Autodesk to go subscription-based only
polycounter lvl 10
Finally, the day has come. At the Autodesk Investor Day, which took place October 1st, the company’s Senior Vice President and Industry Strategy & Marketing Andrew Anagnost revealed that the company will be transitioning to a new rental-based only model and will be removing the sale of perpetual software licenses in the next 12-24 months.
Anagnost stated that there are still 2.9 million non-subcribers that happen to purchase perpetual licenses on an infrequent basis because they can, and that this isn’t good for the company’s ecosystem, because there is a significant number of people working with non-current releases. According to Anagnost, the shift in business model is not only the right thing for the company’s business, but also the right thing for customers.
The move comes one year after Autodesk announced the discontinuation of the ability to purchase software upgrades for owners of perpetual licenses of previous versions of Autodesk software, and is in line with Adobe’s move last year of switching to a subscription-based only model.
A PDF with the slides from Andrew Anagnost’s presentation and the complete audio recording can be found on Autodesk’s website.
Source article: http://cgpress.org/archives/autodesk-to-go-subscription-based-only.html
My take?
The domino effect started by Adobe has already begun. Following up with their rental only model will be Maxon, The Foundry and Pixologic.
The next phase will be cloud-only rendering where the actual software lives on a datacluster run by specialized hardware unavailable to consumers and access is done remotely through HD streaming. Not only will you be able to use Maya on a mobile device or a 10 year old machine, but it also makes the whole setup impossible to crack. Previous versions going a few years back will be made available for free (like Adobe CS2) to give everyone a sample of what the company offers or at least, to keep students and hobbyists using their software.
That will be the day when opensource will be embraced like never before and Blender users will get the last laugh.
Anagnost stated that there are still 2.9 million non-subcribers that happen to purchase perpetual licenses on an infrequent basis because they can, and that this isn’t good for the company’s ecosystem, because there is a significant number of people working with non-current releases. According to Anagnost, the shift in business model is not only the right thing for the company’s business, but also the right thing for customers.
The move comes one year after Autodesk announced the discontinuation of the ability to purchase software upgrades for owners of perpetual licenses of previous versions of Autodesk software, and is in line with Adobe’s move last year of switching to a subscription-based only model.
A PDF with the slides from Andrew Anagnost’s presentation and the complete audio recording can be found on Autodesk’s website.
Source article: http://cgpress.org/archives/autodesk-to-go-subscription-based-only.html
My take?
The domino effect started by Adobe has already begun. Following up with their rental only model will be Maxon, The Foundry and Pixologic.
The next phase will be cloud-only rendering where the actual software lives on a datacluster run by specialized hardware unavailable to consumers and access is done remotely through HD streaming. Not only will you be able to use Maya on a mobile device or a 10 year old machine, but it also makes the whole setup impossible to crack. Previous versions going a few years back will be made available for free (like Adobe CS2) to give everyone a sample of what the company offers or at least, to keep students and hobbyists using their software.
That will be the day when opensource will be embraced like never before and Blender users will get the last laugh.
This discussion has been closed.
Replies
I get the future is moving towards more internet based services and it's something that wont be stopped. But living in a country with data caps kinda throws a wrench in all this.
It will NOT be subscription only ( as far as i understood ) it will be RENTAL only . Your license will stop after you stop paying. With the legacy subscription option you still can use the software, even after you let your subscription drop ( because ... maybe .... Autodesk did'nt deliver for example ? ). If that's indeed the case , i'm definitely finished with Autodesk ...
Oh wow, I really don't agree with that. I'm still on 2012 at home because everything past that has been a regression and not added anything I care for.
Switching to Blender and diverting internal engineers to making it more like 3dsmax or Maya becomes more attractive with every passing day.
If Autodesk goes the Crydev license model which locks you out of the software once it expires good luck with that. Most developers don't upgrade every year because we make custom plugins for the engines we work with and its just too dang expensive.
Then again they get most of their money from Civil engineering and architecture firms. Games and movies account for a small fraction of their income from what I've heard. There are more companies designing buildings, city layouts and cars compared to game developers and FX houses.
