VSLive! @ Microsoft HQ: Developer Takeaways and Must-Watch Sessions

VSLive! @ Microsoft HQ: Developer Takeaways and Must-Watch Sessions - Visual Studio Blog

VSLive! @ Microsoft HQ 2026 was one of the most energizing VSLive! events I’ve attended. What stood out was the level of engagement over five days of learning and conversation from July 27 through July 31. Developers came ready to dig into the future of Visual Studio, .NET, and AI-assisted software development, and many Microsoft engineers and product managers were there to have those conversations directly.

If you weren’t able to join us in Redmond, there’s still plenty you can take away from the event. The Microsoft-led sessions were recorded, so you can catch up on many of the topics that generated some of the biggest conversations during the week.

AI is becoming part of the entire developer workflow

If there was one theme that ran through VSLive! @ Microsoft HQ, it was AI.

The conversation has moved well beyond code completion. Developers are thinking about how AI can help with planning, debugging, modernization, testing, code review, agents, and workflow automation.

What I found especially important was how practical these conversations were. Developers want to know what works today, what can be trusted in real development environments, how teams can adopt AI responsibly, and where human judgment still matters.

Great AI experiences still need great developer fundamentals

One of the biggest takeaways from the week was that developers aren’t asking us to choose between AI innovation and the fundamentals of a great development environment.

They want both.

Speed, stability, predictability, debugging, testing, and usability still matter enormously. AI becomes more valuable when it builds on a development experience developers already trust.

That reinforces why Visual Studio remains so relevant as development changes. Sessions covering GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio, debugging, productivity, MCP, and AI workflows showed how the IDE can increasingly serve as an orchestration point for modern software development while continuing to support the fundamentals developers depend on every day.

.NET modernization is happening alongside AI adoption

The excitement around AI doesn’t mean developers are leaving their existing applications behind. Quite the opposite.

We saw strong interest in AI-enabled .NET applications, Aspire, Blazor, .NET MAUI, WinForms, SQL integration, and C#. But many developers are also starting from applications built on .NET Framework 4.7 or 4.8, Web Forms, WinForms, or codebases that have grown over many years.

For those teams, the challenge is practical: How do you move toward .NET 8 or .NET 10 when time and staffing are limited and disruption needs to be kept under control?

That makes modernization guidance and tooling an important part of the same conversation. Developers want to explore what’s next while continuing to improve the applications their businesses depend on today.

VSLive! @ Microsoft HQ 2026 sessions: hot takes

If you missed VSLive! @ Microsoft HQ, or attended and want to revisit what you learned, the recorded sessions are a great way to keep on learning.

You can explore select VSLive HQ 2026 sessions on the Visual Studio YouTube channel , including these already trending videos:

Improving Performance in .NET Applications

Performance remains one of the fundamentals developers care deeply about. If you’re looking to improve how your .NET applications perform, this is a good session to add to your watch list.

Explore the Future of ASP.NET Core & Blazor in .NET 11

For developers building modern web applications, this session explores what’s ahead for ASP.NET Core and Blazor in .NET 11.

Modernizing .NET Applications

Modernization was a strong, recurrent theme during VSLive! @ Microsoft HQ 2026. If you’re working with an established .NET codebase and thinking about what comes next, this session is especially relevant.

Everything You Need to Know About the Latest in C#

C# continues to evolve alongside .NET. This session is a chance to catch up on the latest developments and think about how they apply to the applications you’re building.

SQL MCP Server: Bringing AI Agents to Your SQL Data

This session brings together two themes that generated a lot of interest: AI and MCP. It’s a practical example of how developers are beginning to think beyond AI-assisted coding and toward agents that can work with the systems and data behind their applications.

Whether you’re exploring AI, modernizing an existing application, improving performance, or staying current with .NET and C#, there’s a lot here you can bring back to your own projects and teams.

Keep learning with VSLive!

There are two more opportunities this year to connect with developers, learn from experts, and get hands-on with the technologies shaping modern development.

VSLive! San Diego

September 14-18, 2026

Bahia Resort Hotel, San Diego, CA

VSLive! San Diego is another opportunity to step away from the daily backlog, sharpen your skills, and spend time beachside in the warm Southern California sun with developers tackling many of the same challenges you are.

VSLive! / Live! 360 Tech Con 2026

November 15-20, 2026

Royal Pacific Resort – Universal Orlando

VSLive! / Live! 360 Tech Con 2026 offers another opportunity to close out the year with practical learning, technical conversations, and connections across the developer community.

If you’re a Visual Studio subscriber and considering joining us at one of these events Sign in to my.visualstudio.com to access your VSLive! discount code.

Thanks to everyone who joined us in Redmond, asked questions, shared feedback, and spent time with our teams. Those conversations matter, and they help us shape what comes next.

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