Adobe Animate is shutting down as the company concentrates on AI.

As Adobe increases its AI initiatives, the business has decided to discontinue its 2D animation program, Adobe Animate. Adobe said on Monday that Adobe Animate would be discontinued on March 1, 2026, in an update to the company’s support page and via email to existing users.
Enterprise customers can continue to receive technical support until March 1, 2029, to help them transition. Other customers will be supported until March of next year, the business stated.

Adobe Animate users have expressed surprise, sadness, and indignation over the decision, citing a lack of options that mirror Animate’s capabilities.

One client, writing on X, appealed to Adobe to at least open-source the product rather than abandoning it. Commenters on the thread were upset, stating things like “this is legit gonna ruin my life,” and “seriously, what the hell are they doing? Animate is the reason many Adobe users subscribe in the first place.

In a FAQ, Adobe justified its decision to stop the software, stating, “Animate has been a product that has existed for over 25 years and has fulfilled its purpose effectively in founding, supporting, and extending the animation ecosystem. As technology advances, new platforms and paradigms arise to better meet the needs of users. We acknowledge this change and intend to withdraw support for Animate.”

Reading between the lines, it appears that Adobe is stating that Animate no longer represents the company’s current goal, which is to focus on products that utilise AI technologies.

Surprisingly, Adobe can’t even recommend tools that will completely replace what users are losing with Animate. Instead, it states that clients with a Creative Cloud Pro subscription can utilise other Adobe programs to “replace portions of Animate functionality.”

For example, it implies that Adobe After Effects may handle advanced keyframe animation using the Puppet tool, while Adobe Express can be used to apply animation effects to pictures, videos, text, shapes, and other graphic elements.

After Animate was neglected at Adobe’s annual Adobe Max conference, there were clues that the firm was moving in this route. Furthermore, no 2025 version of the program was produced.

Adobe stated that users who have downloaded the program will be able to use it as usual. Normally, Adobe charged $34.49 per month for the software, which was reduced to $22.99 with a 12-month subscription. An annual prepaid plan was available for $263.88.

Some people propose using alternative animation applications instead, such as Moho Animation and Toon Boom Harmony.

Views: 0