A message to our amazing Affinity community
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- čas přidán 4. 08. 2024
- Our CEO Ashley Hewson shares an exciting update: Affinity has joined the Canva family! Together, the two companies will join forces to create a world where design is within everyone’s reach.
Watch the video for more details or read the full announcement here: affin.co/canva-announcement - Jak na to + styl
Today we make four pledges to the Affinity community. Read them here affin.co/pledges
So what about pricing? In your mail you stated "If we do offer a subscription, it will only ever be as an option alongside the perpetual model, "
Why not make a payment in segments a thing instead of a subscription? as an example: So upfront you pay 100$ but if you choose segments pay you pay for a year, each month 10$. When you finish paying you keep the perpetual license.
So that way if someone can't pay 100$ upfront; they will pay you guys overtime 120$.
Truthfully this news of this acquisition didn't thrill me. With that said, after some reflection, I am willing to give Canva a fair shake before writing this deal off all together. The onus is on Canva to earn our trust and our loyalty. Ive said it before, I hope they don't screw the pooch, this is a great opportunity for them. Inheriting a passionate user base that really care isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact it could be your best asset.
I'm all for pledges, especially since a major politician here gained support with his ten pledges, then erased any mention of them after assuming control.
At least now we can laugh about it if they backtrack.
The perpetual becomes quadrupled and the subscription becomes annual equivalent to the current perpetual.
There is never anything good for the users from these situations.
Serif has been a shining light providing quality applications for affordable prices and that is the reason to be a Serif customer. Take that away and it's gone.
Some improving open source stuff is worth looking at. Like Scribus.
@@gladiumcaeli I'd be down for this. I want V2, and plan to buy it in June.
If I could pay $X a month and after X months, I own the perpetual license, it'd be SO much easier on my budget.
The whole reason for buying affinity was that it was independent and didn't involve a subscription. That reason is soon to evaporate.
The reason for the subscription is one... I've already gone through this topic once with JASC (PaintPhopPro), which was bought by Corel. it has simply disappeared into insignificance as bundle software... and that will certainly happen with Affinity. It is always bad when there is only one provider on the market who can determine everything. The opportunity was apparently missed with Affinity. Unfortunately, there is always a lack of additional content, such as plugins, macros, ... the community is there, but if you don't take care of it... it's a shame
I'm 62 years old, kiddo. Old and wise. I used to be with quark express, never adobe (although I did use aldus freehand , which mutated into adobe, in the late 1980s.)@@misanthrope_01
@@misanthrope_01 They are good enough for anything I needed. If I have to choose another graphic suite, the very last would be Adobe. Before that, hell is freezing.
They have stated that nothing changes, you still can purchase it. Nothing has been said about implementing a subscription model (that would have to be absurdly cheap like $5 a year to match previous Affinity pricing so it makes no sense to go to a subscription model and tick off all the loyal fans and users of Affinity.
A tip: when someone touches their nose whilst pleading sincerity: I don't necessarily believe them.@@StarfireResearch
Not a good news at all.
Agreed, this is horrible news.
Quoting from the FAQ:
"There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time, with all our apps still available as a one-off purchase. Existing Affinity users will be able to continue to use your apps in perpetuity as they were originally purchased - with plenty of free updates to V2 still to look forward to!"
You understand that "at this time" and "free updates to V2" sound the opposite of reassuring, right? You are just stating the obvious and avoid committing to future versions.
You had a chance to be clear, you carefully skipped it.
A large chunk of your user base fled from Adobe's subscription to find a safe haven. I'm afraid they (we) are up for a huge disappointment.
I am quite sure that everything for V2 will be as before, but V3 or overall future products, I don't think so, I just don't believe.
@@slizgi86 There won't be a v3, but a name change to "Canvas Desktop" or "Canvas Pro" to make the switch to the subscription 😕
@@silvro I think the same, I will be super surprised otherwise, I just saw so many acquisitions like that in my life, and promises... ZBrush taken by Maxon, Autodesk taking over something and then closing it, etc. I am so happy Inkscape is getting better and better, and maybe this year we will have full CMYK workflow.
I was very dissappointed when we had to pay for v2 in the first place as the marketing around v1 clearly stated a one off fee forever. I tolerated this and bought v2 to support the company and hoped that their future marketing and communications would be clearer. If this goes subscription then there is no reason for me to keep supporting this product. I could have gone for Canva in the first place instead of buying the Affnity suite of products, but working out the cost of the subscription made it a no-brainer not to subscribe. The real winners out of all of this could well be Adobe.
@@slizgi86 Autodesk turned the users perpetual license into subscriptions. If Autodesk did it and got away, what's stopping from affinity to do the same to the existing v2 users.
Terrible news for long time Affinity users. Canva sucks. They’ll destroy the pricing model that made Affinity loved.
Agree Canva sucks but maybe the union will add something positive..
Yep. Between this and their outright refusal to make a Linux version, affinity is going down the drain fast
@@HeWhoIsWhoHeIs Why would they? Linux hardly has a big base. It has market share of about 4%.
