Microsoft to shut down Skype in May after 22 years

Microsoft is set to permanently retire Skype, its pioneering videoconferencing platform, in May 2025. According to reports, a message in the latest Skype for Windows preview confirms the platform’s impending shutdown.

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Launched in 2003 and acquired by Microsoft in 2011, Skype was once a dominant force in online communication. Over the years, however, its relevance diminished, especially after Microsoft introduced Teams in 2017 as a competitor to Slack. Teams quickly gained traction among businesses, emerging as the preferred collaboration tool.

Skype’s decline was marked by a series of changes, including the removal of Windows Live Messenger and an unsuccessful attempt to integrate it into Windows 10 in 2015. With speculation about its eventual retirement circulating for years, Microsoft now appears ready to pull the plug.

Users will soon receive prompts encouraging them to migrate to Teams, which has already absorbed many Skype features. The transition message suggests that some contacts have already moved to Teams, reinforcing Microsoft’s strategy to consolidate its communication platforms.

While an official announcement from Microsoft is awaited, the message in Skype’s preview strongly indicates that the platform’s days are numbered. The shutdown marks the end of an era for a service that revolutionized online video calls but ultimately lost its foothold in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.