Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 28, 2026

Adobe Creative Suite

Adobe Creative Suite (CS) is a discontinued software suite of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications developed by Adobe Systems.

Last revised
May 28, 2026
Read time
≈ 13 min
Length
3,048 w
Citations
46
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Adobe Creative Suite
DeveloperAdobe Systems
Initial releaseSeptember 29, 2003 (2003-09-29)
Final release
Creative Suite 6 / May 7, 2012 (2012-05-07)
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows, OS X
PlatformIA-32 (some applications 64-bit only beginning with CS5)

PowerPC (up to CS4; some applications Intel-only in CS3 and CS4)

x86-64 (some applications beginning with CS4)
SuccessorAdobe Creative Cloud
TypeDigital media creation and editing
LicenseProprietary
Websitewww.adobe.com/products/cs6.html Edit this on Wikidata

Adobe Creative Suite (CS) is a discontinued set of software suites containing various applications targeted at photographers, artists, designers, filmmakers, programmers, and other digital media disciplines, developed by Adobe Systems.

The Creative Suite product line replaced several earlier "collection" bundles previously sold by Adobe and saw the introduction of a unified brand across its included applications.1

In March 2013, it was reported that Adobe would no longer sell boxed copies of the Creative Suite software, instead offering digital downloads and monthly subscriptions.2 Later, on May 6, 2013, Adobe announced that Creative Suite 6 would be the final version released,345 shifting their focus to the subscription Creative Cloud product.

Applications

Adobe sold Creative Suite-branded applications standalone, and in several different combinations called "editions". The final version, Adobe Creative Suite 6, was sold in four editions:

  • Design Standard containing the core applications Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Acrobat.
  • Design & Web Premium which was a superset of the Design Standard edition, adding Flash, Dreamweaver, and other applications for website designers and web app developers.
  • Production Premium, containing headline applications Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Audition, alongside other applications targeted at audiovisual media post-production.
  • Master Collection, which bundled all applications included in the other editions.

The following table shows the different details of the core applications in the various Adobe Creative Suite versions and editions.

Product name CS version Available in Transitioned to Creative Cloud
Acrobat since CS All editions except Standard (CS and CS2); Web Standard and Production Premium (CS3 onwards) Moved to separate Adobe Document Cloud product
After Effects since CS3 Production Premium, Master Collection Yes
Audition since CS5.5
Bridge since CS2 All editions
Contribute from CS3 until CS5.5 Web Standard, Web Premium, Master Collection No, discontinued
Device Central All editions
Dreamweaver since CS3 Premium (CS2.3), all editions except Design Standard and Production Premium (CS3 onwards) Yes
Dynamic Link since Production Studio Premium (2006) Production Studio Premium (2006); Production Premium, Master Collection (CS3 onwards)
Encore (formerly Encore DVD) No, discontinued
Fireworks since CS3 All editions except Design Standard and Production Premium (CS3.3 onwards); not included in original CS3 Design Premium edition
Flash Builder since CS5 Web Premium and Master Collection Discontinued in 2019
Flash Catalyst from CS5 until CS5.5 All editions except Design Standard No, discontinued
Flash Professional since CS3 Renamed to "Animate" in 2015; development of new features stopped in 20266
GoLive until CS2 Premium (CS and CS2) No, replaced by Dreamweaver
Illustrator since CS All editions except Production Studio Standard (2006) and Web Standard Yes
ImageReady until CS2 All editions (part of Photoshop until CS3) No, some features merged into Photoshop; otherwise replaced by Fireworks
InCopy Standalone product never included in a Creative Suite edition Yes
InDesign since CS All editions except Production Studio editions (2006), and Web Standard and Production Premium (CS3 onwards)
Lightroom Standalone product never included in a Creative Suite edition
Media Encoder since CS5.5 All editions
OnLocation from CS3 until CS5.5 Production Premium, Master Collection No, replaced by Prelude
Photoshop since CS All editions (until CS3); in CS3 onwards, Design Standard only (all other editions include Photoshop Extended, except Web Standard which does not include any version of Photoshop) Yes
Photoshop Extended since CS3 All editions except Design Standard and Web Standard No - this was an edition of Photoshop containing extra features; these were merged into the standard application with Creative Cloud
Prelude since CS6 Production Premium, Master Collection Removed in 2021, features merged into Premiere Pro7
Premiere Pro since CS3 Yes
Soundbooth from CS3 to CS5 Replaced by Audition
SpeedGrade CS6 only Discontinued in 2017, Premiere Pro contains its functionality in its Lumetri Color panel since 2014
Stock Photos until CS3 All editions Discontinued in 2008; similar Adobe Stock service launched in 2015
Story Plus Standalone product never included in a Creative Suite edition Discontinued in 20198
Ultra CS3 only Production Premium, Master Collection No, discontinued
Version Cue from CS to CS4 All editions

