Microsoft to Add Native Support for RAR Files on Windows 11

It’s the end of an era. Microsoft’s Windows 11 desktop operating system will be saying goodbye to the popular WinRAR app and replacing it with native RAR support. The news has been met with mixed reactions from users, with some feeling nostalgic and others relieved that they won’t have to pay for a lifetime license. In this article, we take a look at the departure of WinRAR and the implications of Windows 11’s new RAR capabilities.

Farewell WinRAR — Welcome native RAR support

WinRAR has been a staple of Windows users since its creation in 1993 by Russian software engineer Eugene Roshal. It’s been a reliable tool for compressing and decompressing files in the popular RAR format for over two decades. But now, with Windows 11’s native RAR support, users will no longer have to rely on the WinRAR app.

WinRAR is technically trialware, and after a certain period of time, users are expected to pay a once-off fee of $29 (R558 excl. VAT) for a lifetime license. But, as its creator intended, it was easy to bypass this and simply continue using the app without paying.

You Won’t Be Missed

The announcement of Windows 11’s native RAR support was made in a blog post elaborating on some of the features revealed at Microsoft’s Build 2023 conference. In addition to RAR, Windows 11 will natively support TAR, 7-Zip, Gzip, and “many other” archive formats in a future update.

Microsoft has not shared precisely when the additional archive support will arrive on Windows 11. But, when it does, users will no longer have to rely on WinRAR to open or compress files in RAR format. With Windows 11’s native RAR support, users will be able to enjoy the improved performance in archive functionality during compression. It’s a bittersweet moment for WinRAR users, but one that’s necessary for Windows 11 to keep up with the times.