@@maartenmidden1651 where did you get that number? 🤔
It amazes me how he presents the news in this video. He says that this is something positive - to sell your business to a large corporation. But we have hundreds of examples of what it does. This is absorption and monopolization, and then imposing on customers those conditions that are beneficial to business, and not to customers. If Serif has already sold to Canva, then this is actually the end of their business, because all their customers came to them only because it is an independent low-cost project without a subscription model. But after they merge with Canva, the only question is "when they will implement the subscription model" in Affinity products. This is a betrayal of the trust of its clients. *Shame!*
You say you are thrilled in the announcement, but your body language in this video suggests otherwise. As CEO, you should be saying 'our mission is' rather than 'was' ... now the mission is a thing of the past. There are some red flags here which are concerning but I do wish you guys all the best.
Yeah, his expression is telling. He doesn't believe a word he's saying. The way he's averting his eyes when he says what a good fit Canva is. This is a text book example of how body language can betray your true feelings. Just turn off the audio and only watch the video. You'd think he's talking about losing his pet or something.
As CEO he has to lie to the customers as a profession. Paid for that in the acquirement. Sad, but not surprising.
All the signs of someone who is genuinely embarrassed...he knows its not a fit for the client base.
@@helgemaus1090 and you have to be upbeat for the staff too, they'll be bricking themselves waiting to see who gets made redundant.
What do you expect from a crApple user
A real shame. Your software becoming a subscription model or not, won't be in your control anymore very soon. That's why companies like Canva aquire other companies. Changing the policies completely or shutting them down. I am afraid, I can't stick to my plan to buy your whole suite without watching carefully, how it will change. :(
Pirate while you can 😂
absolutely
Same here. I wanted to buy the whole suite too but that's now on hold. Damn...
Same here. I already own affinity publisher and was planning to go for the whole suite in the current spring sale. But now everything changed. I'm gonna keep a careful watch....
Canva are the new Adobe, buying apps and either shutting them down or slapping a subscription on them. These aquisitions rarely end well for end-users. Nothing changes until some some higher-up decides, "Yeah, nah. Shut it down". I really want to think otherwise but we've seen this all before.
Yes, just look at the current Canva Plans to get a hint of how it just might go.
It's called "sold." Instead of continuing the originally chosen course, serving their users, producing further excellent graphics software without a subscription model, they decided to sell and fall under the influence of larger businesses. History is as old as the world. Greed prevailed over moral values and the originally chosen course and values.
I didn't know that about Canva, never heard of them until today. But if what you say is true that is very sad new for Affinity if they shut them down or decide subscription online cloud only. Thats the end for me and that sucks because I went to Affinity since early v1 to get away from Adobe and liked the product.
What a disappointment. Subscription model coming to the Affinity Suite soon.
That's why people need to come together to make these programs as an open source alternative. I don't know how many notice what I see, but the future is a dark one and the longer we don't do something the worse it will get.
My heart immediately sunk when this announcement arrived. I hope they don’t move to a subscription model. V2 sounds safe, but I expect it won’t live for as long as V1’s 9-ish years give or take a year.
The first thing I did was to check if it was April 1st! Sadly it’s not.
Adobe far more excited by this news than Affinity users.
Exactly.
Great true! hahaha, all profesionals we will move to Illustrator again.
I bet Adobe is happy and will probably add the option to open native Affinity Photo files in their next update to accommodate returning users.
Absolute PROPS!
@@knutbjorn1503 The problem is that illustrator has become a bulky, ugly, dysfunctional monster that hasn't been properly maintained since CS6.
If we get a subscription plan on V3, i'm out.
Likewise
I'm out now. I refuse to give canva a dime of my money. Evil company. Black thumb of death for any software they touch
Yeah well I wouldn't wait and I certainly wouldn't install any new updates on the applications you currently have. They pushed updates out today with no real details as to what is in them. And with this announcement, I'd say there's some shady stuff happening there.
Same. There's no reason for me to stay with Affinity when it does.
Back to Photoshop and Illustrator lol
IT SOUNDS LIKE A GOODBYE.
Thanks to the whole team. As a user, it was cool to be a part of that!
No one will forget you, thank you for everything!
Good luck!
Well said. If you allow me I make your words as mine as well!
Hopefully the 89 people (minus the sellout CEO) jump ship and start a new company to compete with the subscription trashfire that is Adobe and will be Affinity.
Shouldn't say thanks to the man who smiles while telling you he burnt down your house and pissed in your cup.
My heart sank watching this. I’m sure I’m not alone.
No, you're not alone. I remember hearing the same thing when Adobe bought all my favourite apps and it was a slow decline then shutdown
@@iaina3251 Remember QuarkXpress being the industry leader? Adobe used to be the new kids on the block, look at them now…
Definitely not alone. This company is a total joke. I knew we were heading for dark times once they made it absolutely clear that they would not support Linux.
@@HeWhoIsWhoHeIs To be fair though, as much as us Linux people would like it, Linux makes up a tiny fraction of desktop users, probably even fewer of who are interested in commercial graphics software like this. It's probably just not going to recover the development costs it would take to build and maintain it.
