It's the beginning of the end for Microsoft Paint (update)
MS Paint is moving to the Microsoft Store.
Windows' Fall Creators Update will add a pack of new features to the platform, but it could also mark the beginning of the end for MS Paint. Microsoft has revealed in a list of removed and deprecated features that it will stop actively developing the iconic application. No more future updates or new features for the painting program it launched with its operating system in 1985. That's usually the first step of killing an app, and a Windows update down the line could remove it altogether.
Microsoft denied Paint's demise in the statement it sent The New York Times, but it also took the chance to remind people that Paint 3D can do most of what the original application can:
"MS Paint is not going away. In addition to the new 3D capabilities, many of the MS Paint features people know and love like photo editing and 2D creation are in Paint 3D -- the new app for creativity, available for free with the Windows 10 Creators update."
The tech titan is also tossing unused Outlook Express code in the trash and integrating Reader app and list into MS Edge when the Creators Update drops. In addition, it's paring down the screensaver feature by disabling it in Themes and stopping its development for Group Policies, Control Panel and Sysprep.
Update: Microsoft clarified where Paint is going with a follow-up post:
"MS Paint is here to stay, it will just have a new home soon, in the Windows Store where it will be available for free."
