diff --git a/admin/tool/log/db/subplugins.php b/admin/tool/log/db/subplugins.php
deleted file mode 100644
index 538c28625e0..00000000000
--- a/admin/tool/log/db/subplugins.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-// This file is part of Moodle - http://moodle.org/
-//
-// Moodle is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-// (at your option) any later version.
-//
-// Moodle is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-// GNU General Public License for more details.
-//
-// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-// along with Moodle.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-
-/**
- * Logging subplugins.
- *
- * @package   tool_log
- * @copyright 2013 Petr Skoda {@link http://skodak.org}
- * @license   http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
- */
-
-debugging('Use of subplugins.php has been deprecated. Please provide a subplugins.json instead.', DEBUG_DEVELOPER);
-$subplugins = (array) json_decode(file_get_contents(__DIR__ . "/subplugins.json"))->plugintypes;
diff --git a/lib/editor/atto/db/subplugins.php b/lib/editor/atto/db/subplugins.php
deleted file mode 100644
index 7500a5fc7ff..00000000000
--- a/lib/editor/atto/db/subplugins.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-// This file is part of Moodle - http://moodle.org/
-//
-// Moodle is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-// (at your option) any later version.
-//
-// Moodle is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-// GNU General Public License for more details.
-//
-// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-// along with Moodle.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-
-/**
- * Yui Editor
- *
- * @package    editor_atto
- * @copyright  2013 Damyon Wiese  <damyon@moodle.com>
- * @license http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
- */
-
-defined('MOODLE_INTERNAL') || die();
-
-debugging('Use of subplugins.php has been deprecated. Please provide a subplugins.json instead.', DEBUG_DEVELOPER);
-$subplugins = (array) json_decode(file_get_contents(__DIR__ . "/subplugins.json"))->plugintypes;
diff --git a/lib/editor/tinymce/db/subplugins.php b/lib/editor/tinymce/db/subplugins.php
deleted file mode 100644
index a5baea9ba51..00000000000
--- a/lib/editor/tinymce/db/subplugins.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-// This file is part of Moodle - http://moodle.org/
-//
-// Moodle is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-// (at your option) any later version.
-//
-// Moodle is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-// GNU General Public License for more details.
-//
-// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-// along with Moodle.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-
-/**
- * TinyMCE subplugin type declaration.
- *
- * @package editor_tinymce
- * @copyright 2012 The Open University
- * @license http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
- */
-
-defined('MOODLE_INTERNAL') || die();
-
-debugging('Use of subplugins.php has been deprecated. Please provide a subplugins.json instead.', DEBUG_DEVELOPER);
-$subplugins = (array) json_decode(file_get_contents(__DIR__ . "/subplugins.json"))->plugintypes;
diff --git a/lib/upgrade.txt b/lib/upgrade.txt
index 83b46139104..8b3cb260f6d 100644
--- a/lib/upgrade.txt
+++ b/lib/upgrade.txt
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ information provided here is intended especially for developers.
 * The generate_uuid() function has been deprecated. Please use \core\uuid::generate() instead.
 * Remove lib/pear/auth/RADIUS.php (MDL-65746)
 * Core components are now defined in /lib/components.json instead of coded into /lib/classes/component.php
-* Subplugins should now be defined using /db/subplugins.json instead of /db/subplugins.php (which will still work in order to maintain backwards compatibility).
+* Subplugins should now be defined using /db/subplugins.json instead of /db/subplugins.php
 * The following functions have been finally deprecated and can not be used anymore:
     * allow_override()
     * allow_assign()
diff --git a/mod/assign/db/subplugins.php b/mod/assign/db/subplugins.php
deleted file mode 100644
index ce8b075f9d2..00000000000
--- a/mod/assign/db/subplugins.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-// This file is part of Moodle - http://moodle.org/
-//
-// Moodle is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-// (at your option) any later version.
-//
-// Moodle is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-// GNU General Public License for more details.
-//
-// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-// along with Moodle.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-
-/**
- * Definition of sub-plugins
- *
- * @package   mod_assign
- * @copyright 2012 NetSpot {@link http://www.netspot.com.au}
- * @license    http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
- */
-
-debugging('Use of subplugins.php has been deprecated. Please provide a subplugins.json instead.', DEBUG_DEVELOPER);
-$subplugins = (array) json_decode(file_get_contents(__DIR__ . "/subplugins.json"))->plugintypes;
diff --git a/mod/assignment/db/subplugins.php b/mod/assignment/db/subplugins.php
deleted file mode 100644
index 5ea3af4fe2a..00000000000
--- a/mod/assignment/db/subplugins.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-// This file is part of Moodle - http://moodle.org/
-//
-// Moodle is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-// (at your option) any later version.
-//
-// Moodle is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-// GNU General Public License for more details.
-//
-// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-// along with Moodle.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-
-/**
- * Definition of sub-plugins
- *
- * @package     mod_assignment
- * @copyright   1999 onwards Martin Dougiamas  {@link http://moodle.com}
- * @license     http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
- */
-
-debugging('Use of subplugins.php has been deprecated. Please provide a subplugins.json instead.', DEBUG_DEVELOPER);
-$subplugins = (array) json_decode(file_get_contents(__DIR__ . "/subplugins.json"))->plugintypes;
diff --git a/mod/book/db/subplugins.php b/mod/book/db/subplugins.php
deleted file mode 100644
index 53485813068..00000000000
--- a/mod/book/db/subplugins.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-// This file is part of Moodle - http://moodle.org/
-//
-// Moodle is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-// (at your option) any later version.
