Microsoft Encarta was a digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft from . While it was primarily a paid commercial product, limited free versions existed through the Encarta Concise Encyclopedia online and ad-supported web articles before its eventual discontinuation. Today, the software is considered abandonware and is often found for free on archival sites like Internet Archive . Historical Overview and Development
Microsoft announced the discontinuation of Encarta in March 2009, citing shifts in how people consume information. Microsoft Encarta Retrospective Encarta Encyclopedia Free Software
: After the encyclopedia was discontinued, the online dictionary remained accessible for free until 2011 . Discontinuation and Legacy : It originally debuted at $395 , though
: Famous for the MindMaze trivia game, where players explored a medieval castle by answering encyclopedia-based questions. After being rejected by Encyclopædia Britannica
: It originally debuted at $395 , though this price quickly dropped to $99 as it became frequently bundled with new multimedia PCs.
: Starting in 2000, a subset of the full encyclopedia was available for free online, supported by advertisements.
Encarta was born from Microsoft's internal project in the late 1980s. After being rejected by Encyclopædia Britannica , Microsoft licensed text from Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia for its initial 1993 release.