History

Creative Suite and Creative Suite 2

The Adobe Creative Suite 2 logo source ↗

The first version of Adobe Creative Suite was released in September 2003,9 and Creative Suite 2 in April 2005.10 The first two versions of the Creative Suite were available in two editions.

The Standard edition included:

The Premium edition adds Acrobat and GoLive.

Creative Suite Production Studio was a separate product line for Windows only, sold alongside Creative Suite 2. Its Standard edition consisted of:

The Premium edition upgraded After Effects to the Professional edition and added the following applications:

Following Adobe's 2005 acquisition of Macromedia, Adobe introduced a range of bundles adding various Macromedia products to Creative Suite 2 Premium and Creative Suite Production Studio Premium.1112

On September 18, 2006, Adobe announced Creative Suite 2.3 Premium. This upgraded Acrobat to version 8 and added Macromedia Dreamweaver; Adobe announced that it intended to replace GoLive with Dreamweaver in future versions of the Creative Suite. The Standard edition and Production Studio products were not updated as they did not include Acrobat and GoLive.1314

Shutdown of activation servers

Adobe shut down the activation servers for Creative Suite 2, Creative Suite Production Studio, and Acrobat 7 products in December 2012. Adobe subsequently released replacement installers and serial numbers that did not require product activation.151617 Because the software was made available on a public web page without requiring proof of purchase or an Adobe Account, it was widely misreported that the software had become freeware. Adobe released a statement that the activation-free release was intended only for people who had "legitimately purchased" the original software.1819

Creative Suite 3

The Adobe Creative Suite 3 logo source ↗

Adobe Creative Suite 3 (CS3) was announced on March 27, 2007.

CS3 integrated the Dreamweaver, Flash Professional and Fireworks applications from the former Macromedia Studio product line into Adobe's Creative Suite branding and user interface design. CS3 introduced OnLocation and Ultra, initially developed by Serious Magic; itself acquired by Adobe in 2006.

Adobe dropped the following programs that were previously included in CS2:20

Adobe had announced that GoLive was to be discontinued, while Audition would be developed separately. GoLive 9, the final version, was released as a standalone product on June 10, 2007. Audition 3 was announced as a standalone product on September 6, 2007; it would later become part of the Creative Suite lineup again in 2011.

For Mac users, CS3 introduced the previously Windows-only Premiere Pro and Encore to the Mac. Those two applications as well as Soundbooth only support Intel Macs. All other applications are universal binaries, supporting PowerPC G4, G5 and Intel Macs. OnLocation is Windows-only; Adobe recommended Mac users to have a separate Windows machine or use Boot Camp to access it.21

Adobe sold Creative Suite 3 in six editions. All editions except Production Premium and Master Collection were released on April 16, 2007; those two editions shipped later on July 2, 2007. On June 2, 2008, Adobe released Creative Suite 3.3, a minor update adding Fireworks CS3 to the Design Premium edition and upgrading Acrobat in all editions that shipped it to version 9. The Production Premium edition did not receive this upgrade as it did not include Acrobat.22

CS3's activation servers were shut down in 2017. Adobe offered activation-free replacement installers until mid-way through 2019. Unlike with CS2, Adobe required users to sign in with an Adobe Account and register their original serial number in order to access the replacement installers and serial numbers.23

Below is a matrix of the applications included in each edition of CS3:

Creative Suite 4

Adobe Creative Suite 4 logo source ↗

Adobe Creative Suite 4 (CS4) was announced on September 23, 2008, and officially released on October 15, 2008.24 Almost all applications in CS4 feature a redesigned, unified user interface.25

On Windows, Photoshop was offered as a native 64-bit application that could be installed alongside the 32-bit version. In early testing of 64-bit support in Photoshop CS4, overall performance gains ranged from 8% to 12%, due to the fact that 64-bit applications could address larger amounts of memory.26 After Effects CS4 and Premiere Pro CS4 included optimizations for 64-bit computers, but were not yet native 64-bit applications.27

The Mac version of CS4 did not include any 64-bit applications,28 and was the last version to include universal binaries.29 Like in CS3, Premiere Pro, Encore and Soundbooth are Intel-only; After Effects newly became Intel-only in CS4. A native Mac version of OnLocation was introduced in CS4, also for Intel Macs only.