-//
-// Moodle is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-// GNU General Public License for more details.
-//
-// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-// along with Moodle.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-
-/**
- * Book module subplugin types declaration
- *
- * @package    mod_book
- * @copyright  2011 Petr Skoda {@link http://skodak.org}
- * @license    http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
- */
-
-defined('MOODLE_INTERNAL') || die();
-
-debugging('Use of subplugins.php has been deprecated. Please provide a subplugins.json instead.', DEBUG_DEVELOPER);
-$subplugins = (array) json_decode(file_get_contents(__DIR__ . "/subplugins.json"))->plugintypes;
diff --git a/mod/data/db/subplugins.php b/mod/data/db/subplugins.php
deleted file mode 100644
index d0dd67eda2c..00000000000
--- a/mod/data/db/subplugins.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-// This file is part of Moodle - http://moodle.org/
-//
-// Moodle is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-// (at your option) any later version.
-//
-// Moodle is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-// GNU General Public License for more details.
-//
-// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-// along with Moodle.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-
-/**
- * Definition of sub-plugins
- *
- * @package   mod_data
- * @copyright 1999 onwards Martin Dougiamas  {@link http://moodle.com}
- * @license   http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
- */
-
-debugging('Use of subplugins.php has been deprecated. Please provide a subplugins.json instead.', DEBUG_DEVELOPER);
-$subplugins = (array) json_decode(file_get_contents(__DIR__ . "/subplugins.json"))->plugintypes;
diff --git a/mod/lti/db/subplugins.php b/mod/lti/db/subplugins.php
deleted file mode 100644
index 13967c32090..00000000000
--- a/mod/lti/db/subplugins.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-// This file is part of Moodle - http://moodle.org/
-//
-// Moodle is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-// (at your option) any later version.
-//
-// Moodle is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-// GNU General Public License for more details.
-//
-// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-// along with Moodle.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-
-/**
- * LTI subplugin types declaration
- *
- * @package    mod_lti
- * @copyright  2012 Mark Nielsen
- * @license    http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
- */
-
-defined('MOODLE_INTERNAL') || die();
-
-debugging('Use of subplugins.php has been deprecated. Please provide a subplugins.json instead.', DEBUG_DEVELOPER);
-$subplugins = (array) json_decode(file_get_contents(__DIR__ . "/subplugins.json"))->plugintypes;
diff --git a/mod/quiz/db/subplugins.php b/mod/quiz/db/subplugins.php
deleted file mode 100644
index 951d92d5d30..00000000000
--- a/mod/quiz/db/subplugins.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-// This file is part of Moodle - http://moodle.org/
-//
-// Moodle is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-// (at your option) any later version.
-//
-// Moodle is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-// GNU General Public License for more details.
-//
-// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-// along with Moodle.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-
-/**
- * Sub-plugin definitions for the quiz module.
- *
- * @package   mod_quiz
- * @copyright 2010 Petr Skoda
- * @license   http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
- */
-
-defined('MOODLE_INTERNAL') || die();
-
-debugging('Use of subplugins.php has been deprecated. Please provide a subplugins.json instead.', DEBUG_DEVELOPER);
-$subplugins = (array) json_decode(file_get_contents(__DIR__ . "/subplugins.json"))->plugintypes;
diff --git a/mod/scorm/db/subplugins.php b/mod/scorm/db/subplugins.php
deleted file mode 100644
index f39017fc2a1..00000000000
--- a/mod/scorm/db/subplugins.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,18 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-// This file is part of Moodle - http://moodle.org/
-//
-// Moodle is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-// (at your option) any later version.
-//
-// Moodle is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-// GNU General Public License for more details.
-//
-// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-// along with Moodle.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-
-debugging('Use of subplugins.php has been deprecated. Please provide a subplugins.json instead.', DEBUG_DEVELOPER);
-$subplugins = (array) json_decode(file_get_contents(__DIR__ . "/subplugins.json"))->plugintypes;
diff --git a/mod/workshop/db/subplugins.php b/mod/workshop/db/subplugins.php
deleted file mode 100644
index 1c0fd199ebe..00000000000
--- a/mod/workshop/db/subplugins.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,28 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-// This file is part of Moodle - http://moodle.org/
-//
-// Moodle is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-// (at your option) any later version.
-//
-// Moodle is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-// GNU General Public License for more details.
-//
-// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-// along with Moodle.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-
-/**
- * Workshop subplugin types declaration
- *
- * @package   mod_workshop
- * @copyright 2010 Petr Skoda (http://skodak.org)
- * @license   http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
- */
-
-defined('MOODLE_INTERNAL') || die();
-
-debugging('Use of subplugins.php has been deprecated. Please provide a subplugins.json instead.', DEBUG_DEVELOPER);
-$subplugins = (array) json_decode(file_get_contents(__DIR__ . "/subplugins.json"))->plugintypes;