Microsoft is closing down Skype, the video-calling service it bought for $8.5 billion in 2011 and which had helped spark a transformation in how people communicate online.

Microsoft announced on Friday that it will be retiring Skype in May and putting all of its video conferencing resources into Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft will soon switch off Skype, a pioneering telecom and video call platform that emerged from the rubble of the dotcom era.