Microsoft shuts down its beloved maker space
Microsoft is shutting down 'The Garage,' its long-standing internal maker space program that fostered employee innovation and hackathons. The program was responsible for several successful products, including the Xbox Adaptive Controller and Seeing AI.
Why it matters
The closure signals a shift in corporate culture at Microsoft, potentially prioritizing immediate efficiency over experimental, employee-led innovation.
Microsoft is closing down The Garage, a set of popular maker spaces where employees worked on experimental projects and collaborated on surprising new apps and hardware during the company’s annual hackathon events.
“We’re winding down The Garage program as a centralized function,” says Microsoft in an internal FAQ to employees, seen by Notepad. “We will continue to explore new ways to help employees build skills, collaborate across boundaries, and bring a hacker mindset to their work.” GeekWire first reported on The Garage’s closure.
The main Garage space was located at Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington, campus and served as the central hub for around 15 Garage locations across the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Microsoft employees could use it to experiment with prototypes, build hardware, and even turn hobbies into full Microsoft products.
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