(Credit: PCMag/Microsoft)
UPDATE 8/12: Microsoft has updated its support page to confirm that "Paint 3D is deprecated and will be removed from the Microsoft Store on November 4, 2024." If you already have Paint 3D installed, it will continue to work, but it will no longer be available for download after Nov. 4.
Microsoft suggests those who need to view and edit 2D images use Paint or Photos. For 3D content, use 3D Viewer, it says.
Original Story:
Seven years after Microsoft made a big show of releasing a version of Paint that focused on 3D modeling and editing, the company is reportedly shutting down Paint 3D.
According to leaker phantonofearth, Microsoft is displaying a banner in the app that says it will no longer receive updates and be removed from the Microsoft Store on Nov. 4. That notice links to a Microsoft page about deprecated features, though Paint 3D is not currently listed.
The screenshot, initially spotted by XDA Developers, doesn’t provide any additional information, and Microsoft itself has not made any formal announcement about the app’s demise. A version of Paint 3D downloaded by PCMag on Saturday did not display the banner; XDA Developers isn't seeing it either.
Paint 3D launched in 2017 with the Windows 10 Creators Update. It combined Microsoft Paint and 3D Builder applications to create a hybrid 2D-3D editing experience. In our 2017 review, we found it lacking in basic photo-editing tools like brightness, contrast, and color tuning, but argued that it "could turn an old standby like Paint into a boldly future-facing product."
By mid-2017, Microsoft said it would deprecate the original Paint, prompting an uproar among fans of the stripped-down editor. Redmond later clarified that MS Paint would be removed as a standard feature of Windows 10 but remain in the Windows Store. At the time, the company pointed to Paint 3D as the "new app for creativity."
That didn't last long. By 2021, 3D Viewer and Paint 3D were removed from the default app install list on Windows 10, meaning you had to install it from the store.