【News Flash Vol.24】Windows 11 and Game Pass January Updates

Experience good games, come to Miracle Games Store！

In the first week of 2026, Microsoft rolled out a series of important updates across multiple product lines. Game Pass announced its January game lineup, featuring Star Wars: Outlaws and Resident Evil Village. At the same time, Windows 11 introduced key improvements for enterprise deployment, while the Microsoft Store architecture also received a significant upgrade.

Meanwhile, two titles published by MIRACLE GAMES—Evony: The King’s Return and Football Master—were both featured in the Microsoft Store, further enriching the platform’s gaming content ecosystem.

Game Pass January “Wave One” lineup announced, led by two AAA titles

Major optimizations to Windows 11 enterprise deployment: “up to date out of the box”

Microsoft Store architecture upgrade: headless app update mechanism introduced

Two MIRACLE GAMES titles featured on the Microsoft Store

01｜Game Pass January “Wave One” Lineup Announced: Two AAA Titles Lead the Way

On January 6, Microsoft announced the first batch of Game Pass titles for early 2026, covering genres such as action-adventure, survival horror, and tactical strategy. The highlight of the month is the addition of two major third-party titles.

Star Wars: Outlaws

Available on Game Pass: January 13, 2026
Platforms: Cloud Gaming, PC, Xbox Series X｜S
Subscription Tiers: Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass

As Ubisoft’s flagship open-world project, Star Wars: Outlaws joins Game Pass approximately 18 months after its original release, aligning with the long-tail monetization strategy commonly adopted by major third-party publishers. The game’s seamless transitions between open-world exploration, space combat, and ground-based stealth place high demands on hardware performance, further driving player interest in Xbox Series X consoles and high-end PCs.

Resident Evil Village

Available on Game Pass: January 20, 2026
Platforms: Cloud Gaming, Console, PC
Subscription Tiers: Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, PC Game Pass

The partnership between Capcom and the Microsoft ecosystem continues to deepen. As a mainline entry in the Resident Evil series, Resident Evil Village is widely recognized for its visual fidelity and narrative tension powered by the RE Engine. Notably, the game is also available via cloud gaming, enabling players on last-generation consoles or mobile devices to experience next-generation visuals through streaming—further supporting Microsoft’s “Xbox Everywhere” strategy.

02｜Windows 11 Enterprise Deployment Sees Major Optimization: “Up to Date Out of the Box”

With the January 2026 security update, Microsoft officially introduced the AllowOOBEUpdates policy in Windows 11 (version 22H2 and later), marking a significant improvement for enterprise deployment scenarios.

For years, enterprise IT departments have faced a “deployment gap” issue: devices may sit in storage for months between manufacturing and first use, resulting in outdated system versions at initial boot. This not only poses security risks but also triggers large-scale background updates during first login, severely impacting the day-one user experience.

The AllowOOBEUpdates policy allows devices to automatically connect to the network and download the latest Windows quality updates and critical security patches during the OOBE (Out-of-Box Experience) phase—before user account creation or domain login. IT administrators can configure this policy through Microsoft Intune or Windows Autopilot.

This feature enables a true “up to date out of the box” experience, ensuring that new devices are secure and stable from the moment they are first used, significantly reducing maintenance overhead and wait times.

03｜Microsoft Store Architecture Upgrade: Headless App Update Mechanism Introduced

For high-security enterprise environments or minimalist kiosk devices, Microsoft began testing a major backend update to the Microsoft Store in its January 2026 preview builds.

In many managed environments, administrators disable or remove the Microsoft Store application to prevent unauthorized software installations. However, this often results in unintended consequences: system apps distributed via the Store—such as Calculator, Photos, and Paint—can no longer receive automatic updates, creating functional and security risks.

To address this, Microsoft introduced a new mechanism that allows Store-distributed apps to continue updating via background services even when the Store front-end application is removed. A new “App updates” option has been added under Settings ＞ Apps, fully decoupling the Store’s front end from its backend update services.

This change signals Microsoft’s transition of the Store from a traditional “retail app” into a core operating system infrastructure service—an essential step for maintaining long-term device health, especially in tightly controlled or LTSC environments.

04｜Two MIRACLE GAMES Titles Featured on the Microsoft Store

Recently, two games published by MIRACLE GAMES were simultaneously featured on the Microsoft Store: the globally popular strategy title Evony: The King’s Return and the sports competition game Football Master.

Evony: The King’s Return combines traditional SLG-style city building and warfare with extensive puzzle-based gameplay, offering greater content variety alongside deep strategic systems.
Football Master, on the other hand, delivers a competitive experience distinct from traditional football games, focusing on tactical depth and real-time gameplay.

The simultaneous featuring of both titles highlights MIRACLE GAMES’ publishing strength within the Microsoft gaming ecosystem, as well as the platform’s recognition of their content quality.

From the expansion of Game Pass content to enhancements in Windows 11 functionality and foundational improvements to the Microsoft Store, Microsoft has demonstrated a clear ecosystem strategy at the start of 2026: making high-quality games more accessible, systems more stable, and platform services more reliable.

If you’re a Game Pass subscriber, which January title are you most excited to play first? Do you prefer playing locally, or have you already embraced cloud gaming as your go-to option? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.