Heroes of the Storm fans, rejoice: Blizzard has not forgotten you. Yes, shocking many, I’m sure. Blizzard has just released a new blog post announcing that Xal’atath is joining Heroes of the Storm alongside a major new update.

That’s right: for the first time in almost six years, the game is receiving a brand-new hero, making her the 91st to join the Nexus.

To celebrate the launch, fans can earn exclusive Twitch drops starting today, September 28, at 9:00 am PT, through October 5 at 11:59 pm PT. Rewards scale with watch time, ranging from 1,000 gold for an hour to Epic and Legendary loot chests, and even an Epic Deadly Chaos Wolf at the eight-hour mark.

Now, my personal knowledge of Heroes of the Storm is limited, but the blog post does detail the new hero. Xal’atath is a ranged assassin, and her ability kit is as follows:

• Trait - Void Volley. Basic attacks build Soul Essence; at full Essence, unleash a barrage of void orbs at a target area while moving freely.
• Q - Shadow Mark. Cast a large Void Orb that marks enemy Heroes hit by its inner radius; the Dark Heart moves to the impact point and detonates on marked enemy Heroes.
• W - Dark Heart Ritual. Summon the Dark Heart talisman to pulse void energy at nearby enemies, then follow and detonate on any Shadow Marked Hero.
• E - Void Step. Blink between three points in a triangular pattern, gaining attack damage at each stop; can be cancelled early to reposition or escape.
• Heroic - Void Eruption. Channel a growing void orb, launch it to blind enemies and dominate space, then detonate in a large area - cast on the Dark Heart for an instant, fully empowered eruption.
• Heroic - Void Convergence. Summon a portal that spawns relentless void minions to overwhelm nearby enemies, replacing fallen minions until the portal ends or is destroyed.

Xal’atath is a paid hero, available for $7.99 right now. For those who prefer to use gold, Blizzard aims to make her available for gold later this year, tentatively set for the end of November.

Outside of this new hero, Blizzard details a bunch of other stuff in the blog post, which you should check out, including a teaser that more might be to come... Fans of Heroes of the Storm seemingly have a lot to be excited about, and I for one hope the game can stick it to other MOBAs.

Do let me know your thoughts in the comments, whether you’re excited, not excited, or somewhere in between. And with that, do be sure to take part in our poll below:

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

As Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 approaches on October 23, the PR machine is really getting into full swing. Whether it's reactive or not is irrelevant, so long as players are being given worthwhile features.

It looks like Modern Warfare 4 is going to fix one of the biggest points of irritation I have with Call of Duty in general: burning through 2XP tokens while you're sat in the lobby, or tweaking your loadout, or hell, even checking on your Camo challenges.

Announced today is the news that this will not be the case in Modern Warfare 4. 2XP tokens will now only count down in-game time, not from the very second you apply them, as happens right now.

I don't know if there's panic setting in, if these ideas were always planned, or if players are actually being listened to. But this is twice in recent days that we're getting some positive news about features for Modern Warfare 4.

The 2XP token update comes after the news that from Season 1, when Warzone is integrated with Modern Warfare 4, players will have a toggle to turn off all the goofy legacy skins and see default MW4 operators instead.

I'm not sure this is enough to make me want to play Warzone outside of doing the Mastery Camo, but still, it's another big W from Call of Duty for its players. Even though I only tolerate Warzone for the barest minimum time, there are some truly heinous cosmetics going back as far as Modern Warfare 2.

In isolation each of these may seem small, but both are actually significant quality of life increases. I can now work on the Warzone Mastery Camo without seeing Beavis and Butthead or American Dad, and I can do so knowing I'm not losing my 2XP tokens while waiting on matchmaking.

There are still plenty of improvements that could be made, though. I don't really have a dog in the SBMM fight, but plenty of players do, even if it doesn't look like it's going away. The anticheat will also be a big focus, again, and Activision talks a big game, but players are only going to be happy when they see it working.

But I'm happy to take the wins wherever they come. I've got about 50 hours of 2XP and 52 hours of 2XP weapon tokens to burn through when Modern Warfare 4 comes out. I'm glad that will at least translate to in-game hours and not losing half of it outside of matches.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Microsoft Teams will no longer show a shortcut to the Copilot app in the Teams chat list. The change is expected to roll out in mid-to-late October and will affect the desktop and web versions of Teams.

Right now, there are two ways to navigate to Copilot within Teams and the two entry points lead to different experiences. Microsoft explained the need for the change through the Microsoft 365 Message Center (archived here):

"Today, users can access Copilot either from the Teams chat list or from the Copilot app in the Teams app bar. Beginning in October 2026, we will remove the Copilot entry point from the Teams chat list and direct users to access Copilot through the Copilot app. The Copilot app provides access to the full set of Copilot capabilities, while the chat list entry point provides a more limited experience."

The Copilot shortcut in the Teams chat list made Copilot more visible, but that entry point led to a limited experience. My guess is that some people only knew about the Teams chat list icon and ended up using a limited version of Copilot.

After October, there will be a single entry point for Copilot in Teams and those who use it will be presented with the full experience.

The mobile versions of Teams are unaffected by this change.

Copilot in flux

Copilot finds itself in a state of flux. Microsoft just announced a massive shift in its Copilot strategy. A major update to Copilot flips the approach Microsoft is taking. Rather than have Copilot sprinkled across Microsoft 365, Copilot will act as a unified workspace that connects documents, conversations, data, and tasks.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella went as far as to call the update a new operating system. Three new landing spots for Copilot will provide new ways to interact with the tool, such as Home serving as a landing spot. Changes then permeate throughout relevant Microsoft 365 apps.