@@iaina3251 the Linux population is growing every day and is a lot larger than most people realize. Other companies make versions of their software for Linux. Including major companies. It's only companies that want to track their users and collect data and do other shady things that are afraid to embrace Linux.
“Canva doesn’t have any tools for professionals”… because it’s not a platform for professionals! I’m so disappointed in these news.
I mean its is, but not for actual professional designers, marketers (those who make design, because some only do strategy), etc. But it is actually very widely used by professionals who just need a basic features for basic design work. But yeah that's still not the same target at all ! And it's even more expensive than Affinity lol
Exactly! The unprofessional bought the professional. Guess how they're gonna manage the future development?
Canva is for influencers to make pretty websites and blogs, that is all!
This guy doesnt look too convinced with his own message.
Your body language tells me you sold your soul.
If subscription coming up, might as well go back to Adobe - their software is years ahead.
I second that!
Canva will gain them hundreds of thousands of seats, but yeah. Given the choice of $20 a month for Affinity or 50 for CC? It’s a bit of a no-brainer.
Not Serifs problem anymore, once Canva IPO most of the staff will leave with some well deserved payouts. Affinity won’t die, but it sure as shit isn’t fulfilling its original mission. I just hope some viable open source alternative emerges in the coming years
I was saddened to hear this. The first news ran through my ears this morning, making me feel like an intimate friend is no more😢.
So we go back to adobe bettwe.
Dude! He is laughing his way to the bank!
As a professional this news is not making me happy at all...
The worst move you could ever make. The chess game is over, but the loser is the user.
They may not have had a choice😐
@@phoenixr6811they could've simply refused
@@phoenixr6811 There is always a choice. And every time it is committed, you need to think not about profit and benefit, but primarily about the ethical side of the matter, about pure conscience and responsibility to customers, to the team, to your country. Serif traded all this for easy profit. Shame!
@@HeWhoIsWhoHeIs depends on their financial situation.
@@MeTube3 if their financial situation were bad, canva wouldn't make an offer. Would you?
"Canva’s revolutionary approach to design democratisation and commitment to empowering everyone to create aligns perfectly with our core values and vision." Sorry, what does that even mean? This is the exact wording used by AI companies to promote generative AI. Art and design was never gatekept. It just needed skill and time to learn those skills.
"...to create a world where design is within everyone’s reach." How is a subscription based service like Canva 'in everyone's reach'? This sounds like empty phrases put together by marketing and reworded by the legal team. 4 minutes of words that are entirely contradicted by the body language.
As a long time user and avid promoter of Affinity tools as a viable alternative to Adobe's subscription based and AI-infested suite, I am not sure what I am feeling - disappointment, betrayal, anger, or just frustration.
Yep, the wording... it comes directly from the new owner, clearly. At least, partially. The 'democratization of art', that comes directly from AI bros language (and a lot of the Altman's "preaching"), yep. In this belief that artists and graphic designers are "gate keepers" (about the dumber thing said by egomaniacs (not referring to Affinity!) who don't know better). Abusing a privilege. Lol. Decades of training, and most fellow colleague artists (and myself) and designers started pretty poor, many still are (and worse now, with AI). Canva, since the beginning buying tons of stock art and with the template system, has gone in the direction of destroying the market for professional designers, and its recent move to full generative AI is the final proof and a much worse move (worse also than their subscriptions). Damaging immensely and for ever several professional fields, and destroying many jobs, after having scrapped lots of artwork and utilized those without permission to build their plagiarizing tools. Like any "generative" AI company did.
Check when he talks about what will happen to people with current licensing, he can't look at the camera and starts scratching his shoulder cos he knows there is not a word of truth coming out his mouth.
Well, that didn't sound very convincing. I sense a subscription in the future, despite your statements. Why should Canva buy you in the first place, if not to slap a subscription onto the software.
My fears exactly
How didn’t sound convincing ? Mentioned one time purchase will still be available and there will be a Q&A in a few days where I’m sure that will be the top question in the list.
@@GG-zv9kuLook at his expression and body language. The words are carefully chosen, but there is zero confidence in his presentation.
@@MattGrandis Lmao 🤣
It says that the payment model will not change for v2, which all but means it will change for v3, doesn't it?
I'm afraid this is very bad news. Another 1 or 2 years of free updades before switching to a subscription-based with a "Canvas Desktop". I gave up on Adobe 7 years ago and switched to Affinity. I hope Serif doesn't betray us...
I feel the same, continue with existing roadmap for "a bit" then up the price, discontinue or go subscription.
ooppss, too late.
There is no more Serif, they've been bought. You're not getting 1 or 2 years of free updates either, there's nothing in it for Canva. V2 will get bugfixes if we're lucky. V3 will be announced and any new features will be pushed to V3.
@@stysner4580lets wait and see what happens. We tend to always be so negative about things changing, but maybe, just maybe this one might work fine for us.
