Microsoft Urged to Release Native Office Apps for Linux

David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH), co-founder of 37signals and creator of the Omarchy Linux distro, is calling on Microsoft to release native versions of Office for Linux desktops. DHH wants Word and Excel to be available natively on Linux, citing their importance as productivity tools in the industry.

In a recent post on X, DHH addressed Satya Nadella directly, asking what it would take for Microsoft to make this happen. He noted that while Microsoft 365 (Office) is already available on the web and works in a Linux browser, there's still a significant gap in functionality for power users.

According to Microsoft's FY2026 Q4 results, Windows OEM and Devices revenue fell by 7% year over year, while Microsoft 365 Commercial cloud revenue grew by 14%. This shift towards the cloud is why DHH believes it's more plausible than ever that Microsoft would consider releasing native Office apps for Linux.

Some argue that providing a native version of Office on Linux could cannibalize Windows sales. However, DHH counters this by pointing out that Windows isn't sold because people want Office; instead, many users already purchase Microsoft 365 subscriptions regardless of their operating system choice.