Developer Archives

Winsage

October 9, 2026

Microsoft entertains resurrecting 3D Pinball for Windows 11

Microsoft has acknowledged the demand for the return of the 3D Pinball game to contemporary Windows systems, with Pavan Davuluri, executive vice president of Windows and devices, stating that the team would consider it in their future planning. The game was originally part of the Microsoft Plus! 95 expansion and was removed with the launch of Windows Vista due to the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit operating systems. Reintroducing 3D Pinball may face challenges, as the Space Cadet table was licensed from Full Tilt! Pinball and the complete game was published by Maxis, now part of Electronic Arts.

Winsage

October 9, 2026

Someone squeezed Windows 95 onto an ESP32-P4, and so can you

A developer has successfully run Windows 95 on an ESP32-P4 board using the tiny386 emulator. The project, initiated by GitHub user winitboonkliang, allows Windows 95 to boot from a microSD card onto the ESP32-P4's 1280×800 MIPI-DSI display, with USB keyboard and mouse support. The implementation utilizes a port of tiny386, an x86 PC emulator. This project is not intended for everyday use but serves as a study project to explore the limits of running legacy software on compact hardware. A detailed guide is available on GitHub, outlining compatibility issues and limitations.

Winsage

October 8, 2026

Microsoft Stocks Rise as Windows Pulls AI Off the Cloud

Microsoft is distributing artificial intelligence (AI) workloads between local Windows PCs and the cloud, with shares rising approximately 0.3% to 1.39 as of October 8. The strategy involves executing tasks on devices while using cloud resources for additional computing power. Microsoft has announced the general availability of Execution Containers to enhance security for AI agents. The upcoming Surface Laptop Ultra will support models with over 120 billion parameters, available on October 16, and Microsoft is introducing a 137-billion-parameter MAI Code model utilizing compression techniques. Microsoft shares are trading at 10.1% below the GF Value estimate of 1.09, indicating a valuation cushion. The company aims to reduce reliance on cloud services while enhancing Windows and developer offerings to create new revenue streams.

BetaBeacon

October 8, 2026

Among Us Story: On Guard launches February 17, 2027 for Switch 2, PC, iOS, and Android

Among Us Story: On Guard is a new standalone adventure game set in the Among Us universe that will be launched on February 17, 2027 for Switch 2, PC via Steam, iOS, and Android. The game allows players to become Guards responsible for shipwide security and preventing Impostors from murdering Crewmates.

AppWizard

October 8, 2026

Free Play Days – ARC Raiders, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Little Nightmares III, Screamer, and More

From October 8 to October 11, members of XBOX Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and Essential can play Screamer and Family Man for free during Free Play Days. ARC Raiders is available for free to all XBOX members from October 8 to October 15. Players can also try timed trials of High On Life 2, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Little Nightmares III, and Rogue Waters. Discounts on games are available for those who wish to purchase them after the event. Screamer is developed by Milestone S.r.l., has a rating of 84/100, and is priced at .99 with a 60% discount during the event. Family Man, developed by No More Robots, has a rating of 47/100, priced at .99 with an 85% discount. ARC Raiders, developed by Embark Studios, has a rating of 11953/100, priced at .99 with a 50% discount. High On Life 2, developed by Squanch Games, Inc., has a rating of 2090/100, priced at .99. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, developed by GSC Game World, has a rating of 7190/100, priced at .99 with a 30% discount after Free Play Days. Little Nightmares III, developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc., has a rating of 592/100, priced at .99. Rogue Waters, developed by Tripwire Interactive LLC, has a rating of 45/100, priced at .99 with a 75% discount during Free Play Days.

AppWizard

October 8, 2026

Google Faces £1.2bn UK Class-Action Over Android Fees

A class action lawsuit seeking £1.2 billion in damages from Google has been initiated in London on behalf of approximately 20 million consumers and businesses in the UK. The case focuses on purchases made through the Google Play store or via Android devices between October 1, 2015, and July 31, 2026, including paid applications, subscription services, upgrades, and in-game purchases. Plaintiffs argue that Google's standard fee of around 30 percent has unfairly inflated costs for consumers. Google claims it has some of the lowest fees in the industry and denies having excessive market power. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) described Google and Apple as operating an "effective duopoly" in the mobile operating systems market. In a related case, Apple was found to have abused its dominant position, resulting in potential damages of around £1.5 billion for an estimated 36 million consumers.

AppWizard

October 8, 2026

PC-98 cult classic horror game Dead of the Brain is coming to Steam on October 30, with English support for the first time

Fakku has launched the Steam page for Dead of the Brain, following their acquisition of the publishing rights to FairyTale's catalog. The game originally debuted on NEC’s PC-98 platform and marks FairyTale’s first foray into the horror genre after a shift from adult-only erotic games. Dead of the Brain features character designs by Ryuichi Makino and pays homage to 1980s American splatter films. The narrative follows Cole, who witnesses a serum experiment gone wrong, leading to a zombie apocalypse. Gameplay includes visual novel-style dialogue and interactive segments with quick time events. The game will maintain its original pixel art aesthetic, with enhancements for HD displays and some quality-of-life improvements. Dead of the Brain is set to launch on PC via Steam on October 30, with plans for future English releases, including a sequel.

BetaBeacon

October 8, 2026

Vampire Crawlers brings chaotic deckbuilding to Android, iOS on Oct. 12

Poncle is set to launch its turn-based spin-off game Vampire Crawlers on Android and iOS on Oct. 12, bringing the same action and deckbuilding mechanics as its predecessor. The mobile version will be available globally for .99, with preorders open on the App Store. Vampire Crawlers is playable on various platforms and will coincide with the launch of the Death Parade patch, introducing new content and gameplay enhancements.

Winsage

October 8, 2026

Microsoft event debuts new AI-friendly hardware and Windows changes

Microsoft unveiled the Surface Laptop Ultra, featuring the Nvidia RTX Spark SoC, starting at ,599, with configurations including a 5120-core or 6144-core Blackwell GPU and up to 128GB of LPDDR5x unified memory. Pre-orders are open, and shipments begin on October 16. The device is designed for developers and can handle AAA gaming titles without a conventional gaming GPU. Additionally, the Surface RTX Spark Dev Box, priced at ,999, is tailored for developers with a custom version of Windows 11, 128GB of unified memory, and an Nvidia RTX GPU, offering one petaflop of AI compute performance.

Winsage

October 8, 2026

NVIDIA DGX Station for Windows: 748GB, 20 PFLOPs

NVIDIA announced the DGX Station for Windows on October 7, 2026, transitioning from a Linux-only approach to a Windows-based workstation. It features the GB300 Grace Blackwell Ultra Desktop Superchip, which includes a 72-core Grace CPU and a Blackwell Ultra GPU, providing up to 748GB of coherent memory and 20 petaFLOPs of FP4 AI compute. The system is designed for enterprise developers, allowing them to use familiar tools like CUDA and TensorRT within a Windows environment. The DGX Station for Windows will be available through OEM partners in Q4 2026, with an estimated price range of ,000 to ,000. NVIDIA will continue to offer the Linux version of the DGX Station alongside the new Windows edition.