Microsoft Bob 2.0

Microsoft Bob 2.0

Microsoft Bob 2.0 pre-release with Rocky as the Microsoft Actor.
Name	Microsoft Bob 2.0
Developer(s)	Microsoft Corporation
Latest version release date	1996 (30 years ago) (unreleased)
Written in	Visual C++
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Predecessor	Microsoft Bob
Discontinued?	Yes

Microsoft Bob 2.0 is a cancelled consumer-oriented graphical shell and application suite developed by Microsoft Corporation as the successor to the original Microsoft Bob program. It was suspected to be in development from 1995-96 following the release of the original Microsoft Bob, but likely due to the negative reception of the first version, the program was discontinued and never released.

Despite this, two screenshots of the program are known to exist, with both being uploaded to MSBob.org in 2023. Additionally, various later Microsoft Actor programs contain leftover resources, function names, and version strings explicitly referencing "Bob 2.0" or "Bob20", suggesting that portions of the Bob 2.0 codebase or development assets were used in these programs, including both versions of Microsoft Greetings Workshop, the Office Assistant in Microsoft Office 97, Microsoft My Personal Tutor, and the Microsoft Agent Beta.

Development

The development for Microsoft Bob 2.0 likely began after the release of the original Microsoft Bob, following Microsoft likely believing that their original product would be a success, with Microsoft even providing methods of contact to send suggestions for the "next version of Microsoft Bob" in the Microsoft Bob Magazine. However, due to the unpopularity of the original, Microsoft Bob was discontinued in early 1996. As a result, any planned release of Microsoft Bob 2.0 was cancelled, and no builds were released to the public.

Little is known about the internal development of Microsoft Bob 2.0. Contemporary sources indicate that Gabe Newell, then a Microsoft employee and later co-founder and president of Valve Corporation, was involved in the project as a lead developer prior to its cancellation. Another Valve employee who formerly worked at Microsoft, Mike Harrington, was a development manager for Microsoft Bob 1.0 and 2.0.

Additionally, FunArts Software, the company responsible for designing various Microsoft Office Assistant characters, developed various assets for Microsoft Bob 2.0, including various room backgrounds and the Rocky character that was meant to initially succeed Rover.

As of 2026, there is currently one known Microsoft Bob 2.0 build number, build 1405, which was found inside "CHAR11.DLL" from the first beta of Microsoft Agent.

GUI similarity

The graphical user-interface of Microsoft Bob 2.0, specifically the Microsoft Actor 2.0 portion, is quite similar to the Microsoft Actor 2.0 GUI in Microsoft Greetings Workshop 2.0.

Word balloon and buttons

Microsoft Bob 2.0	Microsoft Greetings Workshop 2.0

Exit podium

Microsoft Bob 2.0	Microsoft Greetings Workshop 2.0

Gallery

Assets

• 
  Sci-Fi room background from Microsoft Bob 2.0.
• 
  Farm room background from Microsoft Bob 2.0.
• 
  Observatory room background from Microsoft Bob 2.0.
• 
  Topworld room background from Microsoft Bob 2.0.
• 
  Tyrad room background from Microsoft Bob 2.0.
• 
  Microsoft Bob 2.0 logo from the FunArts Software website.

Leaked images

• 
  Default window of Microsoft Bob 2.0 with Rocky selected as the Microsoft Actor.
• 
  Setup window of the Microsoft Bob 2.0.

Leftovers

• 
  Leftover Bob Alarm notification dialog.
• 
  Leftover Microsoft Bob setup text inside of Microsoft Greetings Workshop 2.0.
• 
  Leftover suspected Microsoft Bob version string inside of Microsoft Greetings Workshop 2.0 that is not found in the Greetings Workshop about window.
• 
  List of 32-bit Microsoft Bob-related DLL functions inside of Microsoft Greetings Workshop 2.0.
• 
  Strings.exe being ran on the Bob-related DLL that mentions a "Bob20".
• 
  A Microsoft Bob 2.0 DLL file present in the Microsoft Agent Beta.

Trivia

• In Microsoft Bob 2.0, Rocky succeeds Rover as the default guide.
  • Microsoft would bring this up as a defense in their 1999 lawsuit with Inner Workings over the design of Rocky.
• Microsoft Bob 2.0 introduced Microsoft Actor 2.0, the same Actor version that would power Microsoft Greetings Workshop 1.0 and 2.0, the Office Assistant in Office 97, and Microsoft My Personal Tutor.
• It is unknown what other Microsoft Actor characters were present in Microsoft Bob 2.0 other than Rocky.
• Rocky, the mascot of Microsoft Bob 2.0, would later be re-introduced as an Office Assistant.