Microsoft releases first preview edition of Windows 11, full launch may be October SHARE A little under a week after making it official, Microsoft Corp. has released the first insider preview edition of Windows 11 and has teased that the full release may be coming in October. News that Microsoft was working on a new version of Windows came unexpectedly earlier this month when screenshots leaked showing that Microsoft did not intend to update Windows 10 but replace it instead. Windows 10, released in 2015, was said by some at Microsoft to be the last version of Windows ever to be released, with the company updating the operating system instead of bringing out new versions.