One of the biggest announcements of BlizzCon 2026's Opening Ceremony was that Warcraft 3, one of the most iconic RTS games in the business, is getting a new expansion called "Forsaken Kingdom" for its modern Warcraft 3: Reforged edition.

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This expansion will follow the exploits of Sylvanas' early days waging war against the Scarlet Crusade, how she helped the Forsaken faction found the Undercity prior to World of Warcraft, and the rise of Naxxramas.

Additionally, Warcraft 3: Reforged will receive a new prologue storyline, over 30 hours of new gameplay content, a new definitive edition graphics mode, a new Forsaken Paladin hero unit, enhanced features, world editor improvements, and more.

Warcraft 3 is the latest game in a growing and welcome trend of classic titles receiving new DLC expansions after years of radio silence, like The Witcher 3's 'Songs of the Past' DLC and Age of Empires 3's 'The Baltic Powers' DLC.

And there couldn't be a more pleasant surprise than seeing a new expansion for Warcraft 3, which hasn't seen one since 2003's Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne.

Judging from the trailers, The Forsaken Kingdom expansion looks like it will maintain the same classic strategy gameplay that made people fall in love with Warcraft 3 for decades.

Plus, the new content looks fun and exciting to play, especially if you enjoyed playing as the undead in Warcraft games. So, if you want to relive classic memories of Warcraft 3 while learning new lore about Warcraft's rich universe, then wage war in Warcraft 3: Reforged's "Forsaken Kingdoms", which is now available on PC via Battle.net.

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Blizzard's worst-kept secret of recent times has been revealed. This is World of Warcraft's take on "Classic+".

World of Warcraft's current retail incarnation is fun, but it's an oddly lonely experience. The game's matchmaking systems introduced some years ago, at this point, really damaged the social fabric of the game, reducing player interactions to the bare-bones functional basics for maximum efficiency.

World of Warcraft Classic, complete with retro graphics, was an attempt by Blizzard to recapture the old-style WoW used to provide, in response to pirated servers from players craving the old-school WoW. WoW arguably had far more RPG depth back in the day, even if it was mechanically more simplistic overall (I do not miss one-button damage rotations and effectively useless talent specs).

At BlizzCon 2026, Blizzard revealed "World of Warcraft Forever," which is their take on the community's "Classic+" request. Here's how it works.

Players have long asked Blizzard to offer something that retains the experience of World of Warcraft classic, while also providing new content. Blizzard's "Season of Discovery" was their first attempt at this, but WoW Forever seems far more ambitious.

WoW Forever revamps three classic zones and adds three additional ones on top. It also adds three new raids, a new battleground, and a new race in the Skyborne elves (yes ... more elves). WoW Forever also adds "Thousands" of new quests and new content in existing classic zones.

WoW Forever exists in something of a time bubble. The idea is that Blizzard will continue expanding the level 60 experience in WoW Forever, adding new raids, quests, and content in a horizontal way rather than a vertical way.

It's unclear as of writing if this exists in a separate timeline from the current WoW, giving Blizzard narrative license to diverge from the Retail pipeline.

Skyborne elves aren't mentioned anywhere in the current lore to my knowledge, for example, unless Blizzard is going to figure out some clever way to incorporate them retroactively.

Blizzard also teased the next WoW retail content patch in the form of "Eclipse," where players will take the fight to Xal'atath for one final showdown. Given that we already know the next expansion is called "The Last Titan," it doesn't sound as though we'll be victorious in our battle with Xal'atath here ... Blizzard also offered a small teaser for said expansion, although it sounds as though it'll be further out into 2027.

World of Warcraft Forever launches in just six weeks from now, so you won't have to wait long to try it out for yourself.

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Well, there you have it: Blizzard just officially announced Diablo 5 at BlizzCon, and we don’t have to wait long. A brand-new era for the action-RPG starts soon (well, soon by Blizzard standards) with a scheduled release window of Spring 2029.

There’s been talk recently of not waiting as long between announcements; from Diablo 3's launch to the Diablo 4 initial announcement, we had to wait a painful 7 years, and then another 4 for release. So needless to say, I’m stunned we are getting a Diablo 5 tease so soon, but I’m extremely happy about it.

Diablo? In MY Diablo game? Surely not!

