As Adobe ramps up its investment in AI, the company has decided to retire its 2D animation software Adobe Animate. On Monday, Adobe issued an update to its support site and emailed existing customers announcing that Adobe Animate will be retired on March 1, 2026.
Enterprise customers will continue to receive technical support through March 1, 2029 to ease the transition. Other customers will also receive support until March next year, the company said.
This decision sparked distrust, disappointment, and anger among Adobe Animate users who were concerned that there were no alternatives that mirrored Animate’s capabilities.
One customer posted on X begging Adobe to at least open source the software rather than abandon it. Commenters on the thread reacted angrily, saying things like, “Of course this is ruining my life,” and “Literally what the hell are they doing? Animations are the reason so many Adobe users subscribe in the first place.”
Adobe explained its decision to end the program in an FAQ, saying, “Animate has been around for more than 25 years, and has served its purpose well: creating, nurturing, and advancing the animation ecosystem. As technology evolves, new platforms and paradigms emerge that better serve the needs of our users. Recognizing this change, we plan to end support for Animate.”
Reading between the lines, it sounds like Adobe is saying that Animate is no longer representative of the company’s current direction and is now focused on products that incorporate AI technology.
What’s surprising is that Adobe can’t even recommend software that completely replaces what customers are missing with Animate. Instead, it says that customers on Creative Cloud Pro plans can use other Adobe apps to “replace some of the Animate functionality.”
For example, Adobe After Effects can support complex keyframe animations using the Puppet tool, and Adobe Express suggests it can be used for animation effects that can be applied to photos, videos, text, shapes, and other design elements.
There were hints that Adobe was moving in this direction after Animate was ignored at the company’s annual Adobe Max conference. Additionally, the 2025 version of the software was not released.
Adobe said the software will continue to work for users who have downloaded it. Typically, Adobe charged $34.49 per month for the software, but that drops to $22.99 with a 12-month contract. An annual prepaid plan was available for $263.88.
Some users recommend using other animation programs such as Moho Animation or Toon Boom Harmony instead.
TechCrunch has reached out to Adobe for comment. This article will be updated if we hear back from the companies.
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