Goodbye, Skype: The Video Call Pioneer That Brought the World Closer Is Signing Off
After more than two decades of helping people stay connected across continents, Microsoft is officially retiring Skype in May. The iconic video-calling platform that once revolutionized online communication is being phased out as Microsoft shifts its focus to Teams, its more modern and business-oriented communication tool.
For many of us, Skype was the first taste of what it meant to connect face-to-face with someone across the world—without racking up a massive phone bill. Whether it was catching up with family overseas, collaborating with colleagues remotely, or even interviewing for jobs abroad, Skype made the world feel a little smaller.
“It made good-quality video calls something regular people could use—not just big execs in boardrooms,” said Barbara Larson, a management professor at Northeastern University who studies virtual work. “It brought people closer in a very real way.”
Launched in 2003 by a group of Estonian engineers, Skype was a trailblazer. Using VOIP (voice over internet protocol), it turned our voices into digital signals and sent them across the web, allowing free or cheap calls around the world. It added video later, and by 2011, when Microsoft acquired it for $8.5 billion from eBay, Skype had already become a household name with 170 million users. At the time, even Microsoft’s then-CEO Steve Ballmer noted that “Skype had become a verb.”
For a while, Skype stayed relevant—even making headlines in 2017 when the Trump administration used it to bring journalists into press briefings remotely. But the digital communication landscape was evolving. In that same year, Microsoft launched Teams to better compete with Slack and others rising in the business chat space.
Then came the pandemic. As Zoom, Teams, and other platforms exploded in popularity for both work and personal connection, Skype quietly faded into the background. Still, its impact endures.
“Skype showed us that good communication tools can deepen relationships, help solve complex problems, and make people feel truly connected—even when they’re far apart,” Larson said. “All you needed was a decent internet connection.”
Now, with Microsoft rolling Skype’s core features into Teams, users will still be able to stay connected—just under a new name. But for many, the memories of those late-night video calls, virtual reunions, and long-distance job interviews will always be synonymous with Skype.
It’s the end of an era, but also a reminder of how far we’ve come in bridging distance with technology.
