Microsoft is reportedly planning to phase out Paint 3D, the app it introduced seven years ago with great fanfare as a tool for 3D modeling and editing. According to a leak from PhantomOfEarth, users have begun to see a banner within the app that states it will no longer receive updates and will be removed from the Microsoft Store on November 4th. This notice supposedly directs users to a Microsoft page on deprecated features, though Paint 3D is not yet listed.

This news was initially reported by XDA Developers, but no official confirmation has come from Microsoft. Both XDA Developers and PCMag have confirmed that the version of Paint 3D they downloaded over the weekend did not display the banner mentioned in the leak.

Paint 3D made its debut in 2017 with the Windows 10 Creators Update, designed to merge the simplicity of Microsoft Paint with the advanced 3D modeling capabilities of the 3D Builder app. However, the app received mixed reviews, largely due to its lack of essential photo-editing tools like brightness, contrast, and color adjustments. In its 2017 review, PCMag recognized the app’s potential but noted that it didn’t quite fulfill the promise of transforming Paint into a forward-thinking creative tool.

The journey of Paint 3D has been less than smooth. Shortly after its launch, Microsoft announced plans to deprecate the original MS Paint, which led to a significant backlash from loyal users. In response, Microsoft clarified that while MS Paint would no longer be a standard feature in Windows 10, it would remain available for download from the Windows Store. Paint 3D was then promoted as the successor to the classic program, intended to be the new app for creative tasks.

Despite this, by 2021, Microsoft had removed Paint 3D and 3D Viewer from the default app installation list on Windows 10, signaling that the app was no longer a priority. Users who still wanted to use Paint 3D had to download it manually from the Microsoft Store.

With the November 4th removal date approaching, it seems Paint 3D’s time is coming to an end. While it never fully realized the vision Microsoft had for it, Paint 3D remains an interesting experiment in the evolution of Windows software. Microsoft has yet to make any official statements regarding the app’s future, leaving users in the dark about whether Paint 3D will be gone for good or if it will continue in another form. For now, all signs point to its imminent departure from the Microsoft Store, marking the close of an ambitious, if ultimately niche, creative tool.