Affinity Just Pulled Its Software and Everyone is Freaking Out

Last week, Affinity did something that has sort of shocked the creative internet: they pulled all of their software from sale. Yes, right now, you can’t buy Affinity Photo, Designer, or Publisher from their website. Anywhere.

In place of the usual product pages on Affinity’s website is a splash screen promising, “Creative freedom is coming. Sign up to be the first to know. True creative freedom is just around the corner October 30th.” And if you thought that was intriguing, wait until you check the social media chatter. People are in full-on panic mode. Social media is all lit up with posts like, “Buy it now before it goes subscription!”

This blackout seems more than just a little mysterious; it’s actually a little concerning, especially for those people who use and trust Affinity’s software as a legit Photoshop alternative. Affinity Photo was always touted as the go-to option for those who didn’t want to play with Adobe’s subscription model. So what exactly is happening at the end of October? Well, we have a few ideas.

Last year, Affinity was acquired by Canva, which is arguably Adobe’s biggest competitor. Unlike Affinity, which was always very anti-subscription model and anti-gen AI, Canva has embraced both of those stances. This is likely one thing that is getting users’ knickers in a twist over this announcement. Many are currently speculating that Affinity will introduce a subscription or start to incorporate Gen AI into its software.

When Canva acquired Affinity, it pledged to sustain its fair pricing, accelerate development, and offer accessibility for schools, nonprofits and community-led development. It allegedly stuck to that. However, users noted that the Affinity forums were also taken down this month in favour of a Discord channel. This has frustrated users, as a lot of searchable information has been lost.

Honestly, my take is: don’t freak out just yet. This feels more like a “we’re prepping something big” move, possibly Affinity 3.0. After all, it’s been almost three years since the 2.0 release in November 2022. A three-year cycle sounds about right.

Affirming this, Affinity’s team told Twitter users that this is expected for now. Purchases are temporarily disabled while they prep for what’s next, and the homepage is acting as a teaser. Once the new Affinity experience goes live, buying will be back.

It’s also possible that pulling the software was simply a brilliant marketing move. Free publicity, YouTubers scrambling for content, social media buzzing, it works every time. However, if that is the case, they’ve risked alienating their existing user base with many fearing a subscription coming, with one Reddit comment declaring “let the enshittification begin”. We won’t know anything more unfortunately until the end of the month when Affinity announces their new plans.

What do you think is coming on October 30th? Subscription, Gen AI, or a mind-blowing surprise?

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