Bold headline: Microsoft Build 2026 returns to San Francisco in June, with a refreshed, more intimate approach.
Microsoft has confirmed its next annual developer conference, shifting from its traditional May slot to June for the first time since 2013.
The Build 2026 dates are set for June 2 and 3, and the event will take place in San Francisco, California. The physical gathering will be hosted at the Fort Mason Center, marking Microsoft’s first developer conference in the city since 2016. In recent years, Build has been in Washington (2017–2019), online during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Seattle for the past few editions.
This year’s Build targets “AI developers, technical leaders, and enterprise developers,” per Microsoft’s site. An online option will be available for those who cannot attend or prefer not to pay the $1,099 registration fee.
Expect new announcements from the event, even for non-developers. Microsoft teases that Satya Nadella’s opening keynote will reveal “what we are building.” To watch the keynote, you’ll need to create an online account at https://build.microsoft.com/en-US/home, or you can follow PCMag’s coverage.
In-person attendees can look forward to hands-on sessions centered on “real code, real systems, and real workflows with the teams building and scaling AI.” Microsoft also promises “nothing fluff” this year.
Microsoft told The Verge that it aims to make Build smaller and more intimate than previous years. Kyle Daigle, GitHub’s chief operating officer, summarized the idea: “There are great conferences that are enormous, and there are great conferences that are tiny and highly personalized. We’re aiming for something in between, where meeting attendees becomes as much a part of the conference content, announcements, and technology usage as the sessions themselves.”
Thought-provoking point: this shift toward a mid-sized, more personal event could redefine what people expect from a major developer conference—placing value on direct interaction alongside big announces.
Question for readers: do you prefer large, high-profile conferences with blockbuster reveals, or smaller, more intimate gatherings where hands-on sessions and networking take center stage? Share your take in the comments.
