Microsoft
Original Build
We teamed up with Microsoft to create a time machine and make Build, Microsoft’s flagship developer event earlier this week, one for the record books. Our immersive experience—The Original Build—transported developers back to 1975 to become players in Microsoft’s origin story, earning their place as honorary members of the original Micro-Soft crew. A series of coding challenges (quietly powered by modern Microsoft tech Copilot, Azure and GitHub) tested developers to see if they had the chops to make the 1975 team.
This was a first-of-its-kind experiential activation for Microsoft at a flagship event, earning media, creator and executive attention...complete with a few surprise guests (like Trevor Noah and Thomas Dohmke, CEO of GitHub). Dubbed “the coolest thing we’ve ever done for developers” by Microsoft leadership, there’s already buzz about bringing this activation across the globe, and cementing it in Microsoft’s archives.
But before we look to the future, step into our time machine.
We created an authentic, memorable experience dropped straight out of the 70s, complete with period furniture, lava lamp, advertisements, ASCII UI and Altair 8800 reproductions powered by modern tech, including Microsoft Copilot and Azure. From start to finish, we blended old-school and new school tech.
Our space showcased a sleeper PC built by Linus Tech Tips. Creators Peachietech and GG_Sheed celebrated their respective origin stories with their own retro builds & content throughout the week—and every single creator invited to Build stopped by our experience.
Attendees completed a series of dev-tested and timed activities, unlocking unique interactions at every point, from mysterious phone calls from iconic developers to rediscovered Microsoft archival content. After completing these challenges, they were rewarded with their own custom, retro Team 1975 badge — the perfect addition to their event lanyards.