The exact features and experiences you will see will depend on what type of Microsoft 365 subscription you have.

More details about Copilot are expected at Microsoft Ignite in November. The key takeaway for now is that while Microsoft is shifting where it uses the Copilot moniker and how people access Copilot, the AI tool is very much an integral part of the company's plans.

Based on the upcoming change to Teams, it's clear that Copilot will still be accessible through apps. But Microsoft may emphasize different experiences or streamline the entry points to the tool.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

We're less than a day from Minecraft Dungeons 2 releasing into the world, yet reviews for the game have quickly begun spreading like wildfire.

At first glance, this sequel to 2020's completely unexpected action-RPG take on Minecraft is enjoying an above-average, positive reception, with an overall Metacritic score of 76 and an OpenCritic score of 85.

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

But how does it fare compared to the first game, and is it worth your time and money? Here's what some of the most popular review sites had to say about Minecraft Dungeons 2:

Minecraft Dungeons 2 Reviews

• IGN (6/10): "Minecraft Dungeons is a beautiful and fun dungeon crawler with a simple but tried-and-true set of systems in place. It plays it extremely safe, though, without bringing anything mining or crafting spins to the genre to accompany Minecraft’s signature look and feel. Still, it's just so damn charming, and so fun, it's hard to fault it for going the safe route. With tons of loot, secret areas to uncover, and progressively more aggressive difficulty levels to unlock, Minecraft Dungeons has a fair amount of replayability beyond its relatively short six to eight-hour story mode. But who plays Minecraft for the story, anyway?"
• Destructoid (9/10): "A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage. Expanding and improving on the original game in most conceivable ways, Minecraft Dungeons 2 is an excellent advancement in this ARPG spin-off for one of gaming's most beloved and iconic franchises."
• Gamespot (7/10): "Where Minecraft Dungeons was a charming introduction to the dungeon-crawler genre, Dungeons 2 builds a deeper action-RPG within the same familiar, blocky framework. While it doesn’t completely escape the limitations of its predecessor, Minecraft Dungeons 2 is a more ambitious sequel that finally gives its loot, builds, and world the depth that was missing, even if a few rough edges remain."
• Gamesradar+ (7/10): "Minecraft Dungeons 2 scores zero points for originality and feels very much like its predecessor, but when you're trying to perfect a formula, it's not the time to add wild new ingredients. The result is a polished and enjoyable dungeon crawler that children and adults alike can enjoy whether solo, online, or next to each other on the couch."
• Gameinformer (7.3/10): "Minecraft Dungeons II proves this spin-off franchise can stand on its own and improve with subsequent entries at a time when Xbox is refocusing on its biggest IP. There’s plenty of room to expand, improve, and let me reach that endgame feeling of satisfaction much sooner, though. Right now, Minecraft Dungeons II is simply a straightforward, entry-level action-RPG."

More of the same dungeoneering, but better Minecrafted

The consensus of Minecraft Dungeons 2 seems to be that it doesn't try to reinvent the ARPG genre, but rather refines the elements that players and critics enjoyed in the first Minecraft Dungeons (which we gave a 4.5/5 review score many years ago).

Character-build variety is more diverse, combat and traversal feel more in-depth and nicer to control, there's a wider interconnected world to explore, and plenty of post-game activities to keep players busy for a while after the credits roll.

Some critics noted that Minecraft Dungeons 2's gameplay can get repetitive after a while. Plus, it has a bloat problem regarding the amount of loot you can obtain, and there are a fair number of bugs that force players to reset the game in order to progress.

Either way, it appears that Minecraft Dungeons 2 sounds like a fun weekend romp for the whole family and a decent entry-level ARPG to introduce young kids to the genre before moving them up to more intimidating titles like Diablo or Path of Exile.

Minecraft Dungeons 2 is set to release on September 29, 2026, for Xbox Series X|S (with Xbox Play Anywhere support), Xbox Game Pass, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam and Windows.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Premium laptops rarely cost under $1,000 these days. But a $310.99 discount on the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x drops the price of the PC to $989.99. The Yoga Slim 7x already delivered excellent value for its price, so it's even more attractive after a discount.

The model that's on sale has a Snapdragon X2 Plus processor, 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage. Those specs are more than enough for everyday computing and getting work done.

Our Cale Hunt reviewed the Snapdragon X2 Elite version of the Yoga Slim 7x and came away impressed. The Snapdragon X2 Plus model has the same excellent build, keyboard, camera, and battery life.

The Yoga Slim 7x is a thin laptop. Its bottom half is barely thicker than a USB-C port. Even when closed, the entire laptop is 0.55 inches thick and weighs just 2.73 lbs. But despite its thin body, the laptop is rigid, resisting any reasonable bends and not creaking when pressured.

Along the top of the Yoga Slim 7x's screen sits a notch housing a 9.2MP camera that beats many webcams seen in similar laptops. As you'd expect from a premium laptop, the Yoga Slim 7x supports Windows Hello facial recognition.

Unlike some laptops in the same price range, the Yoga Slim 7x supports Human Presence Detection (HPD), which can unlock or lock your PC automatically when you leave or approach the computer.

The keyboard of the Yoga Slim 7x is well-spaced and comfortable. I share Hunt's wish for the PC to have a haptic trackpad, but the standard trackpad on the laptop is fine.

