Microsoft to pull the plug on Windows Live Messenger

Microsoft Corp has announced that its Windows Live Messenger application will be discontinued from Oct 31, after 15 years.

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 3 Sept 2014, 03:16 PM
Updated : 3 Sept 2014, 04:45 PM

The service remains in use only in China – where the final switch-off will take place.

It was discontinued in other markets in 2013 after Microsoft purchased Skype, aiming to switch users over to that platform.

Tech website Mashable reported that Chinese Windows Live users received emails from Microsoft on Thursday informing them of the planned closure.

The emails told users they would get free Skype credit when they migrated to the new service.

Launched in 1999, the service was designed to compete with AOL’s AOL Instant Messenger, or AIM. Microsoft’s app had as many as 300 million users as recently as 2010.

When the service was down to about 100 million users in 2012, Microsoft announced it would merge its remnants with Skype, which boasted an active user base of more than 600 million.

Tech Times reported that the move to kill MSN Messenger in China was prompted by the growing popularity of the rival chat service QQ run by the local giant Tencent Holdings.

During the software's lifetime, Microsoft added more features to the service, including custom emoticons, games like Minesweeper and Tick-tack-toe that could be played between users, and a super-annoying nudge function that would shake a friend’s chat window to grab their attention.