The end is nigh: Adobe to disable Flash Player by 2020

Adobe has long played a role in advancing interactivity and creative content, from video content, to games and more on the web.

Flash and Shockwave over time, were adopted by the community, in some cases formed the basis for open standards, and became an essential part of the web.

As open standards like HTML5, WebGL and WebAssembly have matured over the past several years, most now provide many of the capabilities and functionalities that plugins pioneered and have become a viable alternative for content on the web.

Today, most browser vendors are integrating capabilities once provided by plugins directly into browsers and deprecating plugins.

Given this progress, Adobe has decided to end the life of Flash Player.

Adobe saying, "In collaboration with several of our technology partners including Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla, Adobe is planning to end-of-life (EOL) Flash.

"Specifically, we will stop updating and distributing the Flash Player at the end of 2020 and encourage content creators to migrate any existing Flash content to these new open formats.

Several industries and businesses have been built around Flash technology, including gaming, education and video content platforms.

Adobe saying they remain committed to supporting Flash through 2020, as customers and partners put their migration plans into place.

"Adobe will continue to support Flash on a number of major OSs and browsers that currently support Flash content through the planned EOL.

"This will include issuing regular security patches, maintaining OS and browser compatibility and adding features and capabilities as needed.

"We remain fully committed to working with partners, including Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Mozilla to maintain the security and compatibility of Flash content.

In addition, they plan to move more aggressively to EOL Flash in certain geographies where unlicensed and outdated versions of Flash Player are being distributed.

Adobe will also remain at the forefront of the development of new web standards and actively participate in their advancement.

This includes continuing to contribute to the HTML5 standard and participating in the WebAssembly Community Group.

Adobe saying, "We'll continue to provide best in class animation and video tools such as Animate CC, the premier web animation tool for developing HTML5 content, and Premiere Pro CC.

"Looking ahead, Adobe will continue to provide the best tools and services for designers and developers to create amazing content for the web.