You can upgrade to a Yoga Slim 7x with higher specs if you'd like. The laptop is available with up to a Snapdragon X2 Elite. But you have to spend significantly more to get that chip (at least $1,549 from what I've found).

If you want an excellent laptop that lasts all day and is more than enough for everyday computing, the Yoga Slim 7x with a Snapdragon X2 Plus is an excellent choice.

Is the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x a gaming laptop?

The Yoga Slim 7x is an excellent laptop that's easy to recommend, especially with the Snapdragon X2 Plus inside. But it is not a gaming laptop. Don't get me wrong, it can play some games. But I wouldn't recommend buying the Yoga Slim 7x (or any PC running a Snapdragon X processor) to a gamer.

Snapdragon X-powered PCs used to struggle with just about any game. They are now capable of running some games thanks to improvements by Microsoft and Qualcomm.

👉RELATED: What testing 200 games on a Snapdragon X teaches us about Windows 11 on Arm

If you do get a Yoga Slim 7x, gaming can be a fun experiment to see how far Windows 11 on Arm has come, but it shouldn't be a driving force behind the purchase.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Tomorrow sees the re-launch of a decade-old game that every RPG released since is still compared to: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The Witcher franchise is a universe very close to my heart. Prior to 2015, I didn't have any interactions with it, but The Witcher 3 brought it crashing into my periphery, and I've never looked back.

In 2015, I suffered a family bereavement that resulted in me being signed off work sick for a number of weeks. In those weeks, I holed up in a room, didn't get dressed, and fired up this new game everyone was raving about... The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and completely lost myself in it. So began a new obsession; I went back and played The Witcher 2, and I ordered and devoured all of the books, even downloading translations of later ones that hadn't been translated into English yet.

I was utterly transfixed by the world of Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer, and really used my obsession to completely distract myself from the real-life breakdown I was having. It was like therapy (and probably much cheaper), and since then I've had more than just a normal love of the game, as I genuinely credit it for dragging me out of a dark period of time.

I was more than a little emotional when Songs of the Past was announced, as it gives me an opportunity to go back to this world once more. Well, I say an opportunity; I've had multiple playthroughs of The Witcher 3 over the years and seen the various updates it's gone through, way up to 4.04, and now we are blessed with a whole damn remaster.

The original game was an effortless 5 out of 5 at launch. If I could rate this new Version 5.0 remaster higher than a 5, I would in a heartbeat. But you didn't come here to read my blithering diatribe on why I love The Witcher franchise so much; you want to know what's actually new with the remaster and whether it’s worth diving back onto the Path. Well, let's get down to it.

The following thoughts are based on a playthrough on the Xbox Series X console.

Fluid combat and a modernized progression system

The biggest criticism of the original Witcher 3 was the combat system, and it’s a criticism I never really shared with the masses anyway. I have always liked it, jank and all, but I think CDPR has done a good job with introducing smoother swing connections and subtle animation tweaks. Geralt practically pirouettes with grace while swinging his sword and I find the dynamic camera the most noticeable improvement here as it swings much more naturally during large encounters.

We also get brutal new Sign-integrated execution animations (like explosive Aard finishers) that make moment-to-moment skirmishes feel infinitely more interesting. The fire effects on Igni alone have made using signs feel more impactful.

Character progression has received a shake-up too. The core skill tree remains structurally familiar but with subtle adjustments that make individual abilities feel much better suited to the faster tempo of modern action-RPGs. It's been simplified so you don't have to choose exclusively between strong or fast attack builds, for example.

Toxicity, mutations and bomb skills have all moved into Alchemy with some cool poison scaling options I've yet to try out but once I get my hands on the Viper set I'll give them a whirl.

Transmogrification is finally here too. Abeit you have to 'unlock' it later in the game in Skellige. You can map the visual appearance of any piece of armor or weapon onto your preferred stats, meaning you no longer have to sacrifice fashion for function. Modders have been doing this for years, mind you, but us console peasants can finally look as stylish as we like.

The visuals and technical overhaul

If you thought the 2022 next-gen update was the ceiling of how good this old game could look, Version 5.0 blows that out of the water. Powered by heavy optimizations, path tracing, and ray reconstruction, the lighting and environmental fidelity surpassed my relatively low expectations. Character models and the bouncing torchlight off faces in particular look great during the night cycles.

Environmental assets are starkly improved, something most visible when looking at the foliage around you. Surface textures have more detail than before, and distant mountains have been completely rebuilt to an incredible standard. Stepping into Velen or Novigrad almost feels like a brand-new setting with the reworked lighting and asset density.

Now it's not all perfect; there are some areas in the game that seem either a little too washed out or too dark following the visual upgrade, but we were told in the preview phase that we would encounter occasional visual issues or inconsistencies, as well as some minor gameplay bugs. These had been reported to the dev team and should be fixed ahead of launch, fingers crossed.

Quality of life and UI upgrades

The UI has also gone through an overhaul, transforming into something far more compact and intuitive that fits a modern RPG release rather than a decade-old classic. Menu navigation has been improved, and you open back up to whatever tab you were last looking at. Loot now merges, too, so you can just loot a bunch of corpses at once rather than one at a time.

Roach still occasionally fights pathing or handles awkwardly on sharp turns which is frustrating during the race quests, but traversal overall feels much cleaner, and hey I love Roach being a little awkward, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Also, thank the lord we now actually have Xbox Play Anywhere. Cross-progression was always pretty good between platforms via the Red launcher, but I don’t have to switch launchers anymore when playing on Xbox and then switching to my ROG. I can just switch between Xbox PC and console now without fiddling with passwords.

