Microsoft Encarta Online Jun 2026

However, the , virtual tours , and interactive 3D models are largely lost to time, locked in dead file formats (like early Shockwave and Java applets). A few hobbyists run emulation projects, but legal restrictions from Microsoft prevent full preservation.

The shutdown of Microsoft Encarta Online was announced in March 2009, with the service fully closing by October 31, 2009. The official reason: "The category of traditional encyclopedias has changed." But the real reasons were threefold: microsoft encarta online