Back in 2013 when Adobe announced that all new Creative Suite releases would be done under the Creative Cloud banner as subscription only, they threw a bone at those who insisted on “owning” their software by continuing to offer CS6 as a perpetually licensed version. At the time they stated that it would be offered indefinitely but with the rapid pace that operating systems and hardware have changed it was inevitable that the time would come that CS6 would show its age and sales would end.

That time appears to be approaching. Until very recently, visiting Adobe.com would allow you buy any CS6 product or even get upgrade pricing if you were a CS5 or CS5.5 license holder. Anyone looking to buy CS6 now will be directed to a new page which states:

Let’s be honest: Some software upgrades are necessary, and others are just nice to have. Upgrading from Creative Suite 6 to Adobe Creative Cloud falls into the first category: It’s essential.

CS6 is almost three years old, and Adobe has no plans to update it. Ever. In contrast, Creative Cloud features all the latest creative software, including more than 500 features that have been added since 2012. Want the latest version of Photoshop or Illustrator? You need to join to Creative Cloud.

Yes, you can still buy CS6 products by calling an Adobe call center, but why would you? The features in Creative Cloud will take your creativity further, with more ways to create, collaborate, and share.  To purchase by phone, call 800-585-0774.

I can’t recall anything quite this blunt in all my years of using Adobe products. This is obviously only the first nail in the coffin. How long til sales are discontinued completely? I don’t know but Adobe continued to offer Pagemaker for sale for more than 10 years from the time development was discontinued so I’m guessing that phone number will be valid for a while yet.