What I will say though is where the 4.04 version worked perfectly on my Xbox ROG Ally X, the Remaster stutters considerably and some floor textures just refuse to load. I think many of these issues will be solved with an early patch, as previously mentioned, but I'm going to hold off on playing the upgrade on my handheld until these fixes are implemented.

So do you really need another 100 hours in The Witcher 3?

For repeat visitors to The Continent like me, it's a great excuse to fire up the game again and refresh my knowledge of the story not long before Songs of the Past arrives next year — and of course it's completely free if you already own it.

What really gets me, though, is the sheer level of respect behind it all. CDPR didn’t really need to spend a fortune or break a sweat on this release. Given the game’s self-sustaining popularity, they could have just pushed out the update on a Tuesday and let word-of-mouth do its thing. Instead, they’ve poured resources into an enormous presence at Gamescom, hosted panels at BlizzCon, and handed out early review access to a massive wave of creators, large and small.

I really think it’s commendable to see a studio treat an 11-year-old game like a major tentpole launch simply because they know how much their community still cares about it. Let alone just giving out two massive expansions (Heart of Stone and Blood of Wine) for free. If I could give this a 6 out of 5, I would!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Get ready, players, because Gears of War: E-Day is nearly here, and it’s shaping up to be one of the best games in the Gears of War franchise and the biggest gaming blockbuster of the year, second only to Grand Theft Auto VI.

However, there is one caveat Xbox players must be aware of before buying it on October 6 (or October 1, if they've secured early access via pre-ordering the game), and that is its required install space of 115GB (as confirmed on its Steam page).

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

That’s about one-tenth of a standard Xbox Series X’s 1TB storage space, and that’s just for the base game alone without any DLC. Plus, the developers plan (confirmed by GameSpot) to update Gears of War: E-Day’s Horde Mode with new classes, missions, modifiers, and seasonal content, along with adding other in-game items like gun cosmetics and character skins, so that 115GB install requirement is going to bloat fast.

So, we have sought out the best Xbox Series X|S storage expansion devices, from external SSDs to plug-and-play SSD cards, to help you fit in Gears of War: E-Day while having tons to spare for its post-launch updates and other awesome Xbox Series X|S titles for your Xbox.

External hard drives

Now, granted, finding Xbox external storage upgrades is a lot harder these days thanks to the ongoing RAM crisis, jacking up the prices of all things tech-related while making their availability scarcer.

One of the more affordable and available options is external hard drives, which can offer tons of storage space ranging from 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, and even 4TB. In addition, they can be formatted to store all kinds of media, not just Xbox games, depending on what platform you intend to use it for.

The drawback is that you can’t play Xbox games directly from an external hard drive, you have to manually transfer them from the hard drive onto your Xbox’s internal hard drive if you wish to play them.

Plug & Play expansion cards

Plug & Play expansion cards are scarcer and more expensive, but more convenient Xbox storage expansion units compared to external hard drives.

They fit easily into an Xbox’s dedicated expansion card slot, so they don’t take up desk space, and they let players play games installed on the cards directly without needing to shuffle them into the Xbox’s internal SSD, saving you from tedious file management.

However, you can’t reformat these Plug & Play Xbox expansion cards for other devices, as they were purely designed for Xbox consoles.

Are you ready for Gears of War: E-Day?

And there you have all the best options to upgrade your Xbox’s Storage size in time for Gears of War: E-Day. Are you looking forward to playing Gears of War: E-Day? Will you be sticking around to play its Horde Siege mode months after launch to see its post-game updates?

If you have any thoughts on the matter, please send them to the comments section below, or our Discord, Reddit, or cast a vote in the poll above.

Gears of War: E-Day is scheduled to launch on Xbox Series X|S (with Xbox Play Anywhere support), Xbox Game Pass, and PC via Windows and Steam on October 1, 2026, for early-access players who pre-ordered the game, and then October 6, 2026, for everyone else.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

In 2026, you can find new Surface PCs from Microsoft for sale powered by almost all major chip makers. There are Surface PCs with Intel, Snapdragon, and very soon, even NVIDIA. But one chipmaker you won't see in a Surface PC today is AMD.

This wasn't always the case however. In 2019, Microsoft released the Surface Laptop 3 with both Intel and AMD chip offerings, a first for the Surface line that lasted just two generations before being dropped entirely with the launch of Surface Laptop 5.

Microsoft has never explained why it decided to drop AMD from the lineup, until now that is. In an interview with Windows Central, I asked Surface CVP Brett Ostrum why we don't see AMD in the Surface lineup in 2026.

"We love working with AMD. We have a limited portfolio, and so we have to make our choices pretty wisely in terms of what we're doing and where we're doing," Ostrum told me, before proclaiming "I love working with AMD."

So in short, it seems Microsoft doesn't sell any Surface PCs with an AMD chip right now because the portfolio is limited in size and the company has other partners and customers they need to appease first.

I'm not sure I buy this explanation as Microsoft was clearly able to offer the same device with Intel or AMD in the past. Why can't Microsoft just do that today with the Surface Laptop 8 series, for example?

Microsoft has a close working relationship with AMD in the gaming space. AMD will power the next-gen Xbox, and is what you'll find in the currently manufactured Xbox consoles too. But for whatever reason, you just don't find it in a Surface.

