Visual Studio 2026 versions 18.1 through 18.6 deliver a wave of improvements for C++ developers. For MSVC Build Tools, the v14.51 release is now generally available with runtime performance gains and improved C++23 conformance. We also introduced Sample Profile Guided Optimization to help you improve the runtime performance of your C/C++ programs. ...

Native C++ projects (.vcxproj) now support NuGet PackageReference, the same modern package management experience .NET developers have used for years. Available as an experimental feature in Visual Studio 2026 version 18.7.

These updates include improved locking for parallel builds, cross-platform PE dependency analysis, manifest support for the depend-info command, and other improvements and bug fixes.

The 2026 ISO C++ developer survey is now open: 2026 Annual C++ Developer Survey "Lite" : Standard C++ It takes about 10 minutes and directly informs the standardization committee and tooling vendors so the C++ ecosystem can continue evolving the right way. Please share your feedback and share with your colleagues!

These updates include a security fix for OpenSSL packaging on Windows, parallel file installation for improved performance, and other improvements and bug fixes.

Today we are releasing the first preview of the Microsoft C++ (MSVC) Build Tools version 14.51. This update, shipping in the latest Visual Studio 2026 version 18.4 Insiders release, introduces many C++23 conformance changes, bug fixes, and runtime performance improvements. Check out the release notes for an in-progress list of what’s new. Conforman...

This blog post summarizes changes to the vcpkg package manager as part of the 2025.12.12 and 2026.01.16 registry releases and the 2025-11-13, 2025-11-18, 2025-11-19, 2025-12-05, and 2025-12-16 tool releases. These updates include support for targeting the Xbox GDK October 2025 update, removing a misleading and outdated output message, and other min...

When Visual Studio 2026 reached General Availability in November, it included several versions of the Microsoft C++ (MSVC) Build Tools: To make it easier to bring your Visual Studio 2022 projects to Visual Studio 2026, we are now including all the versions of MSVC that shipped in Visual Studio 2022 version 17.0 and later to...

Get ready to level up your C++ productivity, because Visual Studio 2026 version 18.0 is now generally available! You can take advantage of the new features, bug fixes, and performance improvements in your production environment. This post describes what’s new for C++ developers, including new features or improvements in these areas: ...

This blog post summarizes changes to the vcpkg package manager as part of the 2025.10.17 registry release, the 2025-10-10 and 2025-10-16 tool releases, as well as changes to vcpkg documentation throughout October. This month’s updates includes partial support for Visual Studio 2026 and platform toolset v145, NetBSD platform support, and minor impro...