@@stysner4580 100% agree, users will have to pay subscriptions, but Serif got everything a single payment - the irony !
A disaster for end users. Obviously the Affinity Suite will go subscription only. It's just a matter of when?
Why do successful UK companies always sell out to foreign ownership instead of thinking big for themselves?
I guess the offer was too good to be passed.
"Why do successful UK companies always sell out to foreign ownership instead of thinking big for themselves?" It's called....greed!
@@oldtimer7635 or financial necessity.
They did think big for themselves. It was called Brexit and absolutely DESTROYED their economy and has enlarged the wealth gap, which was already one of the worst ones in the developed world...
Brexit. You have literally thrown out any chance on any market. Chinese will be the new English.
I’ve been an Affinity enthusiast and advocate for many years now. If this acquisition means that coming (and long promised) features will be locked behind a subscription, then you‘re dead to me.
His 4+ minutes in 3 words: subscription mode on.
"Taken over" means that Canva now controls Affinity. And since Canva is apparently a friend of subscriptions, I bet that Affinity Suite V3 will only be offered as a subscription. V2 remains as before, that's surely part of the deal of the takeover. But presumably some features are now being held back for V3.
I think you're spot on: V2 will remain a purchase then V3 will be part of the Canva subscription and V2 will be left to die.
And as all of those go, there won't be any version numbers going forward. Just a sweet "Affinity Suite" subscription. The one huge advantage they had, down the drain...
I am really annoyed as I upgraded to V2 last week!
It works good right? Just keep using v2. If they gonna do a good discount I gonna upgrade to v2 too. @@katarzynacoffin8544
I hope they won't do the same as FONTEXPLORER PRO X, sold to another shitty company that made it on subscription and made it stop working.
I contacted the support and all they were saying was "I can't talk about it because this is another company.."
Greedy AHs.
Body language says it all.
noticed it too :)
It looks like an apology video😅
So true, it felt like he was saying goodbye and thank you...
Excellent surveillance. He touched his nose several times during the recording of the appeal. He constantly ran and deflected his eyes, and then nervously reproached the body. All these are signs that a person says a lie and that we are simply reassured by empty promises. If Serif was sold, now the person on the screen is not the owner of the business and he no longer makes final decisions. That means he's not responsible for his promises. He no longer controls this business, because he controls who owns it.
I agree with all you folks.
If this goes subscription based, I will jump ship.
Not going to support this new direction.
This is terrible news, and your body language reflects it. We can see how uncomfortable you are. This will not end well for us, long-term loyal Affinity users (since 2016).
I have a real bad feeling about this.
Sad day. It was amazing while it lasted.
Yep. And their outright refusal to support Linux. They're dead to me. Never getting another dime of my money.
Yup. I’ll never buy anything from these sell outs.
@@HeWhoIsWhoHeIs I've tested the latest dev version of Gimp and it's really improving now. Unstable as most dev versions (though I was using the previous dev one with no problems at all), but 3.0 RC1 (full CMYK, live editing, great drawing tablets support, etc, etc) is this summer or earlier. And Inskcape is very capable. I have already fully moved to Blender 4.x for 3D (well, since 2002, really :D ), but I might do the same with Gimp, Inkscape and Scribus.
"we love listening to your feedback"
Merges with canva
What a fuckin joke
He honestly feels like he did not want to make this video.
Translated. Canva offered my a boatload of money to sell out. Do you really think I'd choose my little company over a Bugatti? Have you ever been in a Bugatti? Me neither until next week when it gets delivered. Money talks Affinity users, and I'm about to walk.
This is harsh but it feels true somewhat. The video feels like a confessional to his wife why he just spent the household money on a Bugatti... But it will get us to the shops so much faster! 😁
This is exactly it. Money talks and this guy is gonna walk.
😁@@jeffreypostma6832
I wish his wife would leave him.@@jeffreypostma6832
I bet they said no to smaller boatloads of money, but this one was too big to say no to.
Admitting this decision took only 2 months isn't the jovial flex you think it is.
2 months in corporate time is yesterday...
In my experience (including companies I've worked for and/or with), acquisition of a creative software product by a conglomerate usually means disaster within 2 years.
I hope you prove me wrong, but neither the wording of your email or style of presentation for this video give me confidence.
This will be over sooner than 2 years. I also think Canva knows this but paid for the talent and existing codebase. Obviously they're going to integrate it into their own products, keep offering Affinity until it inevitably dies because its only right to existence was the pricing mode.
Everyone please welcome to our team
Mr & Mrs Subscription.
Hilarious 😂😂, but sad nevertheless 😢
I'm a new customer. Bought the universal license 3 weeks ago because I was looking for an Adobe alternative that was a one time purchase. I am very sceptical of this aquisition. Please just prove all the critics wrong.
Same i literally bought it 2 months ago...:(
Photo user for a year. I bought the full v2 suite a week ago, and was pumped up about learning design and publisher. And now I don't know how to feel about it...
