Microsoft Paint 3D Was Always Doomed to Die. Meanwhile, the Original Paint Is Experiencing a Revival

In October 2016, Microsoft introduced Paint 3D, offering a unique replacement for the legendary Paint. This tool, which has accompanied Windows operating systems since 1985, seemed immortal, but suddenly, a version with “3D” features appeared to threaten its existence. In the end, it was no threat at all.

Microsoft will kill Paint 3D in November. According to Windows news site Thurrott, a notification in the Paint 3D app now tells users that “Paint 3D won’t be available in the Microsoft Store or receive updates starting on November 4, 2024.” This message is the death knell for an app that never took off.

An announced failure. Paint 3D reached the masses in 2017 as part of Microsoft’s project to turn Windows 10 into an operating system for creators. The app’s interface and options were a radical change compared to Paint, which had always been minimalist and simple. Still, none of its features, including those theoretically aimed at improving 3D design, took off.

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Microsoft was trying to forget about Paint. Its plan seemed clear, and it announced that it would remove Paint from Windows and stop offering it as a preinstalled app in favor of Paint 3D. The complaints were so notable that Microsoft said it would keep it in Windows 10 “for the time being,” but there was no change in the end, and Paint remained part of Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Paint, yes; Paint 3D, no. The growing disinterest in Paint 3D led Microsoft executives to indicate in 2019 that Paint would remain preinstalled on its operating systems. As we mentioned earlier, Microsoft included it in Windows 11—albeit with some problems—but do you know which app it didn’t include in that version? Exactly, Paint 3D.

Paint is back and improved in a big way. Although Paint seemed abandoned for a while, in mid-2023, Microsoft updated the app to support dark themes. After that first improvement, it began to release increasingly important updates.

A little bit of Photoshop, a little bit of AI. Recent improvements include removing an image’s background, supporting layers and transparency, and the arrival of Image Creator with Copilot+. So, it looks like Paint's future is bright. And we’re happy about it.

This article was written by Javier Pastor and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.

Images | Microsoft

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