After 32 Years, MS Paint May Be Leaving Windows

Update: Microsoft has published a response to coverage of the possible death of MS Paint, and it claims that the app is "here to stay."

The response is a bit confusing, but the gist of it is this: MS Paint as you know it will eventually be made available on the Windows Store for free. In the meantime, most of its functionality is getting integrated with Paint 3D. Microsoft will continue updating Paint 3D, but normal Paint won't be updated any longer.

Original Story: Chances are good that you've messed around in MS Paint at least once in your life. The app has been around for 32 years now, and over the decades it has become primarily used both as digital white-out and as a tool for creating hilariously bad--and, sometimes, astoundingly good--pictures. But now, MS Paint might be going the way of Clippy, the personal assistant. Microsoft is marking Paint for possible removal from Windows this fall.

Microsoft has just added several apps to the list of features "that are removed or deprecated in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update," and Paint is one that's marked "deprecated." According to the company, this means that Paint is "not in active development and might be removed in future releases."

Alongside Paint, Microsoft will also remove several older apps like Reader, Reading List, and Outlook Express. But it's adding a bunch of new features in the update, many of which are meant to make using Microsoft apps and files on iPhones and iPads easier.

Microsoft Paint was originally added to the first version of Windows way back in 1985. Since then, it's been a staple of every Windows release. Although the built-in Paint app might disappear in the near future, its successor still survives: Paint 3D lets you create both 2D and 3D images, and it's available on the Windows 10 store.