Skip to main content
Mohit Goyal
Community Manager
Mohit GoyalCommunity Manager
Community Manager
February 2, 2026

Adobe Animate: End of Life and Support Timeline

  • February 2, 2026
  • 132 replies
  • 9862 views

UPDATE

Yesterday, we shared an update with Adobe Animate customers on the future of Animate. What we
shared did not meet our standards and caused a lot of confusion and angst. Please read this update that shares changes to our plans for Adobe Animate and its status and our commitments to ensuring that you always have access to your content.

Adobe 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. As technologies evolve, new platforms and paradigms have emerged that better serve the needs of the users. Acknowledging this change, we are planning to discontinue the sale of Adobe Animate effective March 1, 2026. 
 
Existing Animate users may continue to use the application. Support for enterprise customers will continue for three years, through March 1, 2029.  For all other customers, support will continue for one year, through March 1, 2027.

Customers with a Creative Cloud Pro plan can use other Adobe apps to replace portions of Animate's capabilities. Adobe After Effects supports complex keyframe animation using the Puppet tool, while Adobe Express offers one-click animation effects that can be easily applied to photos, videos, text, shapes and other design elements.
  
We thank our Animate users and encourage you to share feedback with our teams on the Adobe Support.
  
For more information, and instructions for downloading Animate during the support period please see visit the Animate HelpX page.

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    132 replies

    Show previous replies
    Dr Abstract
    Dr Abstract
    Known Participant
    February 2, 2026

    Poor decision.  Sorry it has come to this.  If anyone needs the coding side of Flash / Animate, please visit https://zimjs.com for an alternative.  Adobe Animate exported to CreateJS for HTML 5 and ZIM is built on CreateJS providing hundreds of conveniences, components and controls.  No need for the Animate tool.  Still the tool will be missed by all.

      gersan-2
      gersan-2
      Participating Frequently
      February 2, 2026

      Does it have a GUI with timeline, layers, properties, etc ?

        Dr Abstract
        Dr Abstract
        Known Participant
        February 3, 2026

        No. We decided not to rebuild the Flash / Animate interface and be basically code only.  I worked in Flash for years but always more so on the code side.  A timeline is important when filled with different animations, all visually shown.  But many apps only require code tweens and Sprites from Sprite Sheets.  Take a look at the hundreds of very visual, magical apps and features made in ZIM… without Animate.  

        We just added a summary of the types of animations we can do with code at the URL above.  Previously, at the top of the page was using ZIM Shim to help Animate users have more options like components.  Now, we have added how we do animations with code and moved the ZIM SHIM section down further.

        Again, sorry we do not have a timeline tool itself.  But everything else is wonderful to work with - from kids to professionals!

          gersan-2
          gersan-2
          Participating Frequently
          February 2, 2026

          Let’s all demand from Adobe the ability to access and use our FLA source files so we can continue to create whatever, including html5 canvas animations. If Adobe refuses continued access, than no software on their suite, other than Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign is safe from discontinuation. Educators can talk to their campus IT to discontinue Adobe and make the switch to Affinity, Davinci, and more.

            SirRookie
            SirRookie
            Inspiring
            February 2, 2026

            on the creative cloud there is 

            Adobe Animate the Nect Genaration ????
             

             

              P
              Pepper2676
              Participating Frequently
              February 2, 2026

              I wouldn’t get your hopes up.  I’m pretty sure thats just a tagline for animate saying it’s “next generation animation for every platform, device, and style” and not something new. the latest updates are all just small bugfixes

              T
              tiagosaad
              Known Participant
              February 2, 2026

              I also work using Adobe Animate for 2 decades, and I even create my own scripts to improve my animation workflow. I used to BUY Animate, and that was a way of making sure we had acess to the program, but now with the subscription business model I really fear what will be of my professional life.
              Even if Adobe does not want to keep a support, please, keep our access to Animate and also new install from older versions (if i need to train an animator, for example, that did not use Adobe before).

