Bored with your Windows 11 desktop? Microsoft is offering a free upgrade of handpicked themes from its store

• Microsoft has revealed a new feature for its store in Windows 11
• It's a hub full of curated or trending themes to apply to the desktop
• There are over 400 themes in total, including 35 new efforts

Microsoft wants to make it easier for you to swiftly personalize your Windows 11 desktop, and to that end, has introduced a curated themes section to the Microsoft Store.

Windows Central reports that Microsoft announced the move in a blog post, noting that the new 'Themes' hub in the store is now rolling out.

Microsoft enthuses, "We've heard from so many of you that you want your PC to feel like your own. Maybe you're a gamer who wants to celebrate the latest release, a fan who finds joy in seeing beloved characters each morning, a designer searching for an artfully composed background that sparks creativity every time you log in, or someone who simply wants their desktop to feel fresh and uplifting."

The concept is a showcase of curated themes – wallpapers and accent colors – based on whatever your particular preference may be, and trending themes too. Spot one you like, and it can be applied to your Windows 11 desktop with a single click.

Microsoft tells us there are over 400 themes in total, and that 35 of those are new. Some of the choices include a Sea of Thieves theme, a warships collection, and one that explores the world's National Parks.

Analysis: Sea of Themes

This is a neat addition for the Microsoft Store to make it more useful, and to help you choose a theme based on either your interests or what's popular at the time (or possibly both of the above). Previously, trying to find themes in the store was a somewhat frustrating and unnecessarily tricky endeavor, as they were all over the place.

Obviously, Microsoft hopes this move will drive more traffic to the store, something it's been attempting to do with various improvements for quite some time now. That includes modernizing the interface and boosting overall performance across a number of fronts, as well as trying to entice more developers to get their apps on the store.

If you're keen to peruse Microsoft's collection of themes, bear in mind that you may not see the hub just yet – it's only just started rolling out. That said, it shouldn't take long to arrive for most folks, I'm guessing, and the themes (or most of them) are still in the store even if you don't have the hub – as noted, this is about better organizing the themes, not introducing them to the store.

We can expect more bolstering of Windows 11's customization options in the pipeline, as Microsoft says, "The new Themes department is just the beginning step toward making every device a true reflection of its owner."

Now – what's the betting that AI is going to come into this somewhere?

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