsoft's total AI-related income, based on projected growth and previous disclosures that relate to revenue derived from OpenAI.

Microsoft reported that Copilot has millions of paid seats in Microsoft 365, and is being gradually adopted by a wide variety of governmental, public, and private sector businesses. But when you tally it against previous disclosures, it shows that GPU and infrastructure consumption specifically from OpenAI still drives between 65 to 70% of Microsoft's total AI business. Training platforms like ChatGPT and simply serving it to customers remains the cornerstone of Microsoft's AI business. That's potentially problematic and comes with a huge amount of risk.

On the gaming side, Call of Duty having an off year was enough to drive Xbox's total revenue down by 11%, leading to masses of layoffs. OpenAI, by comparison, is estimated to be losing anywhere between 10 and 20 billion dollars per year, on a comparatively modest $2-5 billion in revenue. OpenAI has a mountain of investors keeping it afloat right now, and Microsoft itself remains one of OpenAI's biggest backers, investing to the tune of billions in cash, infra, compute credits, and other instruments. On the face of it, Microsoft's AI bookings simply represent OpenAI's compute bill packaged as revenue.

It's not unheard of in business. Spotify ran losses for years until eventually becoming profitable (to the tune of billions, I might add). The idea is that you burn through debt, scale rapidly, change user behavior, and create new markets. Then, you lock people in and make them dependent, and start monetizing. Microsoft and OpenAI's other creditors are betting that one day, ChatGPT will become the default — an inescapable cornerstone of computing for billions of people.

But what if that doesn't happen?

What if people end up choosing Claude or Gemini over ChatGPT? What if regulatory scrutiny or public opinion sours ever further? What if elections are won on the promise of blocking new data centers, rather than enabling them?

The disclosures suggest that Microsoft's AI growth is inorganic and revolves almost entirely around training ChatGPT's models. If OpenAI imploded or decelerated, Microsoft would be on the hook for billions in sunk cost and enormous amounts of excess data center capacity.

There's no suggestion of a deceleration, quite the opposite — which is why the stock price has surged. But there's also little reason to believe that this entire segment is even vaguely organic.

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Microsoft is already trying to diversify by training its own "more efficient" MAI models for consumer applications while boosting external enterprise adoption. It's started to devote more attention to its legacy consumer businesses too, namely Xbox and Windows, as neglect therein becomes untenable. But none of this will save Microsoft or its shareholders if the so-called "AI bubble" well and truly does pop.

It'll be interesting to watch how CEO Satya Nadella navigates Microsoft through this somewhat unprecedented era.

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Halo: Campaign Evolved launched just days ago, and it appears Microsoft is moving quickly to make cuts at Halo Studios now that the game is out. A number of developers who were previously employed at Halo Studios have posted on LinkedIn today confirming that some roles have been laid off. (via Insider Gaming)

Halo Studios producer Nick Treitman confirmed that he was impacted by the layoffs, stating that "after 6.5 years working on Halo and dodging just as many rounds of layoffs - it has finally caught up to me. I have nothing but love for Halo and the folks at the studio, this is just a tough reality in the gaming industry right now."

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Paul Morris, listed as Scrum Master at Halo Studios, also confirmed that his role had been impacted by layoffs this week. "Today, I learned my time at Halo Studios will be coming to an end following the successful launch of our latest game, Halo: Campaign Evolved. I know this is one of the most challenging job markets our industry has seen, and I know the road ahead won’t be easy."

A number of other Halo Studio employees have updated their LinkedIn pages confirming that they are now available for work. The layoffs come as new reports claim Halo: Campaign Evolved's development was troubled throughout, taking up more resources than originally planned and causing other projects such as a Halo multiplayer game to be canceled.

Halo Studios had confirmed plans to use Unreal Engine 5 in future Halo titles to help streamline development and make building Halo games faster. But for the Halo remake, it chose to use a modified version of the Halo: Reach engine known as Blam, but with Unreal Engine 5 graphics and assets on top.

Unfortunately for the studio, this led to development being more complex, with third-party studio Abstraction struggling to meet deadlines imposed by Halo Studios and being ultimately kicked off the project, forcing Halo Studios to scrap much of the work done by Abstraction and rebuild assets in the Blam engine instead.

If this story sounds familiar, that's because it closely mirrors the development of Halo: Infinite. That game also suffered from a troubled development cycle, with contractors struggling to meet deadlines and work in the Slipspace Engine (which was just the Blam engine with a new name.)

Now, with layoffs impacting Halo Studios, it's clear that Microsoft is moving forward with its confirmed 3,200 layoffs, 1,600 of which were already made back in July.

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In an age where the best laptops are being price-gauged for everything they're worth thanks to AI eating all our RAM and memory, sometimes laptops we never took a shine to can end up being smarter financial alternatives, provided they have redeeming qualities and discounts to back them up.

