In a surprising update, Adobe has announced to discontinue its 2D animation software, Adobe Animate, as artificial intelligence (AI) takes center stage.
On Monday, the company issued an update to the company’s support site and sent emails to existing customers announcing the discontinuation date.
Animate, a successor to the once-popular Flash software, is widely used for graphic and animation purposes, and can also be used to generate games in HTML5.
The email read, "We’re contacting you to let you know that Adobe will be discontinuing Adobe Animate on March 1, 2026. As an existing Animate user, you may continue to use Animate, but please note that technical support will no longer be available after March 1, 2027.”
The email suggests alternative Adobe programs for Enterprise customers can continue to "access their Animate files and project data will end on March 1, 2027."
Why is Adobe Animate shutting down?
Official reason regarding this significant move remains undisclosed.
However, the decision comes after immense disappointment, and anger among Adobe Animate users, who are concerned regarding the lack of alternatives that are similar to Animate’s features.
Users’ reactions:
Adobe Animate users took to social media sites such as X to express their thoughts regarding the unexpected shut down.
A user wrote, “Adobe Animate is being discontinued.This is a REALLY SAD day man.
I've used Adobe Animate for over 10 years and it helped me grow as an artist. @Adobe , please consider making Adobe Animate open-source rather than completely inaccessible for future animators. Thank you.”
Another user wrote, "I’m really disappointed in @adobe. Animate is being used by thousands of animators INCLUDING MYSELF. They first raise the prices of subscriptions and then decide to ditch the whole software entirely. Thanks for nothing."
"I got to animate Ed, Edd n Eddy, Yogi Bear, Tom and Jerry, Fosters Home for imaginary friends, Mr Bean, Garfield, Ben10, PPGirls and more fun IPs using Adobe Animate. I worked with this interface and its super intuitive timeline daily for over 20 years. It was the software i picked up first in animation school. Why are you doing this @Adobe?, a third user asked.
