Microsoft Elevates Rust to Tier-1, Ties It to Visual C++ Across 100+ Projects
Updated
Updated · InfoWorld · Oct 1
Microsoft Elevates Rust to Tier-1, Ties It to Visual C++ Across 100+ Projects
1 articles · Updated · InfoWorld · Oct 1
Summary
Rust now has Tier-1 status inside Microsoft, giving it first-class tooling and workflows alongside languages such as C# and TypeScript.
Microsoft is wiring Rust into the MSVC toolchain through an internal rustc_codegen_utc backend, letting Rust code use the same compiler backend, linker and security features as C and C++ without code changes.
The company says the setup is already production-ready and used by more than 100 internal Rust projects, supporting low-level Windows software including drivers and potentially kernel components.
That shared backend is meant to cut support costs and speed Rust adoption while preserving interoperability in long-term hybrid Rust-C++ applications across Windows and Azure development.
External developers do not yet get the new backend, though Microsoft already supports Rust in VS Code with rust-analyzer, MSVC Build Tools and Windows API crates, and has signaled it will upstream infrastructure work before any public release.