Microsoft open-sourced the code for 1995’s 3D Movie Maker because someone asked

The Microsoft Kids division released a program called Microsoft 3D Movie Maker in 1995. The same year that the original Toy Story was released, people could install software on their home computers that could produce 3D animated movies at a rate of 6 to 8 frames per second.

Microsoft never really returned to Movie Maker after releasing Doraemon and other versions. The code for 3D Movie Maker will be open-sourced by Microsoft, and will be posted to a read-only repository under an MIT license.

Someone asked if the code was released because of Microsoft's plans for 3D Movie Maker. Foone Turing asked Microsoft to release the 3D Movie Maker source code back in April because they wanted to expand and extend it.

The 3D rendering used in 3D Movie Maker was used in a number of PC games. Turing was given permission to issue the BRender code under the same MIT license as 3D Movie Maker after asking the former CEO for permission.

We wanted to know why Microsoft was putting the 3D Movie Maker code out there after all these years.

There has never been an app like it.

He is not wrong. 3D Movie Maker still has a small but active enthusiast user base that is still putting out content.

dialog boxes in 3D Movie Maker are the first documented appearance of Comic Sans, which was developed for Microsoft Bob but wasn't ready when that software shipped. Comic Sans was included in the Windows 95 Plus. The 90s-era Microsoft products include Pack, Internet Explorer, and other products.