Microsoft announces Skype to shut down on May 5, replaced by Teams

Skype, the once-dominant internet calling service that revolutionized global communication, will officially shut down on May 5, 2025, Microsoft announced on Friday. The decision to retire the platform, which was founded in 2003, marks the end of an era for a service that played a pivotal role in how people connected across borders for nearly two decades.

Skype’s rise to prominence in the early 2000s disrupted the telecommunications industry with its free voice and video calls, making it a household name and garnering millions of users. At its peak, the platform boasted hundreds of millions of active users. Skype became so ingrained in everyday life that its name became synonymous with video calling, with people “Skyping” one another just as commonly as they “Googled” something.

However, in recent years, Skype has struggled to maintain its relevance in an increasingly crowded market. Newer, more user-friendly services like Zoom, FaceTime, and Google Hangouts quickly overtook Skype’s dominance, especially with the rise of smartphones and mobile-first technology. Despite a brief resurgence during the COVID-19 pandemic, Skype’s user base steadily declined. By 2020, the service had just 23 million active users, a far cry from its peak of 150 million when Microsoft acquired the company in 2011 for $8.5 billion, outbidding rivals like Google and Facebook.

Microsoft, which has long struggled to integrate Skype into its suite of productivity tools, has increasingly shifted its focus to Teams. The collaboration platform, launched in 2017, has become the centerpiece of Microsoft’s strategy to capture the business and enterprise market. Teams quickly gained traction by integrating seamlessly with other Microsoft Office products, making it an essential tool for remote work and virtual meetings, particularly during the pandemic.

The decision to phase out Skype comes as Microsoft looks to simplify its communication offerings and double down on Teams, which has grown to be the go-to solution for businesses and organizations worldwide. Microsoft’s move to retire Skype reflects its shift towards consolidating its communication products under a single, more reliable platform.

To ease the transition for Skype users, Microsoft will allow them to sign into Teams for free using their existing Skype credentials. Contacts and chat histories will be automatically migrated to Teams, ensuring a smooth shift to the new platform. While the closure of Skype marks the end of a significant chapter in the tech world, it also marks the evolution of digital communication towards a more integrated, business-focused future.