Microsoft is closing its British flagship store in London

Microsoft says it is closing its UK “experience centre” in London next month, about six years after it first opened as a 21,000-square-foot Microsoft Store. “To better align with its focus on digital growth, Microsoft has decided to exit the lease at the Microsoft Experience Center in London,” an unnamed Microsoft spokesperson says in a statement to the Microsoft Experience Center in London. Windows Central.

The store originally opened in July 2019, just months before the pandemic lockdown began. Microsoft then quickly moved it to an Experience Center alongside Closing its US stores in 2020.

I visited the London flagship store For opening day, at a time the company had more than 80 retail stores worldwide. The big, bold, British store included desktops on every floor, Hololens headsets, a large Xbox gaming lounge, and even a realistic McLaren Senna sports car you can sit in and play Forza.

It was quite the place, in the heart of Oxford Circus and inside a historic building with windows and ceilings from the 1920s. Microsoft spent two years revamping the space, with giant 4K video walls and an opening party that included British celebrities like Peter Crouch.

After relocating the UK Microsoft Store into an experience centre, the software giant has regularly used the space for business meetings and partner events – turning it into a showcase for Microsoft products and services in recent years. There’s still a similar experience center in New York City, but I suspect it’s only a matter of time until it meets a similar fate as the pool.