Windows 8.1 MSN apps to be discontinued on June 3

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
published

Time to bid adieu.

Microsoft is set to drop support for its Windows 8.1 MSN apps next month. In a message spotted by Twitter user Brawl345 (via Dr Windows), Microsoft has begun alerting users, through messages in MSN News and MSN Weather, that the apps will be discontinued as of June 3, 2019.

The alert reads (translated from German):

The MSN News app will be discontinued on Monday, June 3, 2019. The app cannot be accessed after this date. We thank you for your interest in the app and for the time spent with us.

Given that Microsoft's focus is now on the Microsoft News and Weather apps for Windows 10, it's not entirely surprising to see that the Windows 8.1 apps will be discontinued soon.

Microsoft has already stopped accepting new app submissions for Windows 8 and 8.1, and it is set to stop distributing app updates to Windows 8 as of July 1, according to a blog post from last August. The same fate awaits app updates for Windows 8.1 devices starting July 1, 2023.

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Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

6 Comments
  • Why I will never get cozy with any apps from the MS store. UWP is not truly universal. If it was then it would have been backwards compatible with Windows 8.1. Now you have a supported OS and dead apps from Microsoft themselves. Good job Microsoft.
  • UWP was never a thing for Windows 8.1. It wasn't introduced until Windows 10. Besides, considering the length of time MS supported any apps for Windows 8.1 to this point has been remarkable, considering Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 are different at their core. Five years is about the industry standard for support of older software.
  • I am saddened by this. I am one of a handful of people (I know LOL) who likes where Microsoft was going with Windows 8, especially when the Surface Pro 3 came out. My main computer is Win10, but I keep another computer attached to a 32 inch TV for entertainment purposes running Windows 8. I tend to leave that Start Screen up for the Live Tile information. And I still use the MSN apps on a Surface I use in the kitchen. Shame, shame. I have a feeling that someday we are going to circle back to this style of app - metro style, flat, clean look. My hope anyway.
  • Sad to see them go. My e-mail is still @msn.com back when the two options were MSN or AOL
  • whatever. The weather app on my Surface RT hasn't worked for a year or so. It always pops up a "New version of this app is available" (or something like that) message that redirects me to the old store, but nothing is ever found, downloaded, or installed. :(
  • Your store cache is corrupted.