Terrible news. The reason people use Affinity is that it is not a subscription like Adobe. I am not reassured by the company statement that the current version is unaffected as you can bet your bottom dollar that the next rollout will be! They’ll probably keep a basic version as non-subscription but that will be all. Designers feel held to ransom by Adobe’s exorbitant monthly fees and this merger is not good news for anyone currently using Affinity designer 😢
Disgraceful for end users. Rolled out version 2 and everyone had to BUY it. As others have said, subscription is now on the way. Affinity might have found a ‘kindred spirit’ but Affinity’s loyal users haven’t. Yet another sell out. Appalling. Good business for Affinity though.
I’m not buying what he’s selling here, staff will lose their jobs, end users will pay AGAIN in the longer run, no matter what Affinity says right now.
Absolutely agree with you.
No???
Everyone did not HAVE to buy it? You could buy it, or you could continue using V1, just without future updates.
This is disinformation and rather misleading.
@@sherlockmaverickand you suck as any other misinformation policeman 😂😂😂
Eh, I'm not going to buy the subscription model but complaining about the very small price for 3 amazing products that have been well supported so far and have been updated with new features is a bit weird. Yes, the future for Affinity is bleak, if it has one at all, but I think I definitely got my money's worth for V1 and V2.
Imagine Affinity gets rebranded with "Canva (smth)", just kill me now ☠
If you're that broke, you could have reached out to the user base. A lot of us would have backed you up. Even if it were an ongoing thing, it's better than pissing people's trust against the wall.
You had one job…😢
Yeah, now he's having the Lamborghini.
Makes you appreciate and respect the hell out of Blender's team and their creator for trully staying FREE....
True: the Blender team are amazing and I have a feeling a community will come together to produce an alternative to Adobe and Affinity (if Affinity are moving to subscription). People are just tired of being ripped off and let down.
The WHOLE point to Affinity products is to AVOID life-sucking SUBSCRIPTIONS! This is a very sad day for Affinity customers.
I stopped watching the video after hearing it was only two months ago since Canva first contacted you. You really are desperate.
Caught that as well. Say two years but two months? Lol sheesh
I work in a software company that was recently bought by a larger one. The consequences are consistently negative: savings, less power in development, interest in large profit skimming...
I hope so much that this will not be the case here.
As soon as their is a subscription coming, I'll jump ship. It's a damn shame, companies pull in people via incredible software and one-time purchase options and then let themselves being bought and do a 180 turn right then and there. "V2 is a one time purchase" means, there will be no V3 but a subscription based "Affinity Suite" for everything going forward. The exact same reason, Affinity even had a chance to compete with Adobe, will be down the drain :(
Adobe will be dancing in the streets.
Well, I hope that Adobe will adopt the good tools of Affinity and return to Illustrator. I DON'T PLAN TO PAY 1€ TO CANVA.
Where are you jumping ship to?
@@salarycat don't worry, a fringe group of their programmers will get mad, resign, start their own company, build software that everyone likes, be a great company, and then grow until a sh1t company like canva makes them an offer they can't refuse and the cycle will repeat.
Affinity subscription in some future... this is not a good news, for users. Well, nothing is eternal.
I will even say more, if I knew about this I would not buy upgrade to V2.
A sad day for Affinity users.
If I have to pay a subscription for Affinity, then why shouldn't just use Adobe's products?
I bet Adobe is happy and will probably add the option to open native Affinity Photo files in their next update to accommodate returning users.
Adobe is four times more expensive. So, there’s that.
@@kjmav10135 Come on guys... We need open source alternative..........
I've been a Serif user and fan for as long as i can remember. After reading the statement on the website I'm even more worried. Canva is nice for non graphic design professionals, but has been a pain in my but with clients thinking they can make everything themselves and me adjusting and fixing everything before it was ready for production....😢🙈
I hear you. I got to a point where I said if you used Canva I can't help you unfortunately. It's a real pain.
Not optimistic about this. Just purchased V2 recently and was excited for the future… now… just worried.
I bought V2 last week 😑
@@katarzynacoffin8544 It will still be pretty useful for at least 5 years to come (even if not a single update comes) for all the usual projects. Right now (2.4) is very solid and performing best than ever. After that... well. But it's time enough to go learning other tools (free and commercial) , which is ALWAYS a good safety measure, in my opinion.
I was just about to upgrade, relieved now that I left it so late, phew.
The tools you bought are going to be useful and relevant for at least 5 years... and somewhat usable for 10 years, before a operating system updates makes them non usable. So, it's OK for a while, IMO. But it would not hurt to go learning other tools, just in case.
Same here. I'm nervous if this passes through.
When i read the mail, it felt like watching a slow death of the only last creature belonging to a beautiful endangered species. It was Good while it lasted. Thanks for being a workhorse all these years. When i have enough money, i will sure contribute to give back to society by delivering something that cannot be bought. Affinity is an inspiration for what it delivered. You will be missed :
Gimp and Inkscape are looking really good, right now (and Blender is a proof of how far and great can open source software go).