Open source indeed... I still want an alternative to Photoshop after they switched to the subscription model. We'll lets see what things look like in the next 12 to 24 months... should be interesting.
Pixologic on the other hand are crazy. I almost feel guilty for the amount of free updates I've gotten with Zbrush over the years.
Lol, but you gotta love it when company goes all "well i don't really know why you do X, but i say it's not good for you, so you will do Y, because i know better what's good for you, so there's no need to ask your or give you a choice. This is really mostly for your sake, not ours. ".
They can say what they want but subscription is never the "right thing for the customers."
I should start learning Modo.
They way they have it now is perfectly fine... some users rent, some users buy the program and are done with it. If they need to upgrade later, they have the option. They don't care about you anymore, just want to make more money.
I understand the sentiment, but the hate is a bit misguided. This is a business, always has been. When a business talks about "caring about the customer" this is a euphemism for providing the features that will drive paying customers to buy their products.
Like any other product, if you don't feel it's worth it, you don't have to buy it. There are competitors out there, and there's Blender too.
I already pay them a subscription fee for Max. It's cheaper than buying a one-time license, and upgrading every 3 years.
Rental will be a bit different. If it keeps me perpetually in the most current release, that could be real trouble, as it consistently takes them a year or more to work out the bugs.
I'm off to read up more on this. Thanks for the heads up phaedarus!
http://blenderaddonlist.blogspot.com/2013/10/addon-b-max-tools.html
On photoshop... Krita is becoming so strong lately and I'm sure that many people will switch to it. In couple of months news folks will be able to translate their workflows to Krita from photoshop, one-to-one. You already can open photoshop brushes in Krita.
https://krita.org/
interesting to see how some of the bigger vfx places seem to have developed their own solutions to replace them.
just a shame that other than with photoshop where the last non-rental version was pretty great, worth picking up as a last hurrah and should suffice for some time, the current max does seem like the kind of mess you wouldn't want to touch.
last few companies i worked with (and the current one as well) are/were on pretty old max versions for all relevant departments. and getting grumpy about paying subscription fees for software updates their teams were rejecting.
Not much of a silver lining to be honest.
That would be, whatever program we used is going to cost us double when finalizing the project and publishing it?
I kind of like the idea how they provide sub option for Maya lt, and there is an option to buy it out right.
I am hoping for that or I have to start learning modo.
OFF TOPIC: What do you guys use for cloth animation along with is maya lt. I think we should also start focusing on re-configuring our workflow.
Just don't play their game of stupid subscriptions and let them taste the dust of the ground.
whole thing is the price point on whether this is gonna be fucky or not, and what you get for the price.
max for instance hasn't had anything new worthwhile in it in years
I don't need the animation tools, nor the rigging, nor the particles, nor the other useless features they added in the newer versions i don't use, etc.
Modo 801 for example, has for me ZERO improvements in modelling, and it's worse in viewport perfomance, much much worse (the app is already overbloated and full of bugs). They didn't improve the modelling, nor the painting, nor the sculpting...
Would you upgrade to photoshop CC because they added 2 filters? With modo is the same, and with Max as well. Most companies still use older versions of 3dsMax like Max 2009, or 2011. Max hasn't had anything new for modelling in years, but stupid ui changes full of bugs and glitches.
Still, I'll probably have to start looking into Modo or Blender, which sucks because I love Max
so while it may be okay to use old versions for now, 5 years from now I dont expect that to be the case.
But whatever works for you!
one of the worst 3d apps ever !
Will be the new best program for 3d.
*bait taken*; Just because one doesnt know how to use Luxology Modo, doesnt make it "the worst 3d app ever."
As long as it provides the essential tools that one requires to make art and present it. I am ok with that.
On the other NOTE: http://www.thefoundry.co.uk/products/collectives/creation-collective/
Yeah sorry, feel like my comment came outta a little harsh than needed. Realize their a business and gotta make money, but as an indie dev it hurts alot to have another thing on my mind gotta pay for (although less, but more frequently, rather than just buying and waiting). And also, if your a small team (like 2-3 artists) and only need to use some of the features in the entire program, perpetual sounds like a good deal, since it lasts forever. No need to upgrade if you don't have too, and like you pointed out newer software is can be buggy. And even then, within 3 years I find a bunch of features have been added, refined, and found to be mostly bug free, I can simply upgrade if needed. If i don't want too, then I also have the option.
