Microsoft shuts down its beloved maker space
Microsoft is shutting down The Garage maker spaces and altering its annual hackathon after 17 years, with closures starting Friday, October 23rd.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Microsoft is winding down The Garage program as a centralized workshop space.
- The main hub was located in Redmond, Washington, alongside 15 global locations.
- The 17-year-old initiative birthed projects like Seeing AI and the Xbox Adaptive Controller.
- Some spaces will close as early as Friday, October 23rd, impacting the annual hackathon.
Microsoft is officially shutting down The Garage, a popular network of maker spaces that served as a core pillar of the company's hacker culture and experimental app development for nearly two decades. Internal communications reveal that the tech giant is shifting away from dedicated physical workshops.
According to an internal FAQ seen by Notepad, the company is winding down the program as a centralized function while exploring alternative ways for employees to collaborate and build skills. GeekWire was the first publication to report on the closure.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
The primary workshop was situated at Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington, campus, anchoring approximately 15 subsidiary locations across the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Over its 17-year history, employees utilized these facilities to test prototypes, build hardware, and transform personal hobbies into shipped products.
The closure of The Garage highlights a broader corporate retrenchment at Microsoft, as the company scales back physical perks and dedicated experimental hubs in favor of streamlined, everyday workflows. This follows earlier cutbacks this year, such as closing the employee library in exchange for an AI-powered learning platform.
CEO Satya Nadella frequently attended the annual hackathon events hosted at these spaces, where staff could pitch experimental concepts to executive leadership. Notable creations include the Seeing AI accessibility app, born from a 2015 hackathon, and Mouse Without Borders, developed independently by employee Tuong Do to control up to four computers using a single peripheral.
“We’re winding down The Garage program as a centralized function,”
Microsoft
Perhaps the most prominent success story to emerge from the initiative was the Xbox Adaptive Controller. Originating from a grassroots hackathon project involving dozens of staff members, the accessibility hardware eventually overcame budget hurdles to reach mainstream production and starred in Microsoft’s 2019 Super Bowl commercial.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
With closures slated to begin as early as Friday, October 23rd, the future of Microsoft’s traditional employee hackathon remains uncertain as organizers look to redesign the format. Meanwhile, the official hall of fame website documenting these historic employee-led projects has already been taken offline.
Source: The Verge
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