@@3polygons gimp was my go to raster tool before considering affinity. Sadly at that time, it didn't have any CMYK. Wonder how it is improved now
@@warrenpeace2557 it's barely improved. Gimp 3 might make bigger strides once it launches, they are after all porting their code to GTK 3 ( note that GTK 4 launched in 2020), but development is so staggeringly slow (there are good people working on it, just not enough) and the plugin eco system is embarassingly awful).
If you remember how the Gimp UI looked 10+ years ago? It still looks like that!.
@@3polygons gimp and inkscape should also give psd export option too. Most of my client's needs are for print. The press here is outdated. They only know about psd and coreldraw files. Anyways, time to adopt those two I guess. :)
I’m not surprised you sold out, but if this ends up going subscription based I’ll find something else.
The day Affinity becomes subscription based is the day I cease to be a customer.
Get ready
As professionals, we need to know when the pricing model wil be switched to a subscription... If we only have one year of updates it may be a good time to learn how to use the new versions of other apps now
And you think Canva gives a damn about any of us? :')
I wonder what other apps these are T_T
I was just about to jump ship on Adobe. Now I don't know where to go. Really don't want another subscription base model 😢
@@ChantelleVenter gimp and ikskape?
@@ivan-_-8577 can they open existing Illustrator and Photoshop files?
going the way of Adobe as a subscription model, the reason I bought Affinty was no subscription, but I guess I will be moving to another format.
The Affinity philosophy is the antithesis of the subscription model. The narrative here about the present. The future is an inevitable dilution of this amazing company. Made by designers for designers, will change to made by designers for accountants. Sincerely though, congratulations and enjoy the fruits of your labour. You made such amazing products that were becoming so successful, the big fish couldn’t resist eating you up 💔
It was never a philosophy, just a marketing angle that paid off really well.
RIP Affinity that we know and love.
Canva Pro = 109,99 € per year for 1 person...
If i need to go to subscription, i would go back to Industry Standard and thats Adobe.
Yes its your company, but you are forgeting that we had supported you guys. Payed for V1 than V2 and now this?
+1 I'm going back to Illustrator, I hope Adobe copies Affinity's good tools and nobody pays a single 1€ to Canva.
Why on earth did you agree to sell? Greed! As I don’t think they threatened your life if you didn’t sell.
Now you have your pockets full and your customers will end up with another subscription mode crap!
I bet:
1. Canva will implement a subscription mode as soon as they can (V3), probably by stopping updating V2.
2. They will implement AI and use the customers work to feed the beast.
Not all acquisitions are driven by greed, sometimes they can be because of necessity (rising costs and/or sales not meeting targets). Sometimes they allow the smaller company to actually grow and have access to money, people and markets that the didn't have before. Sometimes it's a genuine belief that there is a synergy. I'm sure there are some great examples of small products being bought by larger companies and improving. I can't think of any right now, but I'm sure there are some.
A billion quid can be quite convincing. Also for the number of users and size of company, like it or not, Serif did not really charge enough for Affinity and don’t have anywhere near the financial resources they probably should have 10 years on, necessitating a sale. I don’t think it’ll be all doom and gloom for the foreseeable but long term, this ain’t good.
@@iaina3251 If you cannot remember right away it’s probably nothing really remarkable, in my opinion.
@@EightNineOne Well, they have (had) quite a bunch of faithful customers. If they were having money problems and truly wanted to remain independent, they could have explained the issue and, perhaps, start a crowdfunding or something like that. There are many ways to raise funds without selling to a company making money from the same market in a way.
Canva was created with the aim of making a graphic designer of every wannabe entrepreneur or whatever.
It is my understanding that Serif targeted professionals as their niche from the beginning.
How are their goals the same now?
@@iaina3251Serif made £18m last year, their costs are LOW. They paid £27m in dividends to their 4 main shareholders in 22/23, this is cashing out.....find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02117968/filing-history
Very disappointed with this decision. I was a happy customer knowing you were an independent team creating a great product that only appealed to your customers and not big corporations. You won’t get any money from me from now on.
Not a well thought through or executed piece of comms. You need to address the elephant in the room asap… will you make a commitment to keep Affinity a non-subscription product?
That commitment was Serif's commitment. Serif doesn't exist anymore, their codebase and staff has been bought by Canva.
He can’t. He just handed over the reigns.
@@bowreality1564lol yeah. He was talking like he’s still going to be running things though
@@phild5322 not sure honestly. They were very anti-subscription, pro-creators/anti-AI which is at odds with the merger. Either he was outvoted/overruled or he truly sold out. Either way I don’t think he is staying long. Maybe until V2 is done. V3 is guaranteed subscription. He emphases the V2 “no change” for “existing customers” so much. I get the feeling he either is very bad at this or is telling us what’s coming without really saying it (script was provided kind of thing). I mean look at the video he looks like hostage!
I seriously want to believe that there will be no worsening and only new opportunities, but: "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst"
Nothing changes.....Two Hours Later.... Well Affinity users, is a sad day, I will be leaving the company to pursue new and exciting things. I know you're all upset about the layoffs made but I promise nothing is changing.
