Back in spring 2017 when Microsoft released the Windows 10 Creators Update, it came with an app called Paint 3D. This was back when the firm thought we were going to have 3D everything. The average user was going to be making 3D art in Paint 3D, they"d be viewing it on Windows Mixed Reality, adults would be putting this stuff in PowerPoint presentations, and more.
Because of that, Microsoft announced that Paint, which has been part of Windows for decades, was being deprecated that fall. Amid user backlash, it took two days for the company to come out and say that while Paint was going to be removed from the OS, it would live on through what was called the Windows Store at the time.
That never happened. Here we are over three years later, and Paint is finally showing up in the Microsoft Store, as spotted by Aggiornamenti Lumia. It"s not because Microsoft is abandoning it this time. It"s just part of the firm"s greater push to get more apps updated through the Store, as we"re seeing the same thing with Notepad.
Now, the plans are quite the opposite, as Paint 3D is being removed from the OS. Indeed, it would seem that Microsoft was misguided in what it thought that creators would actually want to do, creating a 3D art program instead of a simple video editor.
Nevertheless, the Paint listing is in the Store, but you can"t download it just yet. Not that you"d want to, of course, since Paint is still on everyone"s PC. It will likely be detached from the OS in an Insider Preview build, and while it will still ship with Windows 10, it will be updated through the Store.