Microsoft is pulling the plug on Publisher. What now?

It’s the end of a very long era: As of October 2026, Microsoft Publisher, in the company’s words, “will reach its end of life.” That makes it 35 years since the desktop publishing tool was launched back in 1991. What does reaching end of life mean? That depends on what version of Publisher you use. If you get Publisher as part of Microsoft 365, it truly means the end of the road. After October 1, Publisher will no longer be available to those who use it as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription. Your personal publisher files (.PUB) won’t be deleted, but you won’t be able to open them in Publisher anymore — and most other desktop publishing software can’t open PUB files. If you have a copy of Publisher that is part of Office 2021 or Office LTSC 2021 (Office Long-Term Servicing Channel 2021, for business and government computers), there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that those versions of Publisher (sometimes called “perpetual” versions) won’t die. You’ll still be able to use the software to create new files, open and edit old ones, and so on. However, there is a caveat: After October 13, 2026, Publisher won’t be supported by Microsoft. That means it won’t get any updates…

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