Microsoft takes wraps off Visual Studio for MacOS, now available to everyone

By Jaina Grey Published November 21, 2017

Today at Build 2017, Microsoft announced the general availability release of its popular Visual Studio development environment for MacOS. It’s particularly appropriate, given Microsoft’s theme for this year’s Build is a commitment to open platforms, and providing developers the tools they need to succeed.

“Visual Studio for Mac brings the integrated development environment (IDE) loved by millions to the Mac. Developers get a great IDE and a single environment to not only work on end-to-end solutions – from mobile and web apps to games – but also to integrate with and deploy to Azure,” said Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise group.

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Previously, a preview version of Visual Studio for Mac was available from Microsoft, allowing users to get a feel for the development environment and how it would work on Mac OS. Today, however, users can download and utilize a full version of the Microsoft Visual Studio customized for use on MacOS.

This comes as part of Microsoft’s commitment to openness, and providing developers with tools that allow them to move easily from one operating system environment to another.

“I talked about a core design principle for Azure – helping guide your success. Providing powerful tech and lots of new features is necessary, but not sufficient – it is how you achieve success with the cloud that matters most,” Guthrie continued. “For you to be successful, the cloud and the development tools also must work seamlessly together, which is why we ensure great experiences across Azure and the Visual Studio family.”

By rolling out Visual Studio for Mac, Microsoft hopes to create a seamless development environment for the creation of everything from mobile apps to games. Visual Studio for Mac isn’t a pared down version either, despite running on MacOS, it includes full support for Visual Studio standbys like C#, F#, .Net Core, Asp.Net Core, Xamarin, and Unity. Plus, all licensed Visual Studio users will have access to both the Windows and Mac version.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Jaina Grey is a Seattle-based journalist with over a decade of experience covering technology, coffee, gaming, and AI. Her…

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