Windows 11 was originally expected to be arriving sometime later this year, but now the operating system has an official release date. Microsoft announced that official launch date on Tuesday, setting the launch of Windows 11 to just over a month away.

Windows 11 was first revealed back in June with Microsoft highlighting several features of the new operating system. The update to the Windows OS is the first major change in over six years. Windows 10 arrived on the scene in June of 2015. While that operating system changed many things for the better when it came to PC desktops, this new OS has been highlighted as having a very big focus on more integration of gaming features.

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Microsoft announced through a press release that Windows 11 is officially coming on October 5, noting that it will be a free upgrade for those who own computers currently equipped with Windows 10. The new operating system will also start coming packed with PCs that are showing up in retailers on the same date. The October 5 date is also significant because it's almost exactly four years from that date that Microsoft is planning on ending support for Windows 10. October 14, 2025 is when those who don't wish to upgrade to Windows 11 right away will stop seeing updates released for the current OS.

Bits of details about just what Windows 11 will look like and offer have been leaking online since Microsoft officially announced the new operating system. In the same official release, the company once again laid out some of the features that include what the company terms a fresher and cleaner design. Snap Layouts, Snap Groups, and multiple Desktops are billed as a way to provide an even more powerful way to multitask and optimize user's screens.

Microsoft has also gone out of its way to make it clear that Windows 11 is going to have a special focus on gaming on the PC and in the cloud. The company reiterated things it had laid out in the June reveal saying that PCs with the new operating system are geared to take advantage of technology like DirectX12 Ultimate, DirectStorage, and Auto HDR.

Windows 11 is also going to have Xbox Game Pass built directly into the operating system. That will mean that anyone who signs up for the service won't have to download any new application in order to get access to the hundreds of games that are in the service's catalog.

Windows 11 will be available on October 5

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Source: Microsoft