After over 20 years of participation in the annual CES, Microsoft has announced that 2012 will its last year exhibiting or holding events at the popular electronics show.

Revealed today in a blog post from Microsoft's vice president of corporate communications, Frank X. Shaw, the company said that after 2012, the company will no longer operate a booth or host a keynote address.While the company maintains that it still holds a strong relationship with the event's organizers, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Shaw says that the January timing of the show does not align with Microsoft's product announcement strategies.The announcement acts as a crushing blow to the event, which has struggled to remain relevant as companies have begun to favor hosting standalone events throughout the year to better suit marketing and release strategies.