No, Microsoft Project desktop is not being retired. It remains the “gold standard” for complex project scheduling and will continue to be supported and available for purchase.
Confusion often arises because Microsoft has announced the retirement of several related cloud-based and web-based services. Here is the current status of the Microsoft Project ecosystem:
Products Being Retired
- Project Online: This service will officially retire on September 30, 2026. After this date, Project Online environments and data will no longer be accessible.
- Project for the Web: Retired as a standalone brand and was fully merged into the new Microsoft Planner in 2024/2025.
- Project/Roadmap Apps in Teams: These were retired in August 2025 and replaced by the unified Planner experience.
Products Staying Active
- Project Desktop (Project Professional/Standard): Not impacted by the cloud service retirements. You can still use it to manage
.mppfiles locally or connect it to alternative backend systems like Project Server SE. - Project Server Subscription Edition (SE): This on-premises/self-hosted version will remain supported through at least 2031. It is the recommended migration path for organizations that want to keep the “Project Web App” (PWA) interface without using the retired Project Online cloud service.
- Microsoft Planner: Now serves as the primary cloud-based project management tool, absorbing the features of Project for the Web.
Key Dates for Project Online Users:
- October 1, 2025: End of sale for new Project Online subscriptions.
- April 2, 2026: SharePoint 2013 workflows (which many Project Online users rely on) will be retired.
- September 30, 2026: Full shutdown of Project Online.
PROject Templates 