It's a matter of preferences. Mesh fusion is useless for subdiv modelling. It just creates a very dense mesh and it's not very useful for production models, models that can be modelled with less polygons (70-90% less). And of course, it's a plugin you MUST pay separately. Meshfusion is not the tool of the gods
And about the snapping... err, have you ever tried a modo 302 trial version?. The snapping is not much better in modo 801 SPx
Most modo users here starting using modo with the 601 version. When i recommended it here, the first version, almost all the users said me that modo was garbage, and that SILO was the best subdiv app ever. And now look, where are those Silo users? and Silo?. The same with "super Hexagon"...
Like i commented, i won't pay for an upgrade just because they added 2 "filters" or "two BASIC and prehistoric features", bad programmed and with a huge poor perfomance.
BTW, like with gpu drivers, you don't have the need of the ultimate/latest version.
commercial sub (full support full price)
indie (whose profit is <$$$, full support indie price)
learning (free with community support like Autodesk is doing right now, full featured but strictly no commercial use)
I knew that since ages... and like him too many great artists that work in the games industry and need to save time and effort. And you know, Tor Frick is not precisely a guy without knowledge
but well, this is not the matter of the thread. If you want to waste your money in software, do as you please. But think that you won't sell me the "godly features" of modo because i could say i'm one of the few users of this forum that have been using modo since version 1, and i have tried out all the trials (some of them 5 times, due to their stupid huge amount of service packs).
BTW, modo is just another app, you can do the same with maya.
Blender is going to have a free pass to the top soon.
I'd love to see another company roll into the industry that chisels away at their monopoly while offering a sound competitive advantage
Edit:: Hmm, another thing just occurred to me.
If they force everyone to keep with the current software version, that could likely break custom plugins. - designed for specific versions of their software.
You really think that they will care when they didnt in the past ? Just because Autodesk jumps the most retarded bandwagon ever ?
They're complete morons if they think they can do only half of what Adobe did and find the same level of success.
I think it could work, if autodesk pulled their collective thumbs out of trying to dominate the market and did something useful with the software.
It's wishful thinking to maintain plugin compatibility for the streaming updates. I mean in a studio environment, you make your own tools or use studio tools, to speed up certain task's across the board. Update X.XXX comes along and bang a week or two of work broken and useless since the script lost compatablity. *More advanced workflows that required dedicated tech's to build would have a longer time investment ofc*
TLDR:
They're walking a fine line to half assing it and losing the market, cause they already have a begrudged user base by some woeful choices. /metaphor/ pic relevant to the latest half assed Max release
I wonder if they are reading this thread at all aha
Even better is to have a SysAdmin license/client and the admin is the one who pushes out the updates to the studio.
Just need to see what price they come in at.
If you compare nr of Pixologic staff on linkedin (24, let's say that's only a fraction of them, probably easily 3 or 4 times as much), with the nr of Autodesk employees (7500 or so) it's obvious they need to make a lot less money to keep afloat...
Erik has a good point about the compatibility, we have at least half a year delay on average for switching over to a new version; if you're unable to stay on an old version, that could cause major issues for production!
This is what bothers me most, and keeps me on older versions of max. Nearly every single update breaks something (mostly plugins, sometimes scripts).
On the otherhand I can see some benefits if they drop the price, such that you pay less per year than upgrading a new license.
I think the price-tag will make the difference here.
Besides that it is always good to have some other fallback to rely on, be it blender, modo or what ever.
If ADSK cut their prices by 50% this can work. But I strongly doubt they do.
More realistic scenario:
Year since first subscription-only versions they show some fancy features and break FBX backward-compatibility (they fuckin' love to!).
People will shout: "Finally autodesk give us great update!".
Then they announce "great 6-month discount" to switch from perpetual licenses to this subscription crap. Many folks will be happy for a while.
After 2 years most of them will realize how they was fucked and regret renounce of their perpetual licenses.
Mark my words.