The announcement trailer offered a brief teaser confirming the return of the ultimate prime evil: the Lord of Terror himself, Diablo. Yes, Diablo 5 is actually bringing him out of retirement and making him make an appearance in his own franchise! However, the most exciting thing about the upcoming sequel isn't just who is returning, but the state of the world when players step back into Sanctuary.

According to Blizzard, Diablo 5 is set roughly a century after the events of Diablo 4 and the defeat of the Lord of Hatred, Mephisto. But rather than our usual task of preventing some impending catastrophe, players will wake up in a grim reality where the apocalypse has already happened. Sanctuary has officially fallen, and Diablo has won.

This narrative pivot shifts the franchise's core thematic question. Previous titles cast players as the heroes desperately trying to forestall catastrophe. In Diablo 5, the central question is what a survivor must become when the world has already ended, and darkness has claimed total victory. Post-apocalyptic Diablo. Just when you thought Sanctuary couldn’t get much more depressing, they are taking it further into despair.

While gameplay mechanics, system depth, and specific class rosters are still heavily under wraps, Blizzard is wasting no time diving deeper into the vision behind the project.

A dedicated panel titled "Diablo 5: Forging the Next Era" is on the BlizzCon schedule today, where developers plan to break down the game's evolving story, world-building, itemization, and early development milestones.

Now don’t worry, this isn’t the end of Diablo 4; we have a few years of content to come yet. But it’s really bloody exciting knowing that Diablo 5 is already being worked on.

As the dust settles on Diablo 4’s current era, it will need to find a way, whether with seasonal content or otherwise, to shift us to the new, bleak, revolutionary chapter for the franchise when Diablo 5 arrives in 2029.

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While the Diablo 5 reveal was certainly a bombshell, Diablo 4 got its fair share of announcements at today’s BlizzCon, with huge updates to look forward to, including another new class to add to the roster. During the BlizzCon opening ceremony, Blizzard laid out their roadmap for keeping the game fresh well into 2027.

The biggest news by far is that the Amazon class is finally heading to Diablo 4 in the first half of 2027. Following the exploration of the Nahantu and Scosglen regions in Lord of Hatred, the team is bringing back the fan-favorite warrior archetype to her proper homeland of Skovos. The Amazon promises to inject a whole new combat style and tactical depth into the current roster when she arrives.

When Lord of Hatred launched earlier this year with Paladin, many fans thought the Amazon would be the second mystery class given the setting of the expansion and the class link to Skovos, but we got the Warlock at the time.

It's interesting that Diablo 4 devs seem to be striking a balance with their class rollouts, doing something completely new to the franchise (like Spiritborn and Warlock), but also bringing back some classic archetypes, starting with Paladin and now getting the Amazon from Diablo 2.

In the near term, we also have Season 15 (Season of Hell's Legacy) to look forward to. Positioned as a massive franchise 30th-anniversary celebration, Season 15 offers some neat callbacks to the series' storied history. It will feature some iconic past enemies, legacy items like In Geom, Stone of Jordan, etc., and a bunch of stuff pulled from decades of Diablo lore, including encounters involving the Prime Evils themselves.

Attendees at BlizzCon can get hands-on time with a playable version of Season 15 on the show floor in Hall B, while broader details will be unpacked during the "What's Next" panel on Sunday.

And in the worst-kept secret in Diablo, Blizzard officially confirmed that Diablo 4: The Age of Hatred collection is heading to the Nintendo Switch 2. Playable demos of the portable version are currently available in both the press center and the show floor.

There's also confirmation that the long-rumored Netflix collaboration is actually happening.

I hadn't heard a peep about this since chatting to Rod Fergusson back in 2024, I had definitely felt during our interview he held back on answering my question about this "I think that's something that could translate very well to something like that (screen). You know, I wish I had something I could talk to you about today. But in terms of just the general idea, do I think it could work? I definitely do." But even this coupled with Johanna Faires recent comments about Blizzard being Blizzard Entertainment, not Blizzard Games, didn't prepare me for an official announcement. We don't know anything else at this stage, but animated adaptation like Castlevania and Cyberpunk Edgerunners have been such a hit for Netflix, I can't wait to see how they tackle Diablo too.

Between a nostalgic heavy anniversary season, the expansion to Nintendo Switch 2 and the inclusion of the Amazon class from Skovos, Diablo 4 players have plenty of blood, loot, and lore to sink their teeth into over the coming years.

