Microsoft released a new preview build of Windows 11 on March 9, where it announced a surprise new app called ClipChamp.
This allows you to create videos, edit video clips, and gives you access to plenty of stock photos and videos that you can use for your projects, but you need to pay a monthly subscription in order to use these features.
ClipChamp is rolling out to users who are on Windows Insider build 22572 and above. If you’ve not signed up to be a Windows Insider to help test early versions of Windows 11, this app should appear later this year in the upcoming ‘Sun Valley 2‘ update.
It looks as though Microsoft is looking through its back catalog of apps, such as Paint and Windows Media Player, and seeing what could work in 2022. In some ways, ClipChamp is the return of the iconic Movie Maker, and looks to appease casual users who just want to edit clips on the fly, or make their home movies look a little more professional, as long as you pay a monthly fee that is.
Analysis: What’s old is new again, almost
Microsoft has been both reviving its apps for Windows 11, and refreshing others that have not been updated in years, such as Paint and Snipping Tool.
Movie Maker was a useful tool back in the days of Windows XP in 2001, where you could place random transitions and effects over your photos and videos, then share it through MSN Messenger.
It launched with Windows Me in 2000, a short-lived upgrade to Windows 98, and was supported until 2014, but Movie Maker hadn’t seen any major new features since 2007. With the increase of other apps and websites that could edit video, alongside being able to do the same features on social media apps on your smartphones, Movie Maker faded into irrelevance.
However, nostalgia is powerful thing, and many of us fondly remember the apps that we used to have as part of our childhoods, and for some, Movie Maker is a big part of this. There are most likely users out there who have videography careers in 2022 thanks to Movie Maker introducing them to video editing when they were younger.
ClipChamp looks to do the same for users in Windows 11, with a modern design that is reminiscent of Movie Maker, all while bringing modern features.
But for a $9 / £8 / AU$ 10 monthly price to allow for unlimited cloud storage, access to the stock content, and 1080p exports, it may be an example of Microsoft taking one step forward, two steps back in what users have been asking for.
Via Windows Blog