And v2 support will end next month. v3 will then be subscription based, a full 8% cheaper than Photoshop. Until the subscription price hike in 3 months ofc...
I don't believe a word you have said and frankly, it's a pretty lame manoeuvre with what you've done.
I've heard words said like that from Pixologic and Allegorithmic.
You've probably annoyed a hell of a lot of customers and pretty much greed on your side.
I'm getting flashbacks to when Allegorithmic and Pixologic were acquired and it took them just about a year or so to become fully subscription based.
Yup, and substance is rotting under Adobe.
I bought ZBrush a week before the Maxon buyout. They did the same "no current plans on changing the pricing model" FAQ crap. Literally 2 weeks later the subscriptions were announced. You also just know Canva doesn't care about Affinity at all. They're buying the talent and the existing codebase to use for their own products, nothing more. They'll probably keep offering Affinity products until it inevitably dies.
@@EightNineOne It's being updated yearly on Steam, as a permanent purchase, and it is an industry standard, so, it seems it won't be abandoned. Now, I preferred the days when it was handled by an independent company.
@@3polygons oh I didn’t know about the steam thing, good to know! That’s a small blessing. I do know if you ask Adobe veeerrryy nicely they will give you a perpetual license as well, but still, sad times.
Damn, that's unfortunate. I used affinity based on the buy once and use method. I can only hope there's no subscription after the fact.
Right now, at some Adobe’s meeting room, some rich people are opening a very expensive Champaign. Affinity was the last resistance front of Adobes blackmail way of work.
I feel betrayed the last update adding dwg support was amazing. I would have paid for that update. I dont like subscriptions its the worst model and a predatory practice made popular by natural monopolies like adobe and autodesk. I will remain cautious and wish you the best. If affinity goes subscription mode i will be switching to inkscape that has grown a lot lately.
This is really bad news! Just wait 6months to 12months for the licensing to go from their current model to a subscription. Damn! Another one bites the dust.... it's sad honestly...
Oh! By the way! Just you wait for the EULA+Privacy documents to change for a model that allows their ML(AI) partner to scrape all your work when using the apps...
6 to 12 months? No. Two months tops.
I think it's safe to say that pretty much your whole user base exists of people, who do not want to pay a subscription fee. That was your own marketing, you've gathered a community that is strictly against subscription models.
exactly, and V3 will be a rug pull, since the license will probably cost 2-3x more in perpetual mode, making a subscription seem cheap at just 15.99$ a month. If V3 doesn't cost exactly that per month, i'll eat paper.
As soon as subscription model hits, guess we're all switching back to Adobe. At least they're managed and developed by professionals.
Hope it will be good
Also I wish that “All apps. All platforms.
No subscription.” will stay forever for all new v3, v4 etc or whatever it will be called or we’ve lost one more cool software package
This is exactly what I hope for. Because from what I'm suspecting, they'll want to start charging subscription fees for v3, v4, etc
That is what I hope. A roadmap will need to be presented at the QA.
Ain't gonna happen. That's not in canva's DNA
What does "hope" have to do with corporate business ?
@@Cyber_Kriss'cause ideal corporate business strategy is not ideal for humanity. Hope gives faith in better human decisions
the phrase in FAQ "There are no changes to our current pricing model planned at this time,..." at this time?, so how about in the future? V3, V4, V5 ?
time will tell, hopefully nothing "bad" is happen
My heart just sunk to the bottom of Mariana Trench.
Mark my words: Affinity apps will have subscription in the near future.....
The Affinity apps have always been my safe haven, offering me insanely good quality and protecting me from disgusting subscription models. All the communication sounds like V3 will be a subscription model and you can expect to only get a few more updates to V2 before V3 is released, which will probably just be a V2 with a slightly different GUI.
It breaks my heart that one of the last bastions against this subscription madness is falling.
Did anyone notice how nervous he got at 2:13 when saying how everyone will be able to continue using the apps in perpetuity?
He probably know it is not true.
it's gonna become a subscription model for in the future. which happens when a large company buys another one. It's been fun while it lasted RIP Affinity.
Yikes. RIP Affinity.
We are all really disappointed in this decision. You've betrayed the trust of your faithful customers by selling out for a quick dollar. We came to you because we found peace in knowing someone cared. Not to mention the tools are so incredibly functional and smooth. Now, designers who use Affinity will feel nothing short of embarrassment when we inevitably see "Affinity by Canva" on our opening screens. We absolutely do not stand with you in this transition. I say "we" pretty confidently because I don't think a single Affinity user will disagree with me.
I couldn't help but notice that the guy said, the Affinity apps ARE still available for download. Not that they will be available. And then, he immediately got uncomfortable and started scratching himself. Your subconscious still knows that a lie of omission is still a lie.
I feel as if I have been conned and cheated.
Just to be clear: a good announcement wouldve been: "We are now supporting Linux". That's a good announcement. Your announcement was the opposite of good.
And open source product through canva kind funding
Sad to hear and see this. Like many mentioned, the body language.. I am afraid too. The Affinity Suite is the best that could had happened to everyone who is creative but can´t spend regulary much money.