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During the BlizzCon 2026 Opening Ceremony, Blizzard Entertainment's popular hero shooter, Overwatch, received a new cinematic trailer for a new playable hero called Doctrine.

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Doctrine is a Support-type hero that glides through the battlefield using vampiric powers to destroy enemies and support allies by healing them with robot drones shaped like bats.

In addition to Doctrine, Blizzard Entertainment has announced that Overwatch Season 5 will begin on October 6, 2026.

It will feature: a rework of Sombra into a Support-type Hero, a rework of Roadhog's toolkit so it's not a nightmare for enemy players to deal with, a new Watchpoint: Grimsvotn map set in Iceland to battle in, the return of Dokiwatch, and so much more.

Stay tuned for more info on Doctrine, which will be revealed later today during the Overwatch Developer Livestream portion of BlizzCon 2026.

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Finally, after over a decade of waiting, Blizzard is returning to StarCraft.

Revealed at BlizzCon 2026, Blizzard lifted the lid on one of gaming's biggest rumor mills of recent memory. STARCRAFT is coming in 2030, and here's the first cinematic trailer.

StarCraft has historically been a real-time strategy franchise, often credited with kickstarting the mainstreaming of live esports. The franchise focuses on three main factions: humans of the United Earth Directorate, advanced aliens known as the Protoss, and the Xenomorph-like Zerg swarm.

The classic RTS and its follow-up, StarCraft II, have effectively been on ice since StarCraft II shipped its final expansion, Legacy of the Void, some years ago.

StarCraft has previously attempted a foray into shooters too, with the famously canceled "StarCraft: Ghost." The new STARCRAFT seems like something of a soft reignition of the franchise, particularly given the fact it shares its namesake with the original StarCraft (which is always a tad annoying when discussing games which literally share a name ...). But to me, it feels indicative of a Blizzard intent on reintroducing the franchise to a new, potentially more mainstream audience.

What remains to be seen is whether or not we get a tried-and-true StarCraft 3 RTS, as I'm sure many StarCraft fans will be slighted by the decision to step away from the franchise's traditional roots.

There are rumors that Nexon and other companies have pitched Blizzard to work in the StarCraft franchise, so we'll have to wait and see.

I'm curious why Blizzard decided to announce it so early too, considering we're literally four years away from its stated landing strip. I guess this helps Blizzard ramp up hiring for the game's development; it could also be indicative of the game's potential scope.

From what I've heard and seen, the game has been in development for quite a while already. Blizzard may also have its work cut out differentiating StarCraft from a surging Warhammer 40K, which has truly found mainstream success in recent years. It'll be interesting to see how Blizzard navigates some of that.

In any case, what do you think of StarCraft's pending return? Hit the comments, let us know.

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Long-suffering Heroes of the Storm fans got a small reprieve at BlizzCon 2026 with the reveal of a new hero.

Heroes of the Storm is a MOBA in the vein of League of Legends, inspired by the classic Warcraft 3 DOTA mod. It's perhaps ironic that it was a Warcraft 3 mod in the first place, but Blizzard was unfortunately a bit slow to capitalize on the trend. Riot took full advantage, and effectively cornered almost the entire market.

Blizzard's answer was Heroes of the Storm, which is generally seen as more approachable than League of Legends, which ended up being a double-edged sword in some ways. Without an item economy and slower gameplay, Heroes of the Storm failed to draw in interest from League of Legends and other similar games, but remained popular with a dedicated Blizzard audience niche.

Heroes of the Storm is comprised of characters from across the Blizzard mythos, including Overwatch, Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, and more. There are still dozens of characters from across the Blizzard metaverse that fans have hoped to see emerge in the game, but unfortunately Blizzard put the game in "maintenance mode" after the launch of Hogger back in December 2020, promising bug fixes and occasional balance patches only. That changed at BlizzCon 2026 this week.

Blizzard revealed that Xal'atath is now coming to Heroes of the Storm, hitting Heroes' public test realm on Monday, with a launch penned in for towards the end of September.

Xal'atath is the current big evil in World of Warcraft, threatening to take over the cosmos itself by taking control of Azeroth's planetary world soul.

She's a bit of an enigma, with her origins shrouded in mystery, but what's less of an enigma is how powerful she is. She has the capability to level entire cities with her void powers, responsible for the destruction of Dalaran itself.