              Also: Animate is very different from After Effects and Adobe Express. It is not even close to a substitution option. Please consider this.

                L
                Luis25967703368i
                Participant
                February 2, 2026

                It’s so disappointing. The other apps are easily replaceable but this one is the only app that’s almost impossible to find anywhere else. There’s no other like this one in the market.

                The only/main reason I’m using a licence of Adobe Pro is to use this app, but if I’m buying another software, I won’t be approaching Adobe for anything else. As I said, the other apps are easily replaceable.

                For a company that says having artists at its heart, it feels like a wrong move to put them off of using the rest of their products.

                  L
                  Lucaksic
                  Participating Frequently
                  February 2, 2026

                  They no longer have artists in their hearts. Surely not after introducing AI spop into all of theirs apps. They even advertise their apps to non creative people because they want to eat all of the pie.

                    Flipline
                    Flipline
                    Inspiring
                    February 2, 2026

                    This is extremely sad and shocking news, with vague and conflicting information on what current users will be able to use and access moving forward.  Adobe needs to provide clear communication on:

                     

                    1. Will users still be able to download the final version of Adobe Animate (via “Show Older Apps”) after March 2027?  Or will paying customers lose access to downloading it?
                    2. Will users be able to open local FLA files after March 2027?
                    3. What does ending “Access to your Animate files and project data” mean -- not being able to open local files?  Not being able to download FLAs stored in Adobe’s cloud storage? Not being able to download Animate on a new computer?  All of the above?

                     

                      Working Human
                      Working Human
                      Participant
                      February 2, 2026

                      I am writing to express my absolute outrage regarding the discontinuation of Adobe Animate. For twenty years, this tool has been the backbone of my career. I have produced four books and over 500 illustrations using this specific software. Because my work uniquely combines bitmap and vector elements, these files cannot be exported or replicated in Illustrator or Photoshop.

                      By killing this tool, you are effectively locking me out of my own life’s work. These source files represent decades of labor and creativity that are now rendered useless. I feel robbed and violated by this arbitrary decision.

                      I am not asking for new features. I am not even asking for customer support. All I am demanding is the ability to access and use my FLA source files so I can continue to create. No other software in your Creative Cloud offers the same ease, speed, and workflow as Animate for static art creation.

                      You are discarding your most loyal users and treating our professional archives as disposable. I expect a solution that allows me to maintain access to my work without it being held hostage by a sunsetting schedule.

                      Do better.

                        SirRookie
                        SirRookie
                        Inspiring
                        February 2, 2026

                        Are you answering the comments ?? or is your job to be the undertaker ????

                          P
                          Pepper2676
                          Participating Frequently
                          February 2, 2026

                          it would be one thing if the end of life plan was clear and understandable, but the fact that the help page both says the application will continue working if you’ve downloaded it before the cutoff date, and that fla files will no longer be accessible after the end of support is confusing and hard to parse.

                           

                          opening fla files is such a core functionality to flash/animate I would consider the program no longer functional or useable if that was broken by them turning off some server somewhere that does license checks on file open.

                           

                          theres also the issue of content trapped in fla files you cannot easily export, like individual audio files.  sometimes people have asset flas prepped with sound effects and other audio content they’ve been using for years and years, long after the original sources were lost.

                           

                          really need more clarity on how the software will remain usable after march 2027, because if it comes down to the software will open then fail a license check the moment you try to do the most basic of tasks, that is not usable.

                            gersan-2
                            gersan-2
                            Participating Frequently
                            February 2, 2026

                            .

                            Ryan Lancaster
                            Ryan Lancaster
                            Participant
                            February 2, 2026

                            I can understand no longer supporting the program but completely removing access to Animate is awful! I use Animate for my job and to personally create my own animations I have almost 2 decades of FLA. files that I’m going to completely lose access to.

                              Show more replies
                              Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
                              Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices