Microsoft in 2025: year in review

How was 2025 for Microsoft? This year was shaky in many respects for the software giant, and notable stumbling blocks included a lacklustre level of migration to Windows 11 – despite the official end of Windows 10 happening in October (with a notable caveat) – and a huge drive with AI features that led to some immense pushback from disgruntled users who are unhappy with the current state of Microsoft's desktop OS.

Let's dive into the details of how Microsoft performed in 2025, starting with those key issues around Windows, and moving on to consider hardware, a glaring gaming fail, and other aspects where the company dropped the ball somewhat – plus there were some highlights, too.

Windows 10 support ran out – but there was no rush to upgrade to Windows 11

On October 14, 2025, the curtain was drawn over Windows 10, as the final ...