Blizzard has cautioned players not to expect Heroes of the Storm to be fully revived yet, though ... noting to me that future updates will depend on how well-received Xal'atath is.

It's something of an industry trend to revive classic games at the moment, with games like Age of Empires 3, Witcher 3, Diablo 2, and other old-school titles getting updates after decades of dormancy in some cases. Heroes of the Storm has huge potential to be Xbox's answer to Super Smash Bros. in my view, if Blizzard was willing to add heroes from other franchises. I could see characters like Geralt of Rivia given Blizzard's new collab with CD Projekt RED, and other Xbox characters like DOOM Slayer or Master Chief jumping into the Nexus.

Blizzard faithful might find it annoying ... but a dead game is potentially more annoying in my view. Expanding to other franchises (and even putting the game on console) could give Heroes of the Storm the unique hook it needs to exist in a niche dominated by League of Legends.

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Given that everyone will be starting Modern Warfare 4 from zero, now is a good time to stop using up any 2XP tokens you currently have on your account. They'll be far more beneficial giving you a boost in the new game if you're going to play it.

We don't yet know exactly what the Prestige system looks like in Modern Warfare 4, but there's going to be plenty of leveling to do, and those 2XP tokens will make life a lot speedier in the new game.

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Do I get to keep my old weapons, operators, and blueprints in Warzone when Modern Warfare 4 launches?

The exception to carry forward is Warzone, where traditionally older weapons, their attached blueprints, and unlocked camos are still usable in the battle royale modes. Likewise, previously unlocked operators and their skins can also be used.

It's highly unlikely that Black Ops 7 items would be removed given that it's the most current game at this point, so you can still go ahead and unlock battle pass rewards or spend COD Points and use those items in Warzone when it migrates to Modern Warfare 4.

There's no confirmed date for this yet, but the current best guess is mid-November, when we expect the final Black Ops 7 season to end.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 launches on all platforms on Friday, October 23, 2026. Players who pre-order the game digitally on any platform will have early access to play the campaign a week prior on Friday, October 16.

Modern Warfare 4 will not be on Xbox Game Pass at launch. Based on Microsoft's previous statements, it's not expected to join Game Pass until October 2027 at the earliest.

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We've already had the Modern Warfare 4 beta weekends at the time of writing this post, so the next chance for anyone to play will be the early access period.

During this window, only the campaign will be playable. Anyone hoping to get a head start on the multiplayer camo grind will have to wait until the general release date.

The early access period does at least give players a chance to clear the campaign before full release. though, leaving the floor clear to jump right into multiplayer and DMZ.

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• Xbox Series X|S / Xbox on PC (supports Xbox Play Anywhere)
• PS5
• Steam
• Battle.net
• Nintendo

It's also worth a reminder that unlike Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7, Modern Warfare 4 will not be on Xbox Game Pass at launch. The only way to play early is to pre-order. Modern Warfare 4 isn't currently expected in Game Pass until October 2027 at the earliest.

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Razer is on a tear this year for gaming keyboards ranging from a new Huntsman low-profile to the $499 Huntsman Signature Edition and a few in between like the new-fangled $139 Razer Huntsman V3 HE Magnetic.

But Razer is known for its top-tier and expensive gaming accessories, which makes this new Razer Reclusa X Mini 65% such an intriguing addition, as it's only $49.99.

Even my jaw dropped a bit when I was getting briefed on it, as very few Razer products hit below $50, especially when not on sale.

Of course, the $49.99 question is it any good? To be fair, I'm a bit biased against 65% keyboards (I miss my media keys), but I've spent the last 10 days using it, and let's just say the price wasn't the only surprise.

Let's get into the pros, cons, and who this is for.

Razer had no input, nor did it see the contents of this review, prior to publication.

Razer Reclusa X Mini 65%: Price and specifications

The Reclusa X Mini 65% launches at just $49.99 (Razer.com, Amazon; I expect Best Buy to get it eventually), making it one of the most affordable mechanical keyboards Razer has released in recent memory. That's especially notable when you consider it isn't cutting corners on enthusiast-friendly features such as hot-swappable switches, south-facing LEDs, pre-lubed stabilizers, per-key RGB lighting, and support for Razer's competitive gaming technologies.