With that said, there were rumors last year that Microsoft was working on a Surface powered by AMD's rumored Arm-based chip codenamed Sound Wave. That chip was rumored to launch sometime this year, but we've seen no sign of it as of yet.

If that chip ever does ship, we don't know where that might fit into Microsoft's limited portfolio as we have no real idea if the Sound Wave APU is a high-end one or not.

Either way, for now, Microsoft's official on-the-record stance as to why we don't see AMD in Surface PCs is because the portfolio is limited and they don't have the room for it right now.

Hopefully that rumored Surface powered by AMD's Sound Wave chip hasn't been totally canceled.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

"I think we are way too self-obsessed as an industry," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in a recent interview about AI shared by Alex Heath of Sound Ventures. Nadella explained that AI leaders can get caught up in the wrong parts of AI and lose touch with what people need.

"I think the real world wants to know... that this is technology that they can use for their benefit, they can control, they can have an economic future." He also talked about how people need to see that data centers can lead to an economic surplus in an area and benefit the people surrounding it.

Nadella added that tech leaders should ask "what did we get wrong in the west," alluding to recent polling data that suggested AI is viewed more favorably in other parts of the world.

He emphasized the need to earn the trust of consumers and communities as well.

Nadella concluded the snippet with a warning against celebrating technology for its own sake: "Just any amount of celebrating technology for technology's sake is not working."

Windows Central take

Nadella may want to send an internal memo to Microsoft employees reiterating his comments from the interview. Microsoft's AI leadership has often been criticized for being out of touch with everyday users.

Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman has shared several controversial thoughts and opinions that drew criticism.

Suleyman has shared assurances that Microsoft will never build a sex robot and talked about how superintelligence should not replace the human species.

But Suleyman has also discussed the concept of AI knowing specific users "deeply" and people not needing money in certain areas because intelligence will be a new currency (while noting cash will still be required).

While these high-concept discussions make headlines, they do little for the average person asking why their operating system needs a chatbot.

Suleyman responded to those unimpressed with AI late last year:

"Jeez there so many cynics! It cracks me up when I hear people call AI underwhelming...The fact that people are unimpressed that we can have a fluent conversation with a super smart AI that can generate any image/video is mindblowing to me."

Suleyman is far from the only AI leader to draw criticism or be accused of being out of touch with everyday users. OpenAI's Sam Altman is often called out for similar comments. I'm curious to see how AI leaders across the industry respond to Nadella's comments.

Perhaps more important than existential threats or the creepiness of an AI knowing you intimately, many people simply fail to see a real-world use for AI. Early this year, Dell said that consumers don't care about AI PCs and that "AI probably confuses them more than it helps them."

Microsoft is quietly shifting away from the Copilot+ PC brand. Despite meeting the technical qualifications to be Copilot+ PCs, the new Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch will not be branded with that term.

The Copilot+ PC brand failed for many reasons, but one factor is that many users do not see the real-world benefit of AI.

Nadella's recent comments show that he is aware of the gap between AI's capabilities and AI's everyday usefulness.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Winhanced is a launcher that essentially replaces Xbox Mode on your Windows handheld. Instead of simply fullscreening the Xbox app, Winhanced gives you a fully featured user interface that connects to your Xbox, Steam, GOG, and Epic libraries, alongside support for emulators, other apps, and much more.

I've talked quite extensively about Winhanced here on Windows Central, using the launcher for quite some time on my own handhelds, and seen it in both its current, near-complete state and its not-so-complete state a few months back.

The launcher is nearing version 1.0, which I’m sure I’ll cover when it releases, as the sneak peek I’ve seen — and will discuss closer to release — is extremely exciting. However, version 0.9.9.9 is available today and boasts new features and improvements. These are just a few that caught my attention:

• Friend cards, letting you message your friends, see what they’re doing, view their profiles, and more. (Public)
• Better integration with Discord, Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. (Public)
• PC streaming through the new Winhanced Streaming Companion. (Public)
• Install Windows updates without leaving Winhanced. (Public)
• Improved driver detection for updating your handheld’s drivers through Winhanced. (Public)
• Game theme music, including the option to choose your own tracks. (Public)
• Improved Epic and GOG downloads, including resumable downloads. (Public)
• Create your own collections for easier access to different groups of games. (Early Access)
• A Discord server browser that can be navigated with a controller. (Early Access)

Those are just a handful of the additions, and 0.9.9.9 also includes substantial behind-the-scenes work to improve how Winhanced works in general, making it a pretty seamless experience. If you're interested, I urge you to join the Winhanced Discord and check out the full release notes because there’s simply far too much for me to reasonably cram into one overextended post without getting into the weeds.

I’ve moaned since the day I got my Xbox Ally X about just how unpolished and, frankly, disappointing the user experience was. Winhanced has genuinely changed that for me, though, and made me much more willing to pick up my Xbox Ally X and actually play games on it, which isn’t something I can say for the other launchers I’ve tried.

If you’ve tried Winhanced before and found it too buggy, I’d suggest giving it another shot now. A big part of 0.9.9.9 focused on squashing hardware-related bugs and improving consistency across supported handhelds, with the developer describing this release's device consistency as finally at a "1.0 level."

If Winhanced isn’t your thing, though, that’s okay too. Xbox Mode is improving, but I'll still use this instead. Let me know your thoughts in the comments, or just drop a vote on the poll!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

I’m sure it needs no recap at this point, but Halo Studios is no more. Well, mostly no more, as the studio has reportedly been left with just 20 or so employees, while Activision has now taken on the mantle of responsibility for Halo.

