An early build of Windows 11 has leaked onto the Internet and become the source of countless screenshots gracing our social network feeds. And by no means have we downloaded and installed it ourselves on our virtual machines to see what it looks like. Honest.

This comes shortly after Microsoft announced that Windows 10 would not be supported after October 14, 2025; when it was launched in July 2015, Microsoft said Windows 10 would be the last version of Windows, essentially "Windows as a Service. This alone was a bit of a surprise, given that it was advertised as being "Windows as a service.

Since then, there have been many rumors about the future of Windows, including an overhaul of the Windows 10 interface, codenamed "Sun Valley." This leak seems to lend credence to the rumor that Sun Valley will not be incorporated into a mere update of Windows 10, but will actually be the basis for an entirely new release.

If the leak is true, then the next version of Windows will indeed be called Windows 11. However, given that an interface very similar to this was seen under the Windows 10X banner before Windows 10X was cancelled, something like this could be changed fairly easily.

This leak is also close to Microsoft's big launch event scheduled for June 24. This is a live stream event that will take place under the banner "Join us to see what's next for Windows". In other words, it could be a Windows 11 announcement.

The leaked build version of Windows 11 is 21996.1 and is for Windows Insiders. Those who want to know what all the fuss is about can get this build, although they need to be careful where they get it from.

This kind of leak is traditionally a great way to spread viruses, and given that it's an entirely new operating system, you really don't know what you're getting. If you are tempted and can find a reliable source, you should at least install it on a virtual machine that is not connected to the network. Just in case.

There are a few missing elements in the build itself, but aside from a few UI changes, the core doesn't seem much different from the current version of Windows. One obvious change is the rounded corners of some system windows. This is a subtle change, but it gives the OS a very different feel from Windows 10.

The biggest change is that the taskbar is now centered on the screen and left-aligned. In the leaked build, you have to activate Windows to do that, but for obvious reasons you cannot do that.

It will be worth waiting to see what Microsoft announces on June 24 before getting too excited about what all this means. And it is too early to see how this will affect gaming.