Adobe just announced it’s killing off Adobe Animate, and the Technology world is collectively losing its mind. The 2D animation software that’s been around in various forms since 1996 will stop being sold on March 1st, with existing users getting until 2027 (or 2029 for enterprise customers) to download their files before everything disappears.
The company posted a FAQ trying to explain the decision, citing “new platforms” that supposedly serve users better. But here’s the thing: nobody asked for this. The creators actually using Animate every single day are furious, and they have every right to be.
A Legacy Being Erased
Let’s talk about what Adobe Animate actually is. This thing started life as FutureSplash Animator back in 1996, got bought by Macromedia and renamed Flash, then Adobe scooped it up in 2005. When Flash started dying its slow death on the web, Adobe rebranded it as Animate in 2015. It’s been through more name changes than a witness protection program participant, but it’s survived for three decades because it’s genuinely useful.
The team behind Chikn Nuggit, a popular animated series, literally said this decision would “harm countless jobs in the industry” and turn past creations into lost media. David Firth still uses it to make Salad Fingers. These aren’t hobbyists tinkering around. These are professional creators who’ve built entire workflows around this tool.
The Real Users Are Getting Screwed
Megacharlie, a technical artist at Jackbox Games, pointed out something crucial. Animate isn’t just for indie creators making YouTube videos. It’s used in high-budget TV cartoon productions, film studios, game studios both big and small, and thousands of independent creators who depend on it daily. This is a business decision that impacts real livelihoods.
Adobe’s suggestion? Use After Effects or Adobe Express instead. That’s like telling a painter to use a pencil because the company stopped making paint. They’re completely different tools with different purposes. After Effects is powerful for compositing and motion graphics, but it’s not a frame-by-frame animation tool in the same way Animate is.
AI Over Everything
Here’s where it gets really transparent. Over the past year, Adobe has been absolutely obsessed with AI. They’ve shoved AI tools into every app they make, launched AI audio tools, and they’re building “IP-safe” Firefly AI models for entertainment. The writing on the wall is pretty clear: Adobe wants to pivot hard into AI, and legacy tools like Animate don’t fit that vision.
But this is the problem with massive software companies controlling creative tools. They can just decide one day that a product millions of people rely on isn’t worth maintaining anymore. The news keeps getting worse for creators who thought they were investing in stable, professional tools.
Users have two years to figure out alternative workflows, migrate decades of projects, and potentially relearn entirely new software. That’s not nothing. Animation files, project histories, and institutional knowledge built around Animate’s specific toolset are all at risk of becoming inaccessible. Adobe keeps pushing forward with its AI ambitions while the actual humans making actual art are left scrambling to find replacements for tools that still work perfectly fine.
