Data Pipeline is abandoned - it is also miserable to work with.
Otherwise yeah, there might be too many ways to do the same thing, but AWS generally has a stellar track record of supporting everything else they have made.
No one “announced it”. Why would they? If Data Pipeline meets your needs, it still works. But, if you keep track of AWS and where all of the new features are being added, it’s clear that Step Functions is getting all of the new and shiny and can do everything Data Pipeline can do.