Adobe startled animators this week when it announced plans to discontinue Adobe Animate. The software, formerly known as Flash, shaped 2D animation for decades. It powered shows like Teen Titans Go!, Smiling Friends, My Little Pony, El Tigre, and even the popular surreal web series Salad Fingers.
The announcement, posted on the Adobe forums, spread quickly as 2D animators made their frustration with the company known. While Adobe framed the change as progress, artists saw a career threat instead, as their primary animation tool faced an expiration date.
Adobe said Animate had "served its purpose," but animators pushed back
Adobe’s community manager shared, "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 users can supposedly keep the app, at least for now.
Meanwhile, enterprise customers would receive support until March 1, 2029. All other users would still be supported through March 1, 2027. Adobe also encouraged Creative Cloud Pro subscribers to replace Animate features with After Effects or Adobe Express.
However, many animators rejected that comparison outright. They argued that Animate filled a specific production role that those apps did not replace. Instead, the announcement triggered panic about jobs, education, and archival access.
Animators warned that it was an "industry-killing move"
On X, @ChaiDeluxe asked, "Hold on, can someone quite literally just sue Adobe for this […] Because this has just put thousands of jobs on the line."
User @carkisms added, "There goes 4 years of schooling ig??? Like, what is industry standard now?"
Meanwhile, legendary internet animator David Firth reacted simply, tweeting, "The software I make Salad Fingers with.."
In a response to a January tweet from Adobe about how they are "committed to helping filmmakers and creators," @RubberNinja replied:
"That's weird. Because I just read you're killing Adobe Animate. You know, the program that a ton of independent animators use? How there are still shows/projects that are currently in production that use the software?"
As reactions stacked up, the tone grew darker. @thetomska called the decision "truly vile" and said every animator they worked with depended on Animate. He added, "This is an industry-killing move."
User @CrownePrints worried about file access, writing that 15 years of work could become inaccessible.
Similarly, @jaxamoto said, "Not only removing it, but locking access to created files is unnecessarily diabolical."
The animators behind @chikn_nuggit, a BuzzFeed Animation Lab production, warned the move could turn past creations into lost media.
Education concerns also surfaced. @lotsofrramen wrote that their degree only taught Adobe Animate. Consequently, they called their $35K debt "for nothing."
Some animators began sharing alternatives. @LonesomeCowpoke suggested Blender, Toon Boom, Toonsquid, Clip Studio, FireAlpaca, TVPaint, and Procreate Dreams. Still, others argued that replacement software could not fix studio pipelines overnight.
Finally, @CarsickC66939 noted piracy might cushion hobbyists, while studios faced legal limits. "An actual animation studio can’t just tell workers to download a crack," they wrote.
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