One such flawed but capable laptop is the 16-inch, 2-in-1 Lenovo Yoga 7i, a laptop that doesn't quite get the "2-in-1" part right but makes up for it with all-day battery life, a strong SSD for fast boot-up times and decent storage space, and more enticing features that are now 20% off for $799.99 at Best Buy (was $999.99).

Why buy the Lenovo Yoga 2-in-1 laptop?

Now, the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 16-inch isn't the greatest laptop in the world. When our laptop expert, Ben Wilson reviewed it, he remarked that its "sub-par IPS panel prevents its tablet mode from appealing to creatives who demand accurate color reproduction."

Plus, no bundled-in stylus pen combined with a stiff screen hinge makes the laptop's tablet mode not as useful or enjoyable compared to its competition.

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However, that doesn't mean the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 is worthless, as it has plenty of redeeming qualities.

It features above-average performance rates for crushing productivity tasks thanks to its Intel Core Ultra 5 Processor (2024) and 16GB RAM, a 512GB SSD to help store vital data files and boot its systems quickly, a 70Wh battery that will last over thirteen hours, and solid Wi-Fi 7 connectivity to ensure you never lose connection with the internet and never wait forever for web pages to load.

It's also got a built-in fingerprint scanner that acts as a secondary security measure for your precious work files, a 2K touchscreen with 60Hz refresh rates and 1080p resolution so you can view documents and spreadsheets with clear clarity, and competent performance rates for tackling AI-related tasks thanks to its integrated Copilot+ feature and a Neural Processing Unit capable of 40 TOPS.

So if you're looking for a reliable mid-range laptop that won't cost you over $1,000 to tackle work reports or school exams while travelling, the Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 that's now 20% off at Best could be the best unlikely weapon you didn't know you needed for slaying productivity backlogs.

FAQ

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Xbox has just announced on its website that it is rolling out new Xbox Series X|S console features for Xbox Insiders before sending them out to the general public, one of which has been requested by many Xbox players since the days of the Xbox One.

These new features include being able to have voice chat included in game captures, more options for viewing achievements, more control over Cloud save data, and improvements to Xbox wishlists.

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Voice Chat in Game Captures

The first and possibly biggest new feature of this bunch is allowing gameplay captures to include your voice and those of your chat party instead of just the gameplay audio alone.

Each player can choose if they want to have their voice included in the clip, and you can also choose to include in-game chat audio in your captures if you're not using the Xbox app's voice chat party feature.

This feature is now available for Xbox Insider users in the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring.

New methods of viewing your Xbox Achievements

Keeping track of your Xbox Achievements has now been made less of a hassle for Xbox Insider users in the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring.

In addition to the 'last played' view option, players can now sort games by title, completion percentage, Gamerscore earned, and the number of Achievements unlocked.

These options can also be sorted in ascending or descending order, whichever a user prefers.

This feature will no doubt be super useful for those hunting for the newly announced Xbox Platinum Achievements coming soon.

More Control Over Your Cloud Saves

This feature is already available for Xbox Insiders, but starting next week, more Xbox players will have the option to restore previously synced cloud save data directly from their Xbox console with games that support it, starting with Forza Horizon 6.

This means that if you need to recover a precious version of your save, you can browse cloud save versions and restore it to an easier save file directly from your console instead of just the Cloud.

You can access this feature for Forza Horizon 6 by going into the Xbox console's 'Manage game & add-ons' options menu, going to 'Saved data', and then clicking 'Restore saved data'.

More Xbox games will support this feature in future updates.

Add More Games To Your Wishlist

The final new feature announced is available for all Xbox users and it's a simple one.

Starting today, you can now add up to 1,000 Xbox games to your wishlist, instead of only 301, allowing you to keep track of more upcoming Xbox you're interested in playing and when they'll go on sale.

Windows Central's take

All these features are all fine and dandy, but the one me and my friends are hyped about mostly is the voice chat becoming available to be included in game captures.

Some of my favorite gaming moments have been listening to my friends freaking out being mauled by monsters in Monster Hunter, or screaming triumphantly after killing a boss I've been stuck on for hours in Elden Ring.

Yes, you can do this already if you're a livestreamer, but that usually requires going out of your way to purchase recording capture cards and learning how to stream, which can be expensive and time-consuming.

With this new feature, you can have your voice in gameplay clips with just your Xbox console alone; no capture gear or streaming knowledge needed, which is good for me, as I never want to become a streamer anytime soon due to stage fright.

But what about you? Are you happy that voice chat in recorded game clips is now possible? Are there any other features you want Xbox consoles to include?

If you have any thoughts on the matter, please let us know through the poll, the comments section, or our Reddit page.

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