Visual C++

MSVC now supports Sample Profile Guided Optimization (SPGO). Collect hardware performance counter samples from your actual release binaries in production, then feed them back to the compiler for PGO-quality optimizations. No instrumented builds needed. devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/introd…

Native C++ projects in Visual Studio now support PackageReference. Declare NuGet dependencies directly in your .vcxproj, get transitive resolution, and use the global package cache. This feature is experimental in the Insiders Channel. devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/nuget-…

Visual Studio 2026 now defaults new C++ projects to use Windows Segment Heap for better protection against memory vulnerabilities, lower fragmentation, and improved performance under load. Existing projects can opt in per-target for both MSBuild and CMake. devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/segmen…

MSVC Build Tools v14.52 Preview: C++23 immediate escalation is done, modules reliability fixes, ARM64 gets better loop unrolling and indirect tail calls, SLP vectorizer now handles PHI nodes, and AddressSanitizer is faster. Over 40 community bugs fixed. devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/msvc-b…

MSVC Build Tools v14.51 is now GA and the default in VS 2026 v18.6. Additional C++23 support, codegen improvements that speed up your binaries without touching source, and preview support for Intel APX. devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/msvc-v…

GitHub Copilot build performance for Windows now supports project-specific builds. Build one MSBuild project or CMake target instead of your entire codebase. Available in Visual Studio Insiders. Learn more: devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/projec…

What's new in vcpkg (Apr 2026): devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/whats-…

The 2026 ISO C++ developer survey is open — takes ~10 minutes and directly informs the standardization committee and tooling vendors. Please share your feedback and share with your colleagues! isocpp.org/blog/2026/04/2…

GitHub Copilot Build Performance helps reduce C++ build times by identifying expensive header includes, template instantiations, and function generation costs. It then plans optimizations, with you in control. Using it today? Share your experience: surveymonkey.com/r/5YBM8BX

@observerherb As of today, the Insiders channel includes MSVC v14.51 as the latest available version. This is the release candidate, and it is also expected to ship in the Stable channel next month.

@visualc Sooooo.... when do I get to use it? I have the Insiders build installed but it's still on 14.50 build tools.

MSVC Build Tools version 14.51 brings a big batch of C++23 features: flat_map, flat_set, portable assumptions, relaxed constexpr, and more. Only 2 features left for full C++23 support: devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/c23-su…

MSVC Build Tools v14.51 RC is now available in the Visual Studio Insiders channel and is expected to go live in the Stable channel next month. Check out what's new: devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/msvc-b…

vcpkg's Feb/March releases bring parallel file installation (1.39x faster on average), a security fix for OpenSSL packaging on Windows, and direct libcurl usage for more reliable downloads: devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/whats-…

We are fixing a few issues with this post; it should be back up soon. Sorry for the inconvenience.

MSVC v14.51 is up to 6.5% faster on SPEC CPU 2017 integer benchmarks from improved optimizations such as a new SLP vectorizer and major SROA improvements on both x64 and Arm64. Learn more about the performance improvements: devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/c-perf…

C++ refactors aren't just text edits, they require symbol context and build awareness. That's why we've brought our C++ symbol context and CMake configuration awareness into GitHub Copilot in VS Code devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/c-symb… Learn more in our latest announcement.

The first preview of MSVC Build Tools v14.51 is now available in Visual Studio 2026 in the Insiders Channel. How to try it out: devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/micros…

Built from learnings and feedback from our C++ symbol tools public preview, the new find_symbol tool is here - now available in VS 2026 Insiders 18.4🎉 devblogs.microsoft.com/visualstudio/u… 🧠VS Copilot agent mode now gets rich, language-specific symbol context across multiple languages

What's new in vcpkg (Nov 2025 - Jan 2026): devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/whats-…

To make it easier for C++ devs to try out Visual Studio 2026, we added MSVC versions 14.30-14.43 to the 2026 installer. You now have access to all the compilers shipped in Visual Studio 2022 and later: devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/msvc-b…