After a year off, Microsoft is coming back to CES

Missed Microsoft at the mega tech expo that is the International Consumer Electronics Show? Don’t worry, the company is making a return next year.

That’s according to one of the event’s organisers, who confirmed to the BBC that Microsoft had booked meeting rooms in the run up to the January 2014 show (no, there’s no official word from Microsoft as yet). “It’s actually a larger presence than I believe they have ever had,” said president of the Consumer Electronics Association Gary Shapiro.

Microsoft’s return may help hush the critics who have been quite vocal (especially after this year’s show) about how the world may no longer need CES in an age where manufacturers host their own lavish product launches and don’t have to fight for attention in a crowded expo hall.

The company announced in 2012 that it would not be returning to the show because its product news milestones didn’t match up with the January event, having previously given multiple successive keynote presentations at the Las Vegas show. That didn’t stop outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer from making an appearance during Qualcomm’s keynote this year though — he bounded onto stage during the opening stages to show off Windows 8 devices using Qualcomm’s processors.

“We have had a tremendous partnership [with Microsoft] going back to the very beginning,” said Shapiro. “You know, we had one little blip this year… but now we’re happy to have them back with a physical presence.”