2026 has not been kind to video creators of all kinds. Firstly, with the still somewhat ongoing issues with TikTok and CapCut, but especially with more news by the day. Over the weekend, it was announced that Adobe Animate will be discontinued in March, with technical support continuing until 2029. Video and photo editing is my expertise, but animation is still a huge market for creators. In my personal experience, I am still scheduled to take a class on Adobe Animate for my Web Design degree, which led me to question this decision. Many online reacted by wondering why, worrying about their future, and asking what the industry standard will be once Adobe closes down Animate. Adobe plans to shift their company focus to AI, a market which is not yet proven to be beneficial long-term, causing an intimidating amount of users to be upset.
That news article shows many screenshots of disgruntled Animate users voicing their opinion online. Now, for people who want to get into Animation or any other form of media, knowing where to find the next best animation program is vital for these scrambling creatives. Animation is extremely important to video creation and an important outlet for original creators, rather than generated content. New alternatives for when Animate closes include:
- ToonBoom
- Krita