Regardless of your thoughts on the matter, @Mr_Rebs_, a prominent leaker within the Halo community, has spoken out about what he alleges Halo Studios had planned for the franchise’s future. Despite my grievances with Halo Studios and its poor management of the franchise, one of these plans actually doesn’t sound too bad.

However, given the letdown of Campaign Evolved, I personally have very little faith that Halo Studios could have seen these ideas through. So, without further ado, let’s dive into it.

According to Rebs, Halo Studios was reportedly working on Halo 2 and Halo 3 remakes, as well as Halo 7. However, these projects were apparently still years away.

More interesting to me, though, is the fourth project: a standalone spin-off campaign based on Halo: First Strike, a genuinely great novel by Eric Nylund.

First Strike, for those unaware, fills in the gaps between Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, which genuinely would have been great to see adapted into a game. Apparently, the project was targeting a release next year, although development was still in its early stages.

Given the state Campaign Evolved was in, I really doubt we would have seen it within that timeframe, especially considering the reported plans to include around five campaign missions alongside a Firefight mode.

The Halo 2 and Halo 3 remakes, though, were almost a given and something we’ve reported on before, with Halo 2 even being teased at the end of Campaign Evolved.

Halo 7 was actually in the conceptual stages, with a concept for the game apparently presented to Matt Booty and other Xbox executives shortly before the recent changes at Halo Studios. According to Rebs, the plan was for Halo 7 to launch with Campaign, PvP, PvE, and Forge from day one.

Of the remaining staff at Halo Studios, Pierre Hintze (Studio Head) does remain, a figure of controversy within the community and according to Rebs, Pierre still has a plan, Rebs states:

If this is the case, I do hope Pierre is unsuccessful in these endeavors; the last thing Halo needs right now is AI slop.

As for the future, there are still a lot of unknowns, and I imagine it will be that way for a while; however, one rumor floating around suggests a reboot of sorts might be on the cards now that the IP is under Activision.

I’m personally happy with the changes being made to Halo. While I do have my reservations regarding Activision, there’s no doubt it has the infrastructure to support an IP as big as Halo.

And while my long-dreamed-of wish to see Halo’s books adapted into games is probably dead for the foreseeable future, I’d still much prefer a future where Halo Studios is no longer making Halo. Because yes, things really were that bad.

If you feel differently about everything, do let me know in the comments. I’ll be sure to respond, and as always, don’t forget to take part in our poll!

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

It's been a busy week for Microsoft. Despite having a Windows and Surface event scheduled two weeks from now, the company announced two new Surface PCs and revived the Surface Mouse. Microsoft also effectively cut the legs out from under the Copilot+ PC brand by confirming the new Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch are not Copilot+ PCs.

Biggest News of the Week

Microsoft confirmed that its new Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch will not be called Copilot+ PCs. Not because they fail to meet the requirements — both PCs have the specs to otherwise qualify — but because Microsoft is going in a different direction.

I think we may hear more about Microsoft’s plans and rebranding at the Windows and Surface event next month, but for now we just have confirmation the new Surface devices are not called Copilot+ PCs.

The Copilot+ PC brand was doomed to fail. Microsoft failed to make it clear to customers what made Copilot+ PCs special, and the flagship Recall was a disaster.

Many people were confused about the difference between a Copilot+ PC and an AI PC. And several major manufacturers made it clear that labeling a device as a Copilot+ PC was not a priority.

Too many Copilots

Microsoft put too many eggs in the same basket with Copilot. The company has dozens of products with Copilot in their names. Even the Microsoft 365 app had Copilot forced into its name.

By bundling so many different products and services under the Copilot name, Microsoft tied the success (or failure) of a large part of its portfolio together.

Look online for reactions to the Copilot+ PC brand being phased out and you’ll see people discussing the Copilot app, the Copilot key, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and other Copilot-branded products. And who can blame them? It’s natural to assume the end of Copilot+ PCs means the end of at least some parts of Copilot.

But the opposite is true. In the same week it confirmed its Surface PCs are not Copilot+ PCs, Microsoft announced a massive overhaul of the Copilot platform. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella called it a new OS, though I’m not sure what that really means in this case.

Ultimately, Microsoft fell in love with the term Copilot and tried to attach it to too many products and services. We’ve seen similar mistakes, such as Facebook going all in on the Metaverse.

Copilot+ PCs are gone or being phased out, but Copilot as an “OS” is just beginning. Microsoft will need to do some damage control and get a marketing message out to make it clear those facts aren’t in opposition.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Is it likely? Probably not, but as a Killer Instinct fan, one can hope.

Despite backlash to some aspects of the console, the Xbox One had arguably one of the strongest launch line-ups in the platform's history, with titles like RYSE and Titanfall from first-party, and games like Battlefield 4 and Assassin's Creed: Black Flag from third. For me, the best launch title was Killer Instinct, however, which revived Rare's classic fighting game for a new era.

Killer Instinct is a combo-heavy fighting game that is easy to play, and difficult to master. Breaking enemy combos with a satisying "C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER" announcer effect elevated the game to its legendary status, atop its violence and creative character line-up.

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

PlayStation cornered the fighting game audience pretty hard in the years to follow, landing exclusivity for Street Fighter for a time, alongside other major fighting games.

Killer Instinct struggled to maintain pace, and ultimately fell into maintenance mode not long after, although it had strong post-launch support bringing in fan-favorite fighters alongside various new ones. It even picked up combatants from other Xbox franchises, such as RAAM from Gears of War and the Arbiter from Halo.