Adobe Ultra was not included in CS4, and the Adobe Stock Photos was discontinued prior to CS4's release.

Unlike prior versions, CS4 did not receive a mid-life upgrade. Its activation servers were taken offline in 2020, and no replacement installer was offered.

Below is a matrix of the applications that were bundled in each of the software suites for CS4:

Creative Suite 5

The Adobe Creative Suite 5 logo source ↗

Adobe Creative Suite 5 (CS5) was released on April 30, 2010.30

The Windows versions of Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 and Adobe After Effects CS5 became 64-bit only, and require at least Windows Vista.31 All other applications require at least Windows XP.

The Mac versions of the CS5 programs were significantly rewritten in an effort to modernize the codebase, with all applications now requiring 64-bit Intel Macs.32

Adobe Version Cue was removed from the CS5 line-up, and there was no Web Standard edition.

Below is a matrix of the applications that were bundled in each of the software suites for CS5:

Creative Suite 5.5

Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 (CS5.5) was announced on April 12, 2011. Unlike previous mid-life upgrades, CS5.5 functioned as a completely separate version and added new features to several applications across the suite, with a focus particularly on newly-popular tablet computers and delivering content on the web with HTML 5, relatively new at the time.33

Applications that were upgraded included After Effects, Device Central, Dreamweaver, Flash Catalyst, Flash Professional, InDesign, and Premiere Pro.34 Acrobat was upgraded from version 9.3 to version X, and Audition replaced Soundbooth. A screenwriting application named Story was introduced as a standalone application, not included in any of the CS5.5 editions.

Below is a matrix of the applications that were bundled in each edition of CS5.5:

Creative Suite 6 and discontinuation

Adobe Creative Suite 6 (CS6) was launched at a release event April 23, 2012,35 and began shipping on May 7, 2012.36 Alongside CS6, Adobe launched its present-day subscription service, Adobe Creative Cloud.37

CS6 saw the merger of the previously separate Design Premium and Web Premium editions into one named "Design & Web Premium", and the introduction of new applications SpeedGrade and Prelude. The below matrix lists the applications included in the four editions of CS6:

On May 5, 2013, during the opening keynote of its Adobe MAX conference, Adobe announced that it was retiring the "Creative Suite" branding entirely in favor of "Creative Cloud", and making all future feature updates to its software available via the Creative Cloud subscription service; perpetual licenses were to be discontinued.38 Adobe's decision to make the subscription service the only sales route for its creative software was met with strong criticism.3940

As subscription software, customers must pay a subscription fee or they will lose access to the applications. It was noted that Creative Cloud's file formats were not entirely backwards-compatible with Creative Suite, potentially causing users who tried Creative Cloud then went back to Creative Suite to lose work.414243

In addition to many of the products formerly part of the Creative Suite, Creative Cloud also added services and products such as Adobe Muse44 and the Adobe Edge family,44 web-based file and website hosting, Typekit fonts, and access to the Behance social media platform.38

