- Paint 3D will not be available in the Microsoft Store starting today
- Microsoft warned us that the application was about to disappear a few months ago
- If you install it, you can keep Paint 3D, but it will not be repaired.
Windows 11 (and 10) users should know that it is the last day of one of the optional applications for Microsoft's operating system, Paint 3D.
We should clarify that this is the '3D' spin on Paint, not the standard Microsoft Paint app that remains a core part of Windows 11 to this day (and is still actively being developed).
The removal of Paint 3D is not a surprise, as we have received ample warnings about the app's imminent demise.
To summarize the history of Paint 3D, you may remember that it first appeared in Windows 10 as a new standard application in 2016, shortly after the launch of the operating system, as part of the first update. (This was the 'Creators Update' when Microsoft had a plan to run themed feature updates for Windows 10, an idea that quickly lost steam and evaporated into nothingness.)
However, Paint 3D never took off (we'll come back to why in a moment) and was removed from the collection of standard apps installed with Windows by default in 2021.
Since then, you can still get Paint 3D from the Microsoft Store if you want the app, but now the final curtain is being drawn. Starting today, it will no longer be available to download as an option from the store (a fact that Microsoft warned us about via a pop-up in August 2024).
So if you want Paint 3D, get it now, before the day is out, and keep in mind that this is the final nail in the coffin of the venerable app.
Who cares about Paint 3D anyway?
Well, it's a fair question. In fact, you may have forgotten about Paint 3D altogether. It wasn't a big hit with the Windows 10 audience in general, or even Windows 11, although it had already been abandoned at the time, hence why it got the elbow.
Paint 3D tried something different by offering the functionality to create 3D models, as the name suggests, so you could use it, for example, to turn a photo into a 3D model.
Plus, as Ghacks, who reminded us about today's deadline, points out, it was created to be more tactile than Vanilla Paint (with larger icons and sliders that make it easier to use with your fingers).
There was certainly a specific audience that appreciated Paint 3D, but it was just that, a fairly small number of fans, so Microsoft didn't follow through with any real push to further develop the app as a result.
We should note that if you have installed Paint 3D, it will not go anywhere or be removed from your PC. But if you don't have it, this is your last chance to get the app.
However, note that Microsoft will not be working with the client in the future, so if, for example, vulnerabilities appear, they will remain unpatched. (In theory, anyway, although if something particularly big and huge were to open up exploit-wise, the software giant could take action.) In short, you can continue using Paint 3D at your own risk, if you wish.