If Affinity will become subscription-based, I see myself yet again using the old outdated version for many years until windows doesn´t allow it anymore to work. Or until a new player like Affinity before will show up and create such great solution.
I wish the sell out could be reversed.
I think Affinity/Canva are about to find out just how low the barrier of entry to piracy is.
Man yall blindsided us for real!! Well..what happens now? This is going to be a subscription based service now......i bet.
The only real alternative to photoshop non subscription is gone. If Affinity go subscription I propably won't use it.
Its unfortunate that when a company gets bought out its not oh how will the company improve the product with the new resources, its oh how will the product go through enshitification. I was a big fan of affinity. Hopefully ill be able to stay one.
Your argument is completely flawed! No-one ever sells their life's work because it's such a nice opportunity to improve, but because money talks loudest. On Affinity twitter page from 2022 there is a post that said: "Ain't nobody acquiring us!" Look how that changed.
Not Serif liking this comment??
@@salttotheseaExactly, now I feel sick. Horrible horrible news.
I’ve been a Affinity user for 5+ years now. Back when they only supported macOS and before publisher was a thing.
As a student it was and still is one of the best investments I’ve ever made - exactly because it’s that, an Investment. Not a subscription (even Adobe‘s student discount is a pretty expensive option with the lookout, that they’ll have you pay full price once your whole workflow has deeply integrated their tools) but a fair upfront cost. I can only hope, that this will stay true through this acquisition. And affinity being not only a viable alternative but a trusted tool one can invest in for their own creative work, without upcoming paywalls pushing users into subscriptions.
You were the chosen one!
I fully agree with everyone here who has expressed their disappointment with this latest news.
If your software moves into the subscription model, I will not join you on this new journey.
When you guys started out with this brilliant software I was there. I bought both versions 1 and 2 and you led us to believe that we were on this amazing journey with you guys.
Nope........This just sucks.......
I make a living designing and have been moving all my work over to Affinity, but I will be holding off and move back to Adobe until I know what’s happening here.
Business is business and we all need to make money. No biggie. But you need to level with us so we can run our businesses.
I’m 100% sure you’ll move to subscription and I just need to know what compelling reason there is to use Affinity over Adobe.
Adobe does have better tools, as much as I hate to lend support.
+1 I'm going back to Illustrator, I hope Adobe copies Affinity's good tools and nobody pays a single 1€ to Canva.
Can I return licenses and purchased Addons to get my Money back? I do not want to support another subscription Company.
Well, most "acquired" scenarios I saw during my 45 years as a software developer turned to sh*t as the acquired products languished. But Mr. CEO, you go off to the Carribean and spend your millions; I'm quite sure YOU will have a good time if not your employees!
I won’t be updating or using Affinity anymore if you implement a subscription model. The whole reason I and a lot of others use affinity is because your competitors are way too expensive due to subscription models. So please don’t let canva push you to a subscription model.
They don't have a say in this, they don't own it anymore.
Stabbed in the back .
It feels like this situation is going to favour Canva's users and dump all Affinity's users who were there since the begging supporting the software development.
I see this as. "Terrible news, Subscription price plans incomming, Expect fewer updates from V3 onwards with only small incremental changes and totally tonedeaf decision making on the way." Great....At least this wasn't dropped on a Monday i guess??🤷♂
RIP
A few months down the road and then Adobe buys Canva, sunsets the entire thing
Man, I was just thinking the exact same thing. Maybe they already planned that move.
that would actually be possible lol. Smart if true.
Canva are going to asset strip Affinity for all it's worth, and this guy knows it.
I’m so sorry. This sounds as a terrible defeat, for Affinity’s mission and for all of those who, like me, strongly believed in that mission. Hope everything will be fine.
I stopped using Clip Studio Paint because it switched to a subscription model and found Art Studio Pro to replace it. I stopped using Adobe products once I found Affinity Photo because it had no subscription. Now that it seems that future versions will eventually move to a subscription model. I will now find an application to replace Affinity Photo. I hope the money Serif got in the acquisition was worth it.
We have pledged that perpetual licenses will always be offered, read more here: affin.co/pledges
@@Affinitybyserif Fair enough, but the second the top executives want to take the company public or they just feel like a like second vacation home in lake Como, pledges can be removed from company websites. Just check the Google company page for the slogan don’t be evil… oh wait. I know you or someone on the social media team is tasked with replying to the comments, I have no ill will towards you. I’m just old enough to know how these things usually go. I would love to be wrong though. Also, I’ll just have contingency plans to move my workflows away from affinity because like I said, pledges can be removed from company website’s.
@@Affinitybyserif Also stated: "Ain't nobody acquiring us" 😎7:57AM, Sep 16, 2022. Much like that statement, this pledge, unfortunately is mere verbiage.😔 Sad that a PRO company sold-out to a non pro company, who markets ANYONE can 'design'. Sorry Canva, just because it's output does not make it "Design"; especially not WELL DESIGNED.