Yesterday, Microsoft published an official list of all the Windows features that are being removed or deprecated with the upcoming Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. Paint is one of the components being deprecated. While it will still be included with the update, it could be removed in the future.
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Users responded to the decision with a mass of posts on social media. The overwhelming consensus was that Paint should stay, despite Microsoft’s insistence that its new Paint 3D app is a better option. Today, Microsoft took the unprecedented step of dedicating a blog post to the controversy, saying it wanted to “set the record straight.”
Microsoft pledged to keep Paint available in Windows 10. The company is planning to add Paint to the Windows Store, allowing users to download it on-demand. The traditional desktop program, built on Microsoft’s older Win32 platform, will still be removed though.
It's a sad day. I remember spending hours in school doing this on Microsoft Paint #MSPaint pic.twitter.com/AnQu9qVAw5
— Daniel (@DanielBruce_8) July 24, 2017
Long live to Paint !!! In my Case the XP version which i still use . #pixelart #gamedev #drawing #pixels #MsPaint #Microsoft #indiedev pic.twitter.com/fFrskd42CK
— Davit Masia PixelArt (@DavitMasia) July 24, 2017
Oooooo… watch the hate rise!! They should just release the source and make if public domain #MSPaint #WindowsJuly 24, 2017
“We’ve seen an incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint. If there’s anything we learned, it’s that after 32 years, MS Paint has a lot of fans,” said Microsoft. “It’s been amazing to see so much love for our trusty old app. MS Paint is here to stay, it will just have a new home soon, in the Windows Store where it will be available for free.”
Microsoft also took the opportunity to promote Paint 3D, its entirely rewritten approach to Paint. The Universal Windows app launched earlier this year with the Windows 10 Creators Update. It offers 3D authoring tools that let you build virtual scenes. The app is significantly more complex than Paint and can be slower to launch, making it less useful as a basic image editor.
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By ensuring the legacy Paint version remains available, Microsoft can balance the needs of its existing users with the ones its hopes its newer features will attract. The decision to put Paint in the Windows Store seems to be a halfway compromise, although the company hasn’t explained why the current 6.5MB executable needs to be cut from Windows at all.
Microsoft also hasn’t said when Paint will launch in the Windows Store. A timeframe around the Fall Creators Update seems likely though, potentially allowing both versions of Paint to coexist for a short time. The company’s also yet to confirm when, or if, the classic Paint program will be removed from Windows.
