Microsoft Windows Live Messenger Services are going to Expire on October 13th, 2013
It is now confirmed that Microsoft is retiring Windows Live Messenger Instant Messaging in the favor of Skype. Windows Live Messenger will live on in China, with no announced termination date for the service there. Microsoft has already started to motivate people to merge their Windows Live IDs with Skype so they can chat with their messenger on Skype. In a post on the skype blog, Tony Bates, Microsoft President of Skype Division said that Messenger would be retired for all users in the first quarter of 2013, with the only exception being mainland China.
Microsoft has started migrating WLM users to Skype with release of Skype 6.0 few weeks ago. In that addition users could keep to sign in to Skype with with their Microsoft Account.
Also, Brian Hall shares the same message about Messenger’s end on the final post of the Inside Windows Live blog. In it, he addressed Messenger’s 12-year history and users’ subsequent transition away from IM to SMS, as well as social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. “Skype,” says Hall, “became the best way to have video and voice calls (in addition to also letting you IM).” Hall also teases some forthcoming Outlook.com integration, saying, “we will enable Skype to work better with Outlook.com than Messenger ever has too.
UPDATE:
Microsoft is only terminating Windows Live Messenger Client for PC/MAC and the Windows Live IM will work on all 3rd party IM apps and with official Messaging app for Windows 8 and Windows Phone.
