Windows 11 October 2025 Update Triggers Major Gaming Performance Regression
8 days ago
- #Performance Regression
- #Gaming
- #Windows 11
- Windows 11's October 2025 cumulative update (KB5066835) causes significant performance regression.
- Performance drops affect multiple PC hardware configurations, including NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel GPUs.
- Digital Foundry's tests show 33-50% slowdowns in games like Assassin’s Creed: Shadow and Counter-Strike 2.
- Issue is tied to Windows 11 builds 26100.6899 (24H2) and 26200.6899 (25H2), indicating an OS-level problem.
- No clear pattern identified; not all games are affected, complicating troubleshooting.
- NVIDIA released an emergency hotfix driver (581.94), but AMD and Intel users await an OS-level fix.
- Criticism arises over Microsoft's update validation process due to the severity of the regression.
- Users advised to delay installing KB5066835 if gaming performance is a priority.