Adobe shuts down Animate to focus on AI future

TLDR:

Adobe plans to discontinue its Animate software on March 1, 2026, ending sales and shifting resources toward artificial intelligence tools, while providing extended support for enterprise users until 2029 and others until 2027.

Adobe announced the end of its Animate animation software, a tool that traces roots back to the 1990s as Macromedia Flash before the company's 2005 acquisition.

The San Jose-based software giant will stop selling Animate on March 1, 2026, according to an update posted to its support website.

Existing individual users can keep accessing the application and their files until March 1, 2027, at which point technical support also ceases.

Enterprise and education customers receive an extension, with support and file access continuing through March 1, 2029.

Adobe urged users to export project files in formats such as SWF, SVG or MP4 before those deadlines to avoid data loss.

The decision affects an estimated 3 million Animate users as of late 2023, part of Adobe's broader Creative Cloud base exceeding 30 million subscribers in 2025.

Adobe cited evolving technology as the driver behind the move.

"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," the company stated in a frequently asked questions document.

Adobe pointed customers toward partial alternatives within its suite, including After Effects for keyframe animation via a puppet tool and Express for basic effects on images, videos and text.

The shutdown comes amid Adobe's heavy investments in AI features across products like Photoshop and Premiere Pro, where generative tools now handle tasks from image editing to audio generation.

The company emailed current Animate subscribers on February 2, 2026, to notify them of the changes.