- Summary
- Microsoft is officially shutting down Skype in May.
- Users are being encouraged to transition to Teams for calls and chats.
- The shift from Skype to Teams has been ongoing ever since the introduction of Teams.
UPDATE: 2025/02/28 14:20 EST BY RICH WOODS
Microsoft confirms
Since this article was first published, Microsoft has confirmed that Skype will indeed shut down on May 5. Between now and then, users will have the option of either switching to Teams, or just exporting all of their data.
The end of Skype has been on the horizon for quite some time. However, every time it seemed like Skype was about to be retired, Microsoft would surprise us with a significant update. This time, however, there’s no last-minute update coming, as Microsoft will be officially retiring Skype in May. The recommended alternative? You guessed it — Teams.
A sharp-eyed reader first noticed this in the latest Skype for Windows preview, which confirmed the news. Skype will no longer be available starting in May Continue your calls and chats in Teams.” The message also indicates that some of your contacts “have already moved to Teams free,” suggesting that Microsoft is promoting this shift by tracking user contacts.
Farewell Skype
It’s hard to say goodbye.
Skype, which was first launched in 2003, was acquired by Microsoft in 2011. After that, the company began phasing out its other in-house communication tools like Windows Live Messenger. In 2015, Microsoft made an attempt to integrate Skype into Windows 10.
The path for Skype has been far from smooth. The integration with Windows 10 lasted only about nine months. During that time, Microsoft introduced separate apps for video calls, messaging, and phone calls, but those were removed in the next update. When the update arrived in 2016, it introduced a UWP app but later killed off UWP, returning to Win32.
In 2017, Microsoft launched Teams, a collaboration platform built upon the foundation of Skype, aimed at competing with services like Slack. Teams has received significant attention from Microsoft ever since, so it might be surprising to some that Skype wasn’t phased out earlier, especially when Skype for Business was discontinued. However, despite the increasing focus on Teams, Skype kept receiving updates, leading some to wonder, “Is this still being worked on?”
Skype didn’t become as popular as Microsoft had hoped, facing stiff competition from Apple’s FaceTime, the failure of Microsoft’s own mobile platform (Windows Phone), and Google’s vast range of communication services. When Windows 11 launched in 2021, it featured Teams integration, much like how Windows 10 version 1511 initially included Skype integration. Eventually, the Skype integration was removed, but the inclusion of a free, personal version of Teams instead of Skype was a clear sign of what was to come.
The end is near, though, as Skype will officially begin its shutdown in May. Soon, users will likely start seeing this message in the app. We reached out to Microsoft for comment, but they have not provided any additional details for this article.
