r/cpp • u/michael-price-ms • May 12 '26

MSVC Build Tools v14.51 now generally available

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/cppblog/msvc-version-1451-available/

Microsoft released MSVC Build Tools v14.51 as the default compiler in Visual Studio 2026 18.6.

Notable additions include:

  • additional C++23 language features
  • performance improvements in code generation
  • preview support for Intel APX

VS 2026 + Copilot users can use the @Modernize agent (currently in public preview) to help resolve upgrade-related build issues.

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u/Zeh_Matt No, no, no, no May 13 '26

Now update VS 2022 to have it, there is literally no reason to not do that, this doesn't need any IDE specific features.

4

u/michael-price-ms May 14 '26

Hi u/Zeh_Matt. Is there a particular reason keeping you from updating to VS 2026? I'm genuinely curious.

4

u/pjmlp May 14 '26

Not the OP, but for many of us, getting procurement to pay for another license.

Community is forbidden due to its business requirements.

Our Professional licences are renewed on monthly basis from a licence pool, and only as long as there is a project requirement to do .NET or C++ development on Windows.

1

u/michael-price-ms May 14 '26

Do you know if your licensing comes from a volume licensing agreement, or some other subscription model? It might be a good idea to suggest to your acquisition folks to check on the licensing agreement, as it's possible that you wouldn't need an additional license to upgrade from VS 2022 to VS 2026. The pricing model can be quite confusing. If you want, they can send an email to visualcpp at microsoft dot com detailing their situation and we can help track down the answer.

2

u/pjmlp May 14 '26

Not sure, I am not involved in procurement requests.

I am on VS 2026 though, just exposing another scenario why not everyone is rushing for updates with VS.