Among its highlights are Razer's Gen-3 Orange tactile switches, compatibility with both 3-pin and 5-pin mechanical switches, dual-layer silicone dampening, and a new tri-tone visual design that immediately separates it from the rest of Razer's keyboard portfolio.

Specs

• Layout: 65%
• Switches: Razer Gen-3 Orange Tactile
• Hot Swap: 3-pin and 5-pin compatible
• RGB: Per-key Razer Chroma RGB
• Polling Rate: Up to 1,000Hz
• Sound Dampening: Dual-layer silicone
• Keycaps: Doubleshot ABS, tri-tone design
• Features: Snap Tap, Snap Flex, Dual-Keypress Priority
• Price: $49.99 USD

What I like

The biggest surprise with the Reclusa X Mini 65% is just how good it feels to type on.

I'm generally not a huge fan of 65% keyboards. I miss dedicated media controls, and shrinking a layout inevitably introduces compromises. Yet after a few days with the Reclusa, I found myself reaching for it more often than expected.

The Gen-3 Orange tactile switches deserve a lot of the credit.

Razer describes them as delivering a tactile bump with quieter operation and improved consistency, while maintaining a 100-million keystroke lifespan. In practice, they're some of my favorite tactile switches Razer has produced, even compared to the more expensive Huntsman line.

The keys feel snappy, springy, and responsive, with excellent travel and a satisfying bottom-out characteristic that's surprisingly difficult to describe. The closest comparison is that each keystroke feels deliberate, controlled, and rewarding.

The keyboard's dual-layer silicone dampening helps elevate the experience further. Razer specifically tuned the board to reduce resonance and hollow acoustics, and it shows.

The overall sound profile sits somewhere between mid-volume and clacky. Meanwhile, the space bar and backspace produce a deeper, more pronounced thock that adds personality without becoming distracting.

For a $50 keyboard, the construction is also impressive.

My review unit measured roughly 710 grams, giving it enough heft to stay planted on the desk. The chassis doesn't feel flimsy, cheap, or hollow. The matte finish does a great job resisting fingerprints, and the included braided USB-C cable is the same type of quality cable Razer ships with more expensive products.

The hot-swappable design is another major selling point.

Users can install both 3-pin and 5-pin switches without soldering, making the board approachable for newcomers while still appealing to enthusiasts. Razer even notes that the keyboard can be opened through screws in the top plate for additional modifications, although doing so may affect warranty coverage according to the FAQ

I experimented with swapping switches and found the process straightforward. More importantly, I never felt a pressing need to do so. The stock experience is already strong enough that many users will be perfectly happy leaving it untouched.

The new tri-tone keycap design is another win.

Razer says the design is intended to give the keyboard a distinctive visual identity, and it succeeds. Combined with south-facing RGB LEDs, the Reclusa feels like one of Razer's clearest nods yet toward the custom keyboard crowd.

Gaming features that actually matter

The Reclusa X Mini 65% also includes Snap Tap, Snap Flex, and Dual-Keypress Priority, technologies aimed primarily at competitive players.

Snap Tap helps prioritize directional inputs for cleaner counter-strafing behavior, while Snap Flex can bind two actions to a single keystroke for more consistent multi-input actions. Dual-Keypress Priority is designed to maintain movement consistency when overlapping directional inputs occur.

During a few gaming sessions in Call of Duty and DOOM: The Dark Ages, the keyboard behaved exactly as I'd expect from a modern Razer gaming board. The features worked as advertised, though none fundamentally changed my experience during limited testing.

The more important takeaway is that entry-level pricing doesn't mean sacrificing gaming-focused functionality.

What I don't like

The 65% form factor itself remains my biggest complaint.

That's more personal preference than a flaw, but users accustomed to dedicated media keys, function rows, or larger layouts may feel constrained. That said, I like typing so much on this; I haven't switched back yet, so that's saying something.

Another drawback is the lack of adjustable feet.

The keyboard sits completely flat, and there are no built-in risers to alter the typing angle. Some users will appreciate the low profile, but I would have liked additional adjustment options.

RGB lighting is also merely good rather than exceptional. It gets the job done, but don't expect the depth, diffusion, and visual impact of premium Razer boards like the Huntsman V3 Pro series.

Finally, Synapse remains a potential sticking point. While Razer has been increasingly expanding web-based support options across its ecosystem, some users still prefer products that avoid software requirements entirely.

