Green Screen of Death (GSoD) discovered in a leaked preview build of Windows 10

Microsoft’s iconic Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) is the universal sign that things have taken a turn for the worse. In the near future, however, some Windows users that happen upon error screens will be seeing a new color – green.

In stark contrast to what we’re all familiar with, a leaked preview version of Windows 10 (build 14997) has been shown to feature a Green Screen of Death (GSoD). Matthijs Hoekstra, a senior program manager for the Windows Enterprise Developer Platform, confirmed the authenticity of the GSoD on Twitter.

Days earlier, Hoekstra said it was cool to read about all the new features that people were discovering in the leaked build but hinted that nobody had yet discovered a “big change.” A day later, he dropped the simple hint of “Green!”

Contrary to what you might initially be thinking, Microsoft isn’t doing away with the iconic BSoD entirely. Instead, the GSoD is being reserved for preview builds seeded to Windows Insiders as a simple but effective way for Microsoft engineers to differentiate between stop screens originating from preview builds versus public releases.

Other features discovered in the leaked build include a blue-light reduction mode to reduce eye strain before bed, Start Menu folders and a performance-enhancing Game Mode that some believe could boost the PC gaming experience by freeing up additional resources from apps running in the background while gaming.