Back in 2020, Microsoft made a decisive commitment to Manifest Version 3 (MV3) as the future of the Chromium extensions platform. Since that pivotal moment, the company has engaged with developers, absorbed valuable feedback, and steadily advanced Microsoft Edge towards a more secure and efficient extensions foundation.
Today marks a significant milestone in this ongoing journey. With an impressive 95% of the top MV2 extensions already transitioned to MV3 within the Edge Add-ons store, the ecosystem is poised for meaningful progress. Beginning in August 2026, Microsoft Edge will initiate the consumer transition away from Manifest Version 2 (MV2) extensions, fully embracing MV3. The aim is to complete this consumer transition by the end of 2026, with enterprise deprecation anticipated in early 2027.
The ecosystem is ready for the next step
This transition represents a crucial moment for the extensions community, approached with careful consideration. Microsoft Edge has continued to support MV2 extensions, allowing developers, enterprises, and users who rely on specific extensions ample time to adapt. The migration to MV3 has been a journey of significant progress, as MV3 brings enhanced security and performance benefits over its predecessor.
To illustrate the advancements made, there are currently only 58 MV2-based extensions in the Edge Add-on Store that exhibit any meaningful usage. Among these, merely three lack a publicly available MV3-based extension. This shift reflects the voices of developers and users alike: a vast majority of extensions—including password managers, VPNs, and ad-blockers—have successfully transitioned to MV3 without sacrificing customer functionality. Microsoft remains dedicated to collaborating with all developers maintaining MV2-based extensions to ensure a seamless migration for their users.
What to expect next
Commencing in August 2026, users with MV2 extensions installed will begin receiving notifications on the Manage Extensions page (edge://extensions) and on Microsoft Edge Add-ons product detail pages. Developers with MV2 extensions will also receive similar notices in the Microsoft Partner Center, accompanied by direct outreach from the Microsoft team to facilitate their migration.
In the coming months, MV2 extensions will gradually be disabled by default, with users being notified in advance and directed to recommended MV3 versions where applicable. This phased approach will start in the Canary, Dev, and Beta channels, eventually expanding to the Stable channel in the following months, with the goal of completing the consumer transition by the end of 2026. Notably, managed devices will remain unaffected during this consumer rollout, while enterprise deprecation will follow in early 2027.
The community will be kept informed about the rollout’s status through regular updates.
What developers should do now
For developers still maintaining MV2 extensions, now is the opportune moment to finalize the transition to MV3. It is essential to ship an MV3 version of your extension and submit the update via Microsoft Partner Center. The guide on migrating an extension from Manifest Version 2 to V3 outlines the necessary changes to be made.
This progress is only possible due to the dedication of developers who have already transitioned their extensions to MV3 and provided invaluable feedback throughout the process. Microsoft expresses gratitude for this partnership and ongoing support in enhancing Microsoft Edge. Should any questions arise during the migration, the Microsoft Edge extensions team stands ready to assist.
