From PC World: As Microsoft Word and PowerPoint continually improve their feature sets, the two apps are slowly strangling one of Microsoft’s traditional Office apps: Microsoft Publisher.
Microsoft now says that Microsoft Publisher will disappear in October 2026, where the (ahem) “perpetual version” of Publisher will be discontinued — at least in terms of support. At that time, Publisher will also be removed from Microsoft 365 and subscribers will not be able to access it from that date forward.
If you’re a Publisher fan, Microsoft is throwing you a lifeline: You can download and use Publisher via M365 until the 2026 cutoff date. You can also buy Publisher. Even after the October 2026 date comes and goes, the perpetual version will still work, and you’ll be able to open and edit your Publisher files. But the app won’t be officially supported, so in the off chance that a vulnerability crops up, Microsoft won’t patch it. Microsoft won’t be adding any new features, either.
Why is Microsoft doing this? Its support page (thanks, Windows Latest) suggests an answer: Because Word and PowerPoint are doing everything Publisher does. Microsoft is now referring Publisher users to use Word for such projects as envelopes or letterhead, and either Word or PowerPoint for designing your own business cards.
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