Adobe is shutting down one of its oldest 2D animation software, Adobe Animate, which has been available since 1996 under various names, including FutureSplash Animator, Macromedia Flash, and Adobe Flash Professional. The company announced the end of life through its official support page and notified users via email.
New users won"t be able to purchase and download Adobe Animate starting March 1, 2026. Existing users can continue using Animate and will receive technical support and the ability to download content until March 1, 2027, Adobe said, adding that these users can download Animate from the Creative Cloud desktop during the support period.
Enterprise users will get more time to wind down their Animate workflow, download content, and receive technical support until March 1, 2029. The company warns that users will lose access to their Animate files and project data once the support ends.
It recommends exporting Animate FLA and XFL files to other formats, including SWF, SVG, and MP4, before the support period ends. For reference, the most recent version of Animate is the October 2023 release (version 24.0).
Turning a few pages into tech history, Animate was originally developed by FutureWave Software back in 1996. It was acquired by Macromedia in the same year and renamed Macromedia Flash. In 2005, Adobe acquired Macromedia and started calling it Adobe Flash Professional. The most recent rebranding from Flash to Animate occurred in 2015, when Adobe began shifting from Flash to HTML5.
The announcement comes as Adobe, like many others, is investing in AI-powered products and services. Adobe said that Animate has "served its purpose well for creating, nurturing, and developing the animation ecosystem."
"As technologies evolve, new platforms and paradigms emerge that better serve the needs of the users. Acknowledging this change, we are planning to discontinue supporting Animate."
Still, Adobe seems at a loss for words when recommending a single app to replace Adobe Animate. It said that the people "can use other Adobe apps to replace portions of Animate functionality" while citing examples for specific use cases.
For instance, Animate"s end-of-life FAQ page reads that After Effects supports keyframe animation with the Puppet tool, while Adobe Express offers one-click animations that can be applied to photos, videos, text, shapes, and other design elements.
Adobe"s latest move has sparked widespread disappointment among Animate users, who took to social media to express their views. Some argue that many jobs and projects depend on Adobe Animate, and the company should consider open-sourcing the software rather than discontinuing it.
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