‘It could’ve been Discord’: Microsoft shut down Skype after 22 years. Now it’s being accused of killing the app

After more than two decades of helping people connect across the world, Microsoft officially shut down Skype on May 5.

The once-iconic platform that brought us internet voice calls, video chats, and those signature ringtone sounds is no longer available.

For users who still rely on it, Microsoft is pointing them to Teams. The company says existing Skype usernames and passwords will work on the free version of Microsoft Teams, and users’ chats and contacts will transfer over automatically.

For those who don’t want to make the switch, there’s an option to export chat history and data.

Users online have other theories

Some people aren't just mourning Skype—they’re questioning why it was shut down in the first place.

On TikTok, user @philrosenn posted a video saying Skype didn’t fail on its own. According to him, Microsoft dropped the ball—or worse, it never intended to play the game at all.

“Microsoft is shutting down Skype, but the real story isn't that this platform failed,” he says at the start of the clip. “Skype was the greatest missed opportunity in tech history.”

He goes on to explain how big Skype once was. “In 2003, it was the platform for free internet calls, and by 2011, it had 300 million users. It was so dominant that Microsoft paid 8.5 billion to acquire it.”

But even as video calling became essential, Skype didn’t keep up. “Imagine if Microsoft had done with Skype what Meta did with WhatsApp,” he says. “Or what if it powered social media video calls before Instagram and TikTok made them mainstream?”

Instead, Microsoft shifted its focus to Teams. “I don’t think Skype was just another tech casualty,” he says. “It was the missed opportunity of a generation.”

The video, which garnered over 22,600 views, ends with a more pointed theory. “It could have been WhatsApp. It could have been Zoom; it could have been Discord,” he concludes. “Instead, it became a footnote. Maybe Microsoft never acquired Skype to make it great but to make sure that no one else could.”

@philrosennn Microsoft is shutting down Skype - but it actually killed Skype a long time ago #skype #microsoft #tech #investing ♬ original sound - Phil

Commenters share their thoughts 

Some users were just sad to see it go. “I remember skyping with my family overseas or just my friends locally—that’s so sad,” one person wrote.

Others blamed Microsoft’s timing. “Microsoft has a lot of great ideas… that come at the wrong time,” someone said.

But not everyone agreed it was a failure. “Teams. They renamed Skype Teams,” one commenter argued. “And during COVID they had so many schools on board. They didn’t fumble the bag. They renamed it.”

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The post ‘It could’ve been Discord’: Microsoft shut down Skype after 22 years. Now it’s being accused of killing the app appeared first on The Daily Dot.

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