Should you buy it?

✅You should buy this if...

• You want a quality mechanical keyboard under $50
• You want hot-swappable switches without entering the custom keyboard rabbit hole
• You enjoy tactile switches and satisfying typing acoustics
• You want enthusiast-friendly features from a major gaming brand

❌You shouldn't buy this if...

• You need a full-size or TKL layout
• Dedicated media controls are a must-have
• Adjustable typing angles are important to you
• You want flagship-tier RGB lighting

Final thoughts

The Reclusa X Mini 65% feels like the beginning of something larger for Razer.

The company explicitly describes the model as the debut of a new enthusiast-focused Reclusa family and "the first step in the Reclusa journey." While Razer hasn't announced additional models, the messaging strongly suggests the line will expand into other sizes and configurations over time.

If that's the plan, this is an excellent start.

At just $49.99, the Reclusa X Mini 65% delivers a surprisingly refined typing experience, useful gaming features, broad customization potential, and a build quality that belies its budget-friendly price. I still prefer larger layouts, but that's the highest compliment I can give this keyboard: despite my reservations about 65% boards, I genuinely enjoyed using it.

Who should buy it?

The Razer Reclusa X Mini 65% is ideal for gamers and keyboard enthusiasts looking for a genuinely good mechanical keyboard without spending triple digits. If you've been curious about hot-swappable keyboards, custom keycaps, and enthusiast-focused features but don't want to dive headfirst into the custom keyboard rabbit hole, this is one of the easiest and most affordable entry points Razer has offered.

It'll also be a great gift for young aspiring gamers this holiday season.

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A few days ago, Microsoft shocked the gaming world by revealing that it has acquired Xbox exclusivity for Hideo Kojima's 'Physint', an upcoming stealth-action game that's billed as a successor to the legendary Metal Gear Solid franchise.

It was originally a PlayStation-exclusive, but Hideo Kojima cut ties with Sony after the company tried to cancel Physint without warning, as stated on his X account.

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Fast forward to today, and Bloomberg found a scoop from an anonymous source who was familiar with the project about why the company decided to axe Kojima Productions' latest IP.

According to Bloomberg's report, "[Physint] missed deadlines and was on track to be well over budget despite being years away from release".

It then stated, "Kojima’s previous two games, Death Stranding and its sequel, didn’t meet PlayStation’s revenue expectations," and "PlayStation was reluctant to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in another game that wouldn’t remain permanently exclusive to the company’s own hardware."

Window's Central's take

In short, it seems Sony was running out of patience with Hideo Kojima and wanted to cancel it for taking too long to make, going over budget, and to prevent it from being ported to other systems that aren't PlayStation.

While I'm personally ambivalent about this (my favorite Kojima game will always be Metal Gear Rising), it can't be denied that Xbox is reaping the benefits of this situation.

Microsoft now has Kojima Productions' full support for publishing Physint on Xbox and PC, and with them also working together on the upcoming horror game OD, this could be the start of a long, profitable friendship between the two studios.

With how quickly Kojima Productions' relationship with Sony has deteriorated over this situation, I wouldn't be surprised if we see an Xbox port of Death Stranding 2 with Xbox Play Anywhere in the future, as the original Death Stranding did.

But whether or not Physint and OD will turn out to be good games and make enough money to warrant Microsoft's investment, we will have to wait and see to find out.

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Google Gemini now competes with Microsoft Copilot for space on your keyboard. Google just released Gemini for Windows, and that app uses the same keyboard shortcut as Copilot (Alt + Space).

That shortcut is popular and those hoping to use Gemini may have to remap some shortcuts to perform other tasks. In addition to summoning Copilot, Alt + Space opens PowerToys Run.

The Gemini app is available for both Windows 11 and Windows 10. You can download it through Google's website.

The general functionality of the Gemini app is similar to Gemini's web experience. One key difference is that you can summon the AI tool with a keyboard shortcut, which allows you to launch it quickly.

The macOS version of Gemini supports sharing your screen and other native capabilities, such as dictating by pressing both Command keys. Google explains that more native features will ship to the Windows version of Gemini in the future.

I prefer Gemini over Copilot for many tasks. I recently swapped to Google's AI tool for a month to see how it performed as an editor. While Copilot felt more personal, Gemini was often more accurate when it came to correcting tasks.

