Update: Microsoft is bringing back the BSOD to Windows 11.

It may be the end of an era: The Verge reported that Microsoft may turn the famous blue screen of death (BSOD) black at the launch of Windows 11.

While the acronym will remain the same, the blue color indicating a serious error has been part of Microsoft's operating system since Windows 3.0 in 1990. Therefore, this would be a fairly significant change for the company.

It's also a bit of an odd change, given that nothing else on the screen is said to change: the sad-faced emoticons that first appeared in Windows 8 in 2012 remain, as does the QR code that provides more information about errors that debuted in 2016.

Only the colors are reportedly changing, with no explanation given. It seems odd to make an alert designed to draw attention more blended in, but it could simply be an attempt to match the colors of the screen at startup and shutdown. Another possibility is that this is simply to make Windows 11 stand out from Windows 10, as Windows 11 shares so much DNA with Windows 10 and many cosmetic changes are already underway.

If you are installing the current Windows 11 preview build, you will likely see a blue screen, as our sister site Tom's Hardware points out. However, our colleagues were able to initiate changes early on.

First discovered by @XenoPanther on Twitter, the change can be enabled by a simple registry edit tested by Tom's Hardware.

After rebooting, the next time a critical error occurs on your PC, you will see black instead of blue.

If you don't have the new operating system yet but can't wait to try it out, you can do so now if you have the necessary hardware; click here for Windows 11 installation instructions.