Microsoft Kills Together Mode in Teams, Pushes Gallery View as June 30 Deadline Nears

Together Mode Pulled from Microsoft Teams Next Month

Microsoft will remove Together Mode from its Teams video-conferencing platform on June 30, the company announced Monday. The feature, which placed meeting participants into a shared virtual space such as a coffee shop or amphitheater, will disappear from the View menu entirely.

Users will be directed to the Gallery view, which Microsoft says now achieves the same goal—showing everyone in a meeting—while reducing clutter and device strain. The decision comes as part of a broader push to simplify the meeting experience.

Why Together Mode Is Being Retired

Katarina Tranker, Teams product manager, explained in a blog post that the core need Together Mode was designed to support—"seeing the people who matter in a meeting"—can now be fully met by the modern Gallery view. That view, she noted, can display up to 49 participants at once.

"Today, the core need Together mode was designed to support can now be fully met by the modern Gallery view," Tranker said. The move to a single layout means fewer clicks for users and enables the product development team to move quicker to add new features, Microsoft added.

Background

Microsoft launched Together Mode in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, as office workers shifted to remote collaboration en masse. The feature aimed to combat "video meeting fatigue" by placing attendees into immersive virtual scenes, such as a conference room or an amphitheater.

Together Mode was part of a larger push into metaverse-style experiences, including the Mesh 3D meeting platform. However, Microsoft retired Mesh in December 2024—though an app for immersive events remains available with certain Teams subscriptions.

Now Together Mode follows the same fate. The feature will be removed entirely on June 30, with Gallery view becoming the primary layout for group meetings.

What This Means

For regular Teams users, the change means one fewer option in the meeting view menu. Microsoft promises a simpler, more streamlined experience, though some users who relied on Together Mode for a sense of presence may need to adjust.

The retirement also signals a strategic retreat from immersive virtual meeting spaces at Microsoft. Despite earlier ambitions around the metaverse, the company is now focusing on proven layouts like Gallery view, which it says is less demanding on devices and easier to maintain.

Together Mode's removal is effective June 30, 2025. Users should ensure their Teams app is updated to avoid any unexpected view changes.