Adobe Animate: End of Life and Support Timeline

Adobe, this announcement is deeply disappointing. The disregard you’ve shown for users who have been asking for a stance regarding Animate for over a year is infuriating. When you finally decide to speak, you reduce animators to Adobe Express 'instant buttons' or mere After Effects 'puppet tools.' This demonstrates a total lack of knowledge regarding your own product; it shows you don't realize the gold mine you have in your hands and are now discarding.

You aren't just throwing away software; you are discarding years of work from thousands of users. In my case, it feels like a part of my life is being invalidated. It is disrespectful to inform us that we won't be able to open our own files simply because you decided the program should no longer exist. Your decisions affect the lives and careers of thousands of people—it cannot be handled this way. You’ve managed to make me feel like trash with this announcement.

I strongly urge you to reconsider. If you won't support it, let the software continue in some other form—whether through a final version without updates or by making it open source so the community can keep it alive.

This is so depressing. When they discontinued Adobe Flash, their explanation was that it was too power-hungry for the new mobile era, and that Adobe Animate with HTML5 was the way to move forward. What is the explanation now, except for “we have other priorities”?! 
I was making Flash banner ads since 2007, and HTML ads using Adobe Animate up to this day. Animate was the only tool that could create whole HTML5 banner campaign with multiple sizes in few hours. Google Web Designer in comparison is straight out of a horror movie.

I see users here mentioning they were creating BAFTA level films using it. BAFTA! Let that sink in. Some might think that there are alternatives for their workflow, like AfterEffects for example. I would also pick AfterEffects for video. But it is up to them to decide. And I think I have a clue about their main argument as well, cause it is similar to my main pain point - SPEED. There is no cache, no lag playing timeline in realtime. I have tested multiple tools for the past few years, exploring alternatives that could be compatible with Google Display Ads policies, Google-hosted runtimes, etc. There is no good alternative with good UX/UI that Animate had. Has. And this is why I don't get it - HTML5 is still a mainstream technology for Display Ads. There are no outside factors that I know about. Decision to discontinue Animate feels purely internal. The current explanation is vague, and doesn't justify decision that impacts so many lives. 

Hello, I have been working with Animate for about 22 years. I used it to create the games Botanicula, Chuchel or Happy Game, and I have been working on another one for several years now. The year before last, I made a TV series (52x2min). I have made many films and music videos with it over the years. This program simply suited my style of work. 
I'm glad I'm not the only one who uses it, but that makes it even harder to understand why the program is ending so unexpectedly and quickly. I'll finish my next game in it, but that will probably be the last thing…
Jaromir Plachy, Amanita Design studio

They’re doing this because they can’t cram AI stuff into it. Will cancel my subscription very soon and will tell everyone I know to do the same. Open source Animate.

I don’t want you to discontinue the Animate program. I use it as my only application. If you still have sympathy for us, please don’t cancel it. It doesn’t need to be updated—I just ask that Animate can continue to be usable.”

To Adobe, 

I am a professional animator with over 30 years in the industry. I began on paper, transitioned to Flash, and continued with Adobe Animate. 

I have used these tools professionally on broadcast series, adverts, shorts, and feature films. I am presently using Animate on a feature film and also pre-production on a series. 

Adobe Animate is not a legacy curiosity. It is production infrastructure. 

Across decades of real-world work, Animate enabled flexible 2D animation pipelines that remain unmatched inside Creative Cloud. No Adobe product replaces its timeline-based vector animation workflow. After Effects is not a substitute. Adobe Express is absolutely not a substitute. Suggesting otherwise demonstrates a disconnect from professional 2D production realities and is completely disrespectful. 

By discontinuing Animate without a like-for-like replacement or a long-term maintenance or access commitment, Adobe is forcing experienced professionals, studios, and educators to leave the Creative Cloud ecosystem entirely. This is not resistance to change; it is a rational response to the removal of a core tool with no migration path. 

Many of us adopted Flash and Animate precisely because Adobe positioned them as serious, long-term professional solutions. Ending Animate now breaks that trust and signals that foundational creative tools can be discarded when they no longer align with short-term strategic trends. Is this because you haven't been able to include AI into the program, so you think it’s worthless? 

This decision affects not just individual artists, but pipelines, curricula, and decades of accumulated professional knowledge. Adobe’s reputation was built in part on supporting working creatives over the long term. We are asking you to honor that legacy. 

Sincerely, 

Jane Davies Professional Animator (30+ years) 

• Would be great that Adobe users could download Animate original standalone install file for the version they use (as it was possible to do few years ago).
   

Question. If I cancel my subscription can I continue using discontinued Animate?

I am litrarally animation on it for a feature film right now and have worked on many series and adverts using it. Your disregard for paying customers is astounding. 

I have one question with regards to the support timeline. It starts with “Existing Animate users may continue to use the application. “ Does this continue beyond the support deadline of March 1 2027/2029? Or will the application be blocked from even booting up after these dates?

In short, can I open Animate beyond any of these end dates?