Adobe is significantly increasing its investments in artificial intelligence. As part of this strategic shift, the company has decided to discontinue its 2D animation software, Adobe Animate. On Monday, Adobe issued an update on its support site and sent emails to existing customers announcing that Adobe Animate will be discontinued on March 1, 2026.
Enterprise customers will continue to receive technical support through March 1, 2029, to ease the transition. Other customers will have support through March of next year.
The decision has been met with incredulity, disappointment, and anger among Adobe Animate users. Many are concerned about the lack of direct alternatives that mirror the software’s full functionality. One customer pleaded with Adobe to at least open source the software rather than abandon it. Others expressed deep frustration, with comments stating this move would ruin their workflow and questioning the logic of discontinuing a product that is a primary reason many users subscribe to Adobe’s services.
Adobe explained its decision in a public FAQ, stating, “Animate has been a product that has existed for over 25 years and has served its purpose well for creating, nurturing, and developing the animation ecosystem. As technologies evolve, new platforms and paradigms emerge that better serve the needs of the users. Acknowledging this change, we are planning to discontinue supporting Animate.”
Reading between the lines, this suggests Adobe believes Animate no longer aligns with the company’s current direction, which is now more focused on products that incorporate AI technologies.
What is surprising is that Adobe does not recommend a single software that will fully replace what customers are losing with Animate. Instead, the company states that customers with a Creative Cloud Pro plan can use other Adobe applications to replace portions of Animate’s functionality. For example, it suggests Adobe After Effects for complex keyframe animation using the Puppet tool, and Adobe Express for animation effects applied to various design elements.
There were hints that Adobe was headed in this direction, as Animate was ignored at the company’s annual Adobe Max conference and no 2025 version of the software was released.
The software will continue to function for those who have it downloaded. Typically, Adobe charged $34.49 per month for the software, which dropped to $22.99 with a 12-month commitment. The annual prepaid plan was available for $263.88.
Some users are now recommending other animation programs as alternatives, including Moho Animation and Toon Boom Harmony. TechCrunch has reached out to Adobe for further comment.