Microsoft is set to discontinue Skype in May, requiring users to transition to Microsoft Teams. As pointed by XDA Developers, hidden code discovered in the latest Skype for Windows preview reveals a message stating, “Starting in May, Skype will no longer be available. Continue your calls and chats in Teams.” While no official announcement has been made, the move appears definitive.
This decision is unsurprising given Skype’s decline in popularity over the years. Microsoft acquired the platform in 2011 for $8.5 billion, but since the rise of Microsoft Teams and competitors like WhatsApp, iMessage, and Discord, Skype usage has dwindled. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Skype was largely overlooked in favor of Zoom and Teams.
Microsoft has allowed Skype and Teams to coexist, with Skype serving as a foundation for the development of Teams. Despite efforts to modernize Skype with features like AI-powered chat and short video messages, Microsoft failed to attract new users. The gradual discontinuation became evident when Skype credits were no longer available for purchase as of December 2023. The last update was released in May 2024, indicating that Microsoft had been slowly winding down support.
Skype was originally launched in 2003 by Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström and Danish businessman Janus Friis, who had also created the peer-to-peer file-sharing platform Kazaa. Initially, Skype operated on a hybrid peer-to-peer and client-server model. Following Microsoft’s acquisition, the service was fully integrated into Azure.
With its phase-out now imminent, Skype’s legacy as a pioneering VoIP platform will soon come to an end, as Microsoft focuses its efforts on Teams as the primary communication service.