It seems Adobe's given up on UI design (for now)

When Adobe and Figma called off their merger in December, it left Adobe without a UI design tool. The creative software giant had effectively abandoned Adobe XD before closing the merger, halting individual sales of the program and making no major updates.

With the acquisition cancelled due to regulatory pressure, we were wondering if Adobe XD might get resurrected. But Adobe has now ruled that out, and it seems there are no plans for a replacement either (see our Adobe software list to see the main programs that Adobe currently develops).

Bloomberg has reported that Adobe XD will remain in 'maintenance mode' but will get no more investment. Adobe says it will continue to support existing customers but won't be making any major updates.

The Adobe website says: "We want to remind you that Adobe XD continues to be in maintenance mode. This means that we're not investing in ongoing development or shipping new features within the product. We continue to support existing customers by addressing bugs and updating any security or privacy needs while in maintenance mode."

Adobe’s multi-billion dollar deal to by Figma attracted mix reactions. Some Adobe users hoped it would mean the best of both worlds, but there was concern among Figma users that they might see pricing increase, or that they could even end up having to subscribe to Creative Cloud (see the best prices in your area below). Finally, the deal was called off due regulators' view that it would create a monopoly.

However, the reality is that Adobe had already begun to disinvest in XD long before it reached an agreement with Figma, and the software already felt like it had slipped behind competitors among the best UI design tools. While Adobe has made it clear it won't attempt to resurrect XD nor launch a new UI design tool of its own to compete with Figma, it says it is "open to exploring partnerships" in the space. We wonder whether that means collaborations or other acquisition attempts.