Microsoft paint to be removed from future versions of windows

Photo credit: Samuel Gibbs

The death of once-beloved computer programs is always a source of misery for lovers of retro tech.

Microsoft’s next Windows 10 update, called the Autumn (or Fall in the US) Creators Update, will bring a variety of new features. But one long-standing stalwart of the Windows experience has been put on the chopping block: Microsoft Paint.

The latest victim could be the much-cherished Microsoft Paint, the canvas upon which many artistic visions have been realized over the years. The feature could be discontinued, according to a Windows 10 Fall Creators update published by Microsoft.

Paint has been around as long as Windows itself, debuting on Windows 1.0 in 1985. In the way-back-when of dial-up internet speeds, it was as integral to passing the time on Microsoft machines as Minesweeper and Solitaire.

It's unlikely the program will be much missed in the age of the Apple Pencil and Google's Tilt Brush, which allows you to paint worlds around you in VR, but no doubt it will be remembered fondly.

First released with the very first version of Windows 1.0 in 1985, Paint in its various guises would be one of the first graphics editors used by many and became a core part of Windows. Starting life as a 1-bit monochrome licensed version of ZSoft’s PC Paintbrush, it wasn’t until Windows 98 that Paint could save in JPEG.

With the Windows 10 Creators Update, released in April, Microsoft introduced the new Paint 3D, which is installed alongside traditional Paint and features 3D image making tools as well as some basic 2D image editing. But it is not an update to original Paint and doesn’t behave like it.

Now Microsoft has announced that, alongside Outlook Express, Reader app and Reading list, Microsoft Paint has been signalled for death having been added to the “features that are removed or deprecated in Windows 10 Fall Creator

Photo credit: Samuel Gibbs

 Falling under the deprecated column for apps that are “not in active development and might be removed in future releases”, Microsoft Paint’s ticket has been called and now it’s only a matter of time before it is removed like your favourite piece of old furniture from your childhood home.

When Microsoft Paint will officially be removed from Windows has yet to be confirmed, while a precise date for the release of the Windows 10 Autumn Creators Update is equally up in the air