Following the global response to the announcement that Microsoft had deprecated one of its longest standing apps, the company has confirmed that MS Paint is here to stay.
In the midst of announcements surrounding the upcoming Autumn Creators update for Windows 10, Microsoft revealed that 32-year-old Paint is now deprecated, meaning that it is “not in active development and might be removed in future releases.”
This sparked a public outcry, with Paint-enthusiasts taking to social media to voice their support for the long-standing graphics tool with the #ripmspaint hashtag.
However, Megan Saunders, Microsoft’s general manager of the 3D for Everyone initiative, put out a blogpost in response to the reaction.
“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,” the blog said. “Today, we’ve seen an incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint. If there’s anything we learned, it’s that after 32 years, MS Paint has a lot of fans. It’s been amazing to see so much love for our trusty old app.”
The biggest difference is that Paint will no longer be installed by default with Windows, but it is also unlikely that system administrators will allow employees to install apps from the Windows Store in most situations.
Saunders also took the opportunity to push Paint 3D, which came in the April edition of the Windows 10 Creators Update, and will be installed by default in the autumn update.
