Microsoft Kills Customizable Skins for Windows Media Player
Microsoft is shutting down a decades-old feature in Windows Media Player (WMP) on November 10, 2026. The company will no longer support skins for WMP Legacy, which allowed users to customize the player's interface and functionality.
Skins were introduced with WMP 7 in 2000, when Microsoft was competing with Winamp for market share. They enabled users to change not only the appearance but also the behavior of the player. This feature brought a level of creativity and customization that is missing from today's media players.
Microsoft wants users to switch to the modern Media Player, which has been criticized for being slow and lacking in features. The new player uses around 377MB of RAM when idle, compared to 103.4MB for Legacy WMP. It also requires users to purchase additional software to play HEVC files.
While Microsoft continues to update the modern Media Player, it needs to improve its performance and add more features before users will choose it over other media players like VLC.