"In my specific use case, Gemini felt like an upgraded Microsoft Editor while Copilot felt like a modern Clippy," I said a couple months ago.

Both Copilot and Gemini have their strengths and weaknesses, but Google's option is better for my workflow. Our readers disagreed.

21% of those who voted in our poll about proofreading with AI use Microsoft Editor. Another 29% of participants use Microsoft Copilot. Only 11% of voters rely on Gemini to proofread documents.

Of course, Gemini and Copilot can do a lot more than proofread documents. Google recommends the new Gemini app for fact-checking documents, coming up with titles for a presentation, and creating images and videos.

For more complex tasks, you can hand things off to Gemini Spark within the app.

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Apple unveiled the iPhone Duo this week, taking the tech world by storm and dominating social media. While folding phones are hardly new, Apple used some clever tricks to make the iPhone Duo stand out. Apple's classic approach of perfecting a product category after other companies have tested the waters is fully on display.

Windows Central readers and Surface enthusiasts were quick to point out that Apple's new foldable has a remarkably similar name to the Surface Duo. Multitasking on the iPhone Duo also works in a similar way to split-screen work on the Surface Duo.

From the passport-like aspect ratio to multitasking to the literal name of the device, it's clear that Apple took inspiration from Microsoft's foldable. It appears that someone in the Apple marketing department had a bit of fun with this fact.

In a video demonstrating the multitasking capabilities of the iPhone Duo, Apple chose to have an article from Surface Magazine appear on the screen. That piece is not just a mockup made by Apple, it's a real article that was published in 2018.

X users @zenbookpro1 spotted the Surface article.

It's an interesting read about how Comporta, Portugal became a hot spot for architecture and how the area evolved from its agricultural roots. It also seems to have nothing to do with the iPhone Duo, at least directly.

I confess that I'm not an Apple historian. There is a chance that Comporta's rich architectural history is somehow related to the iPhone Duo, but that seems unlikely.

Before joining Windows Central full time, I worked for a company that presented on stage at WWDC. While I wasn't part of making that presentation, I have experience working on a team that makes videos for that audience.

Marketing videos are meticulously edited. At a company the size of Apple, every single frame that appears on stage will have been looked over several times by an entire team of people. There's almost no chance that the word "Surface" appeared by accident. The only debate that's possible is arguing that there's some other reason for it to appear.

Easter eggs like this are commonplace in the tech industry. Heck, Office 97 had an Easter egg that was not discovered until this year.

I suspect the appearance of Surface in the iPhone Duo announcement is a mixture of a playful jab at Microsoft and a nod to the work done on foldables to refine the category.

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The memory crisis rages on, driving PC gaming prices through the roof. But that won't stop Dell (as Alienware) from offering powerful gaming desktops and letting players enjoy their favorite titles at high resolutions and smooth frame rates.

One rig in particular is the Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop, currently discounted by $1,000 and offering an RTX 5070 (12 GB) GPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and an Intel Core Ultra 7 265F CPU configuration for $2,229.99 at Dell (was $3,229.99).

Why buy Alienware?

The "Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop" (a.k.a. the Alienware Aurora R16) is a top-class gaming PC that has earned top marks across a few of our sister sites, including a 4.5/5 star review from Tom's Guide and a 4.5/5 star review from TechRadar.

It didn't earn these top review scores lightly either, as the Alienware Aurora R16 configuration that's on sale is equipped with some of the most mainstream and capable hardware for gaming.

These include an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card to help it run graphically intense games like Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p and 60fps (with some DLSS support), 32GB RAM to help it maintain stability during heavy multitasking (like playing a game while opening several browser tabs), and an Intel Core Ultra 7 265F CPU to aid it during content creation (like photo editing and rendering graphics) or everyday tasks (like browsing the web or writing reports).

It also has a 1TB SSD, so the Aurora can store plenty of game files or work folders that can be transferred in mere seconds.

To top it off, the Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop has a superb ventilation and cooling system that will prevent this gaming PC from overheating during heavy-duty tasks while keeping it quiet.

Extra accessories for the Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop

So if you're looking for a reliable gaming PC rig that can play the best PC games at their full graphical potential while getting some work done on the side in a jiffy, then you won't regret snagging the Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop, now on sale for $2,229.99 at Dell.

While you're at it, here are some additional discounted accessories to help complete your Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop setup and enhance your gaming experience.

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