Aside from the occasional update and balance change, Killer Instinct has remained largely dormant over the last few years. There is a small team at Xbox who works on maintaining the game, but the player base is miniscule, likely in the dozens rather than hundreds going from Steam stats.

Could it be revived, though? Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon has once again polled users on the state of the fighting game industry, and it's not the first time Boon has spoken about interest in picking up Killer Instinct.

He asked users to vote on which recent fighting game should grab a second chance, including Riot's ill-fated 2XKO, Rumbleverse, Warner Bros' cancelled Smash-clone MultiVersus, and Xbox's dormant Killer Instinct.

As of writing, Killer Instinct leads by a sizeable margin with over 50% of the vote.

Microsoft's gaming portfolio is currently undergoing a lot of upheaval, with Obsidian moved to Bethesda to work on Fallout, and Halo Studios practically shuttered, with the franchise handed off to Call of Duty producers at Activision.

There's probably not a ton of bandwidth at Microsoft right now to explore what a new Killer Instinct might look like ... but what if Warner Bros' studio NetherRealm and Ed Boon's Mortal Kombat team picked up the flag?

Killer Instinct always had huge potential in my view, it was always my personal preferred fighting game. There are major influencers who often advocate for its revival, like Maximilian_Dood.

As a Spinal enjoyer, I still had a ton of fun playing it despite how invariably poor I was at PvP. It would be intriguing to see a Mortal Kombat-style cinematic take on Killer Instinct's lore and universe — which is undeniably intriguing. It's unclear whether or not Warner Bros. would have appetite for involvement here too, given its attempts to turn Mortal Kombat into a viable movie franchise.

There's probably a universe where Killer Instinct could be revived as a high-quality fighting game, with a cinematic single player experience, with franchising potential into TV and movies. You could draft characters from Blizzard games, or Fallout, and beyond too ... alas, it's probably unlikely.

Still, it's fun to dream, no? What IF?

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Rumors about Xbox's deal with Hideo Kojima's upcoming "Action Espionage" title have been swirling recently.

Xbox is undergoing "restructuring" over the past few weeks, leading to thousands of layoffs and staff reductions in the form of divestitures. Microsoft's new gaming CEO Asha Sharma has made no secret of the intent to focus on big-name franchises like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, and less time on smaller projects like those produced by Double Fine or Compulsion — both of whom are now fully independent teams. Existing studios like Obsidian have been moved to be closer to the Fallout franchise for example, and Halo Studios itself was recently shuttered (in essence) with the franchise handed off to Call of Duty publisher Activision.

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

There have been some questions about the timing of Xbox's announcement in partnership with Hideo Kojima's "PHYSINT," as a result. With some (erroneously) speculating that the closures have been designed to fund Kojima's long-awaited return to the espionage genre. Metal Gear Solid is arguably among the top 5 (or maybe even top 3) most legendary franchises of all time. To get the spiritual successor to that on Xbox is a pretty huge coup, considering it was originally announced by PlayStation.

But uh, is this project going to cost almost half a billion dollars? And did it lay off thousands in order to do it? The answer is "no," trusted and verified sources tell me.

Speaking on his podcast, Chris Dring of The Game Business reported that Xbox's budget for PHYSINT is at $400 million. He has since walked back the claim after Bloomberg's Jason Schreier poured cold water on the figure.

I was told similarly by first-hand sources with direct knowledge of the contracts that the figure for PHYSINT is far lower than what is being reported here. It has been suggested to me that the "$400 million" figure is potentially what Sony and PlayStation might've been on the hook for until they cancelled the deal. Xbox and Kojima are building towards their Xbox projects on a "fraction" of this reported figure.

I'm told Xbox negotiated a deal with Kojima Productions that includes both movie and TV licenses for PHYSINT, and it also included enhanced terms for OD — Kojima's anticipated atmospheric horror game for Xbox.

We're seeing a more thrifty Xbox, and a more thrifty AAA industry in general

There has been a lot of discussion about budgets in recent years. Some estimates suggest Grand Theft Auto 6 has had a budget upwards of a billion dollars, for example. Developers from the likes of Saber Interactive, Remedy, and Bloober Team have all commented on building AAA-grade experiences on budgets in the tens of millions, rather than hundreds of millions.

Game development in the United States has become incredibly expensive. I'm told part of this revolves around salary competition for AI-adjacent software engineering disciplines, that often share cross-over hiring processes and salary scales with gaming companies. The closer you are to an AI development hub (like Microsoft HQ in Redmond, WA), the greater the competition for salaries becomes ... making game development potentially unviable from a purely fiscal perspective in some regions.

Microsoft has been exploring outsourcing in Eastern Europe, the United Kingdom, and other regions where game development is more "affordable" to that end. PHYSINT might have spendy Hollywood actors tied to the project, but Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has quite loudly stated goals around cost-saving and cost-cutting.

Movies and TV shows are also becoming an increasingly crucial tool for both marketing and offsetting costs for gaming projects. Selling the rights to streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime can feed back into game development budgets, and creates a symbiotic marketing beat (if indeed, the content is actually good). Given Kojima's penchant for cinematic games, PHYSINT should be at least one project that pays dividends if everything is executed well.

... I suspect Xbox will have to give Kojima more flexibility than they may want to if they do want the game to hit that coveted quality bar.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

It's that time of year again. A chill in the air, pumpkin lattes on repeat, and Minecraft Live, of course! Today we got a first look at new Minecraft content, including Minecraft Dungeons 2, launching on September 29.

