If you have a Windows PC, the best way to replay old Flash content is with FlashPoint, a free program with more than 70,000 web games and 8,000 animations, most of which are Flash-based. Taking a little nostalgia trip might be one of the most comforting ways to wind down a brutal year. While the official version of Flash is going away, there are still plenty of ways to relive the plug-in’s glory days. (Facebook will axe its own Flash game catalog on December 31, taking FarmVille down with it.)Īll of which might explain why, over the past few years, several independent efforts have emerged to preserve Flash content. Flash gaming eventually became an even bigger business as Zynga’s runaway success with FarmvVille led to the rise of social gaming. Just as importantly, it was also an essential tool for aspiring online creators in the mid- to late-aughts, their work appearing on web portals like Newgrounds, Armor Games, and Kongregate. Adobe itself gave up on Flash three years ago, when it first announced its plans to kill off the plug-in at the end of 2020. Web standards such as HTML5 and JavaScript have made Flash superfluous on desktop browsers. It never gained traction on mobile devices-Apple wouldn’t allow Flash on iOS, and Android support was short-lived. For many years, the plug-in has been notorious for causing crashes, introducing security holes, and making websites feel unnecessarily bloated. On January 12, even people who still have Flash installed will be locked out as Adobe blocks Flash content from running within the Flash Player software.Īdobe Flash’s death feels more like cause for celebration than mourning. Major web browsers such as Google’s Chrome and Apple’s Safari will disable Flash at the end of the year, and Adobe is already encouraging users to uninstall the plug-in from their computers. The once-mighty browser plug-in, which used to be essential for watching web videos, playing casual online games, and visiting bad restaurant websites, received its last update on December 8.

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