References

References

  1. "Adobe unveils Creative Suite". Macworld. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  2. Robertson, Adi (March 13, 2013). "Adobe 'phasing out' boxed copies of Creative Suite and Acrobat". TheVerge. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  3. Cunningham, Andrew (6 May 2013). "Adobe's Creative Suite is dead, long live the Creative Cloud". Ars Technica.
  4. "Adobe heralds subscription-only future for Photoshop and Creative Suite". Digital Photography Review. Archived from the original on 2013-06-22. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  5. Campbell-Dollaghan, Kelsey (6 May 2013). "Say Goodbye to Creative Suite: Adobe CS Is Now Creative Cloud". Gizmondo.
  6. "Update on the status of Adobe Animate | Community". community.adobe.com. 2026-02-03. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  7. Voss, Olaf von (2021-08-17). "Adobe Prelude Discontinued – What's Next?". CineD. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  8. Koss, Nakiesha. "Adobe Exits Scriptwriting Software Business with End of Adobe Story CC". blog.adobe.com. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  9. "Creative Suite" (press release). Adobe. Archived from the original on May 9, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  10. "Creative Suite 2" (press release). Adobe. Archived from the original on April 1, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  11. http://www.adobe.com/ap/products/bundles/pdfs/adobe_bundles_datasheet.pdf
  12. http://www.adobe.com/ap/products/bundles/pdfs/adobe_bundles_faq.pdf
  13. https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/adobe-announces-acrobat-8-professional-creative-suite-2-3-adds-dreamweaver/
  14. "New Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional Enhances Adobe Creative Suite 2.3". Adobe Systems. 18 September 2006. Archived from the original on 23 March 2007. Retrieved 10 January 2014. Adobe Creative Suite 2.3 Premium also bundles Dreamweaver® 8
  15. "CS2 downloads". Adobe. 2013-01-01. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
  16. "Adobe Community: Looking to activate Creative Suite 2, Acrobat 7, or Macromedia products?". Adobe. 2002-07-21. Archived from the original on 2016-12-18. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  17. "Adobe CS2 Downloads". Adobe. 2013-01-08. Archived from the original on January 8, 2013.
  18. "Adobe CS2 Downloads". Adobe. 2013-01-24. Archived from the original on 2013-01-08. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  19. "Adobe CS2 is Now Available for Free, Sort Of". Mobile Magazine. 2013-01-14. Archived from the original on 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
  20. "New Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional Enhances Adobe Creative Suite 2.3". Adobe. 2006-09-18. Archived from the original on March 23, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-24.
  21. "Adobe - Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection : System requirements". www.adobe.com. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  22. "Press Room: For immediate release". Adobe. 2009-07-14. Archived from the original on 2010-03-14. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  23. "Activation or connection error when starting CS3 or Acrobat 8". helpx.adobe.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  24. "Adobe Creative Suite 4 Now Shipping" (PDF) (press release). Adobe. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  25. "Adobe Creative Suite 4 Software Brings Unprecedented Efficiency via a Unified Application Interface". Atelier-us. 2008-10-07. Archived from the original on 2009-05-03. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  26. "FAQ". Photoshop CS4. Adobe. 2009-07-14. Archived from the original on February 18, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  27. "Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium 64-bit Optimization White Paper" (PDF). Adobe. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 14, 2010. Retrieved 2013-01-11.
  28. "Adobe CS4 will be 64-bit, but only on Windows". Beta news. 3 April 2008. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  29. "System Requirements (CS4, Point Products)". Adobe. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  30. "Adobe Creative Suite 5 Starts Shipping". PC World. Archived from the original on 2010-05-03. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  31. "Is CS5 64-Bit-Only? And Other Top Questions Answered | ProDesignTools". 28 April 2010.
  32. "Goodnight, Suite RISC…". John Nack on Adobe. 2009-08-12. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
  33. "Introducing Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Product Family (Adobe Featured Blogs)". blogs.adobe.com. Archived from the original on 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  34. "Introducing Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Product Family (Adobe Featured Blogs)". blogs.adobe.com. Archived from the original on 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  35. "Adobe CS 6 Release" (press release). 2012-04-23.
  36. Crosby, Connor (2012-04-23). "Adobe Announces CS6, Ships May 7th?". EditingWhiz. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  37. "Creative Cloud". Products. Adobe. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  38. Yeung, Ken (2013-05-06). "Adobe Abandons Its Creative Suite to Focus on Creative Cloud". The next Web. Retrieved 2013-05-26.
  39. "Online Petition Against Adobe's Creative Cloud Approaches 9,000", PC Mag.
  40. "Analysis: The real reason Adobe ditched Creative Suite for Creative Cloud", DigitalArts, UK, archived from the original on 2017-07-03, retrieved 2013-05-16.
  41. "Adobe casts cloud on budgets", The Columbian, 2013-06-02.
  42. Open Letter to Adobe about the Creative Cloud Subscription Model, DE: Phisch eye, 2013-05-08, archived from the original on 2013-11-03, retrieved 2013-06-16.
  43. "Creative Cloud Complaints Darken Adobe's View of the Future", TidBITS, 17 May 2013.
  44. "Max 2013: What's New with Adobe CC Design Products". Mac life. Archived from the original on 2015-09-12.
External links