Microsoft Paint is 'here to stay' after reports of its demise greatly exaggerated

Microsoft has sought to reassure customers that its legendary Paint program is not being killed off.

The software giant recently announced it would drop support for the popular drawing app in its upcoming Windows 10 update, sparking uproar that it was axing the beloved program after more than three decades.

It had marked Paint as "deprecated" in a list of apps and features that may be removed from the software, meaning the app is "not in active development and might be removed in future releases".

However, on Monday it said Paint wasn't "going anywhere".

"MS Paint is here to stay, it will just have a new home soon, in the Windows Store where it will be available for free," the firm said in a blog post. 

Microsoft Paint has been a staple of the Windows operating system for 32 years and has been installed with every version since 1985. The tool lets users easily copy and paste, crop and colour images, or simply doodle and create drawings. 

The announcement that it is not being killed off was welcomed by some of the 100 million people who, Microsoft says, still use it a month. 

The shift comes as part of Microsoft's Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, announced in May. The update will bring tools that make it easier to switch between tablets, laptop and phones and augmented reality video and photo editing tools in StoryMix.

The Fall Creators update is expected to be released in the Autumn, although Microsoft has not confirmed a release date.

Microsoft is sidelining Paint following the release of its next generation Paint 3D in April. Paint 3D contains tools for 3D image making and, although it is inspired by the original, is not a direct update. 

While Paint is not useful for complicated photo editing or design, its simplicity made it popular with early users of Windows and it has remained a feature of the operating system.

The best art made using Microsoft Paint

The updated Paint 3D is designed for use with Microsoft's Surface Pen, which lets users draw more natural and detailed pictures than were ordinarily possible in classic Paint.

Despite its simplicity, many users were still able to create detailed drawings and sketches using the simple tools in Paint.

Windows through the ages