This week’s news recap is here, bringing you an overview of the latest stories in the world of Microsoft from the last seven days, including a wider Windows 11 25H2 rollout, a big new Windows 11 preview build, Microsoft Store Awards winners, fresh stats, and a lot more.
Quick links:
- Windows 10 and 11
- Windows Insider Program
- Updates are available
- Reviews are in
- Gaming news
- Great deals to check
Windows 11 and Windows 10
Here, we talk about everything happening around Microsoft’s latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And, of course, you may find a word or two about older versions.
The November 2025 non-security update for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 (there is some broken stuff, as confirmed by Microsoft) is now available under KB5070311. The update introduced a long list of new features, but also some bugs, such as File Explorer flashbanging users every time they open a new tab. By the way, the latter can be fixed with a third-party app that can also speed up File Explorer significantly.
Shortly after the release of the November 2025 non-security update, Microsoft announced that Windows 11 version 25H2 is now available to all eligible Windows 11 devices for users who have turned on the “Get the latest updates as soon as they are available.” Also, Microsoft updated Windows 11’s Prism emulator to unlock AVX and AVX2 support on Windows on Arm.
This month’s stats include a new report from Statcounter, claiming that Windows 11’s market share is dipping for the second month in a row. Now, it is below 52% worldwide. Among games, though, Windows 11 is doing well, with Valve reporting a new all-time high market share for Microsoft’s latest operating system.
Microsoft has a support document that lists Windows 11’s supported processors. Recently, the Intel list was updated with a new structure that made it much more confusing, causing some to believe that very old processors can now run Windows 11.
Also, Microsoft announced this year’s Microsoft Store Awards winners. There were nine categories, in which Microsoft recognized and honored “outstanding applications that elevate user experiences, drive productivity and inspire creativity across the Windows ecosystem.” Some of the picks are quite questionable, though, so check out the complete list here.
Finally, we have a new set of ugly sweaters from Microsoft. On its merch store, Microsoft launched three new ugly sweaters, each celebrating different parts of the company’s history. We have one full of relics from the past, one with Zune, and one with the old-school Xbox logo.
Windows Insider Program
Here is what Microsoft released for Windows Insiders this week:
| Builds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Canary Channel |
Nothing in Canary this week |
||
| Dev Channel |
This build brought native support for MCP on Windows, improved Quick Machine Recovery, Update Orchestration Platform, Windows MIDI Services, and more. |
||
| Beta Channel | |||
| Release Preview Channel |
Nothing in Release Preview this week |
||
The latest Windows 11 preview builds also contain traces of Microsoft designing a new, modernized Run dialog. It will allegedly be available alongside the classic Run interface, which is over two decades old. Why do we need a new Run dialog, given that the existing one just received dark mode support, remains currently unknown.
Updates are available
This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties.
Windhawk, a fantastic third-party app for modifying Windows 10 and 11, received a big update with new features. It now allows you to download older mod versions and download pre-compiled mods for faster performance. There are plenty of other improvements as well.
PowerToys’ Command Palette module is getting some customization love from Microsoft. The next update, version 0.97, will bring the ability to set and personalize backgrounds for the Command Palette Launcher.
Excel for Windows is getting a major update, particularly for those who often work with formulas and who suck at it. The app now has descriptive cards that properly explain what stuff like #VALUE! and #SPILL! means, making it easier to troubleshoot errors and mistakes.
Opera announced that Gemini 3 now powers its browsers’ AI features. Opera One, GX, and Neon now let you use Opera AI to answer questions, compare tabs, summarize websites, analyze photos, and more. There is also a redesigned engine for faster responses.
Mozilla, on the other hand, is working on a new tool that will help you back up important data when switching from older Windows versions or other operating systems to Windows 11.
Finally, check out a recap of everything that Microsoft added to Visual Studio 2026 in November and our newly updated guide about restoring Dolby Digital AC-3 codecs in Windows 11, which could be done now using the AnWave app.
Here are other updates and releases you may find interesting:
Here are the latest drivers and firmware updates released this week:
Reviews are in
Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week
Robbie Khan reviewed this week the FiiO WARMER R2R Tube Buffer DAC, an affordable DAC with authentic tube harmonics, wide soundstage, great stereo images, and just a couple of small quirks. Check out the full review here.
On the gaming side
Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts, and more.
Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions are working on a Helldivers movie. Meanwhile, the game received a massive update on PC, which reduced the game’s size from a whopping 154GB all the way down to just 23GB.
Mojang announced a big change to the Minecraft version numbering system, on Bedrock, Java, and snapshots. The company wants the version number to be more descriptive and easier to understand.
The December 2025 update for Game Pass is here, offering subscribers a set of new games, including Mortal Kombat 1, Routine, Death Howl, Dome Keeper, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, A Game About Digging a Hole, and more. There is also the “biggest new third-party game launch on Xbox Game Pass of 2025,” which is Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscure: Expedition 33.
New games are available for Nvidia GeForce NOW as well. 30 new titles are heading to the streaming service this month, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and III, MIMESIS, ROUTINE, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, and more.
This week’s deals and freebies include two titles from the Epic Games Store: Jackbox Party Pack 4 and Darkside Detective. Both games are free to grab until next Thursday. As usual, more deals are available in this week’s Weekend PC Game Deals article.
Other gaming news includes the following:
Great deals to check
Every week, we cover many deals on different hardware and software. The following discounts are still available, so check them out. You might find something you want or need.
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