However, Microsoft later clarified in a blog post on its website saying: "The original art app isn't going anywhere - except to the Windows Store for free!" Following an outcry from fans on Monday, Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30) said the app will soon land in the Windows Store for free. "In the future, we will offer MS Paint in the Windows Store also for free, and continue to provide new updates and experiences to Paint 3D so people have the best creative tools all in one place," a Microsoft spokesperson told CNN Tech late Monday night. Paint was on Microsoft's list of "deprecated" features for future software releases, which means it's "not in active development" and could be removed soon. The program, first released in 1985 with the first version of Windows 1.0, was said to be slated for removal in the Windows 10 Fall Creators update, The Guardian reported on Monday. Microsoft has responded to an outpouring of online grief over the reported phasing out of its app Paint from future versions of Windows, saying the app will still be available - but on the Windows Store. Microsoft said in a blog post it saw an “incredible outpouring of support and nostalgia around MS Paint” on Monday and that the program is “here to stay.”

As of last year, the app still had over 100 million monthly users. She wrote: "MS Paint is here to stay, it will just have a new home soon, in the Windows Store where it will be available for free." This could be problematic for employees using work computers, who may not have administrative privileges to install apps like Paint from the Windows Store. However, it appears that the app will not come pre-installed in Windows 10 Creators Update versions. Microsoft unveiled the spinoff drawing app last October and says it has integrated many of MS Paint's main functions into the program.
Amid a public backlash, Microsoft reneges on its decision to end its Paint program and states that it will be placed on its app store rather than bundled with future editions of Windows.