Here's everything announced at this year's Minecraft Live.

Deep dive into Minecraft Dungeons 2

Ahead of next week's launch, the development team gave us an extensive look at what is coming in Minecraft Dungeons 2. The sequel features a bigger, interconnected world with expanded combat, deeper character customization and better multiplayer.

The segment also spotlighted the Sift, a mysterious new dimension with distinct environments, inhabitants, dangers, and gameplay. Developers shared insights into the creative process of designing and introducing an entirely new dimension to the universe.

The Fourth Dimension: The Sift coming in 2027

The Sift isn't just for Minecraft Dungeons 2 players, it's officially coming to Minecraft Java and Bedrock editions in 2027.

This will be a huge milestone for Minecraft as it's the first new dimension added in over 14 years joining the Overworld, The Nether and The End as places for the player to discover and explore.

Yep, that statement made me feel ancient too, and I felt like the Nether was much more recent, but it was actually added in 2010 and just updated in mid-2020. This is legitimately the first brand new dimension in over a decade!

Ice Caves, new zombies and new combat mechanics

Mojang teased the next upcoming vanilla game drop too, as we were shown around the Ice Caves, an all-new, rare underground extension of cold biomes filled with glowing ice crystals.

The ice crystals can be placed both vertically and horizontally for building and decoration, or even as just a light source.

We also got a whole new mob! The frozen zombie if encountered will apply a stacking freezing affect to the player with melee attacks, and he throws ice balls that deal knockback. Normal zombies can also become Frozen variants if exposed to powder snow.

Ice balls are dropped upon the death of a Frozen Zombie, or can be crafted by players and used as a weapon to deal damage and knockback, or brewed into an ice cold freezing potion!

Minecraft coming to Nintendo Switch 2

Such an absolute no brainer I'm surprised it isn't already there, but Minecraft is officially launching on Nintendo Switch 2 on October 27, 2026 with enhanced performance and visuals.

Merlin Entertainment revealed the Minecraft Hotel and Rollercoaster

I've been excited about the upcoming Minecraft-themed park in the UK since it was announced, but beyond some concept art, we haven't seen much detail, especially given its 2027 opening date.

Well today Minecraft Live showed us something to really get excited about, with these two major additions to the Chessington World of Adventures based park. There's going to be a Minecraft Hotel, and the official name of the resort's new rollercoaster is "Escape the Nether."

I'm planning to be there the minute this place opens, as my son is going to lose his mind, and we missed out on the London Minecraft experiences. I've got high hopes for this theme park; don't let me down, Merlin!

Sound effect packs and new creator platform

During the stream, Jens Bergenström (Chief Creative Officer at Mojang Studios) announced a new initiative to build a richer, more accessible, and more diverse Minecraft experience through an evolving creator platform.

Additionally, Mojang introduced Sound Effects Packs for the Minecraft Marketplace, giving players brand-new tools to customize their worlds and bring their creations to life later this year.

And that's a wrap on Minecraft Live 2026

Minecraft fans should be happy with all of those updates, but if not, let me know what you were hoping for in the comments below!

Don't forget there is an ongoing Wilderness Bound Community Challenge where players can earn exclusive character creator items and Java skins simply by placing cushions and a straw bed in-game; full details are here.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

At this year's annual Snapdragon Summit, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Microsoft Surface CVP Brett Ostrum about all things Surface and Windows. One question I was eager to ask was about MacBook Neo, and whether or not Microsoft was interested in competing in that space.

"Let me start this way: we have never shipped a gaming PC," Ostrum opened with. "The reason we've never shipped a gaming PC is because OEMs do just fine in that space. They've done fine; they meet the customer needs; there's not a benefit for Surface to go into that space ... We knew Neo was coming long before it showed up. And so part of the question is, does Surface need to play a role relative to Neo? It wasn't a surprise. We chose to let the OEMs play in that space to deliver lower-priced devices."

His response confirms that Microsoft doesn't think it's necessary to use Surface to compete with MacBook Neo, because Windows OEMs have already stepped up to deliver truly good alternatives. The Dell XPS 13 and ASUS ZenBook 14 are two prime examples of Windows PCs that cost the same as a MacBook Neo, while beating it in a number of key ways.

With that said, Microsoft is aware that customers are wondering why Surface isn't competing in this space. Ostrum tells me, "I've heard the feedback from press, I've heard the feedback from retailers, I've heard the feedback from partners to say Surface should be here. We will take that into consideration; we will certainly consider some options. But I would start with the gaming point. We do not have to play in every field."

That sounds like the door is open for the company to revisit this segment in the future, but for now it's clear that Microsoft isn't interested in building a low-cost Surface PC to compete head-to-head with MacBook Neo. Right now, Surface is more interested in competing at the very high end with devices like the Surface Laptop Ultra, which I tried earlier this year.

In fact, I've heard from sources that Microsoft now identifies its lineup of Surface PCs as three distinct categories of premium: Entry Premium, Premium, and Ultra Premium. Entry Premium are the most affordable Surface PCs, all of which start at above $1,000.

Of course, Surface used to build affordable PCs in the form of the Surface Go and Surface Laptop Go, both of which started at well under $600. But that was back before the component shortage forced price hikes, and under entirely different Surface leadership.

Today, the focus is on its premium Surface PC lineup, and we'll hear more about the company's new Surface Laptop Ultra on October 7.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.