End of an Era: Microsoft's Integration Spells Trouble for WinRAR
Via TechCrunch
Summary
In May 2023, Microsoft announced that Windows 11 would gain native support for RAR and other archive formats — including 7-zip, tar, and gz — by integrating the open-source libarchive project directly into the operating system. The change meant users could open and extract RAR files through File Explorer without needing to install any third-party software, ending a dependency that had existed for nearly three decades.
The update was widely seen as a significant blow to WinRAR, the long-dominant commercial compression utility that generations of users had relied upon specifically for RAR file handling. WinRAR's developer responded diplomatically, stating they felt honoured by Microsoft's decision and expressed hope it would raise awareness of the RAR format, though analysts expected the move to substantially reduce demand for the paid software.
