Microsoft to shut down Skype after 22-year run

Microsoft will shut down its once-popular video calling and messaging service Skype in May, pushing users toward its Teams platform instead.

The move marks the end of a service that helped pioneer internet-based calling and video chat for millions of users worldwide since its launch in 2003.

Tech website XDA first reported the news after spotting a message in the latest Skype preview version that reads: "Starting in May, Skype will no longer be available. Continue your calls and chats in Teams."

Skype's journey with Microsoft began when the tech giant acquired it for $8.5 billion in 2011. At the time, Skype boasted over 600 million registered users and had become synonymous with video calling, even becoming a verb in common usage.

However, Skype struggled to maintain its relevance amid rising competition from Apple's FaceTime, Google's various communication apps, and more recently, platforms like Zoom that exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Microsoft attempted to revitalize Skype multiple times over the years, including integrating it directly into Windows 10 in 2015, only to remove that integration nine months later.

Gradual decline

This decision follows years of the company gradually shifting its focus to Teams, which combines chat, video meetings, and file collaboration in a single application. Microsoft has positioned Teams as its primary communication platform since introducing it in 2017.

When Windows 11 launched in 2021, Microsoft chose to integrate Teams rather than Skype, signaling where the company's priorities lay.

For users concerned about the transition, Microsoft indicated that Teams' free version would retain many of the features that made Skype popular, including personal video calls and messaging. The company is expected to release more detailed information about data migration and account transitions in the coming weeks.