Microsoft has just deleted the Paint 3D app from the Windows Store. This means you can no longer find or download or even update the Paint 3D app from the Windows Store on Windows 11 or 10. However, Microsoft confirmed that Paint 3D app will not stop working and those who have installed it can continue to use it.
Paint 3D was once supposed to replace Microsoft Paint. In 2017, when Paint 3D debuted, Microsoft’s leadership believed that 3D creativity was the future, along with Windows Mixed Reality. For those unware, Paint 3D has 3D brushes, 3D shapes, some cool effects, a 3D library and other features feature to help you create 3D art for free.
Despite all the good stuff, Paint 3D never stood out as a classic Paint replacement, and Microsoft also decided against killing off the classic app in favour of the 3D version. After outrage from the community, Microsoft clarified that it did not want to remove Paint and would support both apps.
While the outrage calmed down, it didn’t help with Microsoft’s 3D push, and Paint 3D failed to meet the company’s internal expectations. Fewer people downloaded it, and even fewer people liked Paint 3D due to missing features.
Over time, Microsoft changed its position and decided to add new features to the classic Paint and put Paint 3D on the back burner. Later, the company announced that it was ending support for Paint 3D, which would be removed in a future release.
While Paint 3D was not a good app to replace MS Paint, it was still one of the best apps for creating 3D art on Windows, as described by one of the creators:
“Paint 3D is easier to use for me as a software developer. I have created software graphics such as banners and background images with it for years. The ordinary Paint app is not that user-friendly. Why can’t you just stop updating the app and leave it on the MS Store to be available for download? Please think about it, you probably have nothing to lose if we continue to use it. As a developer, I like coding on Unix because it’s lightweight, but Paint 3D kept me coding on Windows.”
Feedback Hub has similar emotions after Microsoft announced its plans to kill off the Paint 3D app.
Paint 3D removed from the Microsoft Store
Feedback does not usually change Microsoft’s decisions, and Paint 3D is sadly no exception.
Today is November 4, and Paint 3D is not available in the United States and other regions anymore.
You won’t be able to find the Paint 3D app in the Microsoft Store when you search for it on Windows 10 or Windows 11. The link to the Paint 3D store listing also redirects to the Microsoft Store homepage or returns a 404 (not found) page.
At the moment, if you own the Paint 3D app, it still shows a small banner that says, “Paint 3D won’t be available in the Microsoft Store or receive future updates starting on November 4, 2024.”
For some good reasons, Microsoft recently updated the Paint 3D app and added an option to close this banner, so you can continue to use the app once it’s gone from the Windows Store.
In our tests, Windows Latest observed that Paint 3D still works just fine, but there are some rough edges after recent updates, as pointed out by some of our readers. For example, Paint 3D no longer shows up in the “Open With” menu or in the Default Apps list in Settings.
Do you still use Paint 3D? We’ve uploaded it to our cloud storage as a backup.