Microsoft bundled an Easter egg with the Edge browser

Mar 2, 2020 12:12 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft Edge is now a mature web browser, but the experience that users get doesn’t only come down to the familiar UI and the advanced feature package that Microsoft developed on Windows and macOS.

As it happens every time, the attention to little details plays a key role for both users and the parent company, and Microsoft obviously wants to get everything right from the very beginning.

As many know already, Google Chrome, a browser that’s based on the same engine as Microsoft Edge, comes with a dinosaur game that is offered whenever the app is offline. In other words, you can play the game if an Internet connection doesn’t exist, so technically, even if the browser is redundant is such conditions, you can still use it for something until an Internet connection is available.

Microsoft obviously doesn’t want to be late to the party, so the latest version of Microsoft Edge Dev comes with such an Easter egg as well.

Only that in the case of Microsoft Edge, what you get is a surfing game, which again is offered when there’s no Internet connection on your device.

Microsoft Edge surfing game

The game is available beginning with Microsoft Edge Dev version 82.0.432.3 – if you’re already running this version and the game doesn’t show up, just close the browser and relaunch it.

Technically, the option to launch the surfing game is displayed in Microsoft Edge when an Internet connection does not exist. However, you can play it even when an Internet connection already exists using the steps below.

All you have to do is launch the browser and then in the address bar type the following code:


edge://surf
You should then be provided with the game interface, which includes multiple modes, several surfers, and other basic options. It also works with touch and gamepads, which is quite neat given that many of us already have such controllers connected to the device.

What’s important to know is that the game is still in the experimental phase, and this is why it’s only available in the Dev version of Microsoft Edge. Microsoft says it’s still working on it, so sooner or later, it should make its debut in the production channel as well.

Microsoft Edge surfing game

“Our most exciting news today is that the edge://surf game from November’s #FindWhatsNext campaign is now available for everyone to play just by going to edge://surf! In addition to being available from the error page that appears when you’re offline, the game now has new modes including time trial, support for other input methods like touch and gamepads, accessibility improvements, high scores, and remastered visuals,” Microsoft says.

“Many of these changes are based on your feedback, so check out edge://surf to see what else we included! Please note that this is being rolled out via our experimentation platform, so it may take a little bit to reach everybody.”

The game works on both Windows and macOS running the aforementioned Microsoft Edge Dev build – keep in mind that you might have to close the browser and relaunch it after installing the latest update to activate the game.

There’s no ETA as to when it’s supposed to land in the stable build of Microsoft Edge. As per the Microsoft Edge development schedule, the Canary build is updated every day, while the Dev channel receives improvements on a weekly basis. The beta release gets a new update every six weeks, and after all refinements pass the validation stage, they are promoted to the stable channel for the public rollout to Windows and macOS systems.

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Microsoft Edge surfing game
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