14 DAY TRIAL // Even though Microsoft initially planned to shut down Windows Live Messenger on March 15, the company is working on a phased retirement that will officially begin on April 8.
According to ZDNet, English-speaking countries will be the first to be forced to move to Skype or to other clients, while the transition will officially end on April 30 with Portuguese users.
The desktop version of Messenger is the first one to be retired, even though the iOS build has no longer been available since January. Parri Munsell, director of Marketing Integration for Skype, claims that most WLM consumers are actually using the desktop version of the app, so it’s easy to see why the company is trying to get rid of this version first.
As always, all users are recommended to make the move to Skype, as the company is already providing several resources to make the transition easier for everybody.
And still, third-party clients that support the Messenger services will continue to live on, so in case you’re currently a Trillian or a Pidgin fan, there’s nothing to worry about. At least for now.