Affinity enshittification: How Canva's "Four Pledges" aged like milk

The Golden Era (2014-2019)

Between 2014 and 2019, Serif Europe blessed the design world with the Affinity suite – genuine, professional alternatives to Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign that actually worked.

I was absolutely thrilled. Why? Because around 2012, Adobe decided to stop selling perpetual licenses and went all-in on their subscription racket. Even now, in 2025, I refuse to subscribe to anything. With Affinity, you bought it once. No subscriptions. No monthly bloodletting. Just buy it and actually own it. Revolutionary concept, right?

The V2 Universal License – The Last Good Thing

November 2022 brought us the Affinity V2 Universal License – Photo, Designer, and Publisher bundled together for all platforms. Excellent software at a fair price. Life was good.

March 26, 2024: The Day the Music Died

Then Canva announced their acquisition of Affinity. Canva. The company that serious designers mention only when explaining what NOT to use for professional work.

I knew exactly what this meant. I've seen this movie before, and the ending is always the same:

  1. "Investor" acquires beloved product
  2. First few months: "Nothing will change! We're committed to the community!"
  3. Year 1-2: Start extracting every penny possible
  4. Year 3+: Either kill the product or turn it into a zombified shadow of its former self

These business people don't understand software and IT. They don't understand creators. They understand Excel spreadsheets and quarterly earnings. They're creatives in only one way: finding innovative methods to destroy good products. Overpaid idiots in expensive suits driving Porsches straight into walls they built themselves.

A Personal Interlude: The Modo Tragedy

Let me share a cautionary tale. I used to love Modo, a brilliant 3D modeling tool from Luxology (founded by LightWave 3D veterans). In 2012, The Foundry announced they had "merged" with Luxology.

The moment I saw that announcement, I knew it was time to abandon ship. Of course, the naive defenders emerged: "Give them a chance! This will be great for Modo's future!"

Classic enshittification followed. Just for fun, I checked what happened to Modo while writing this article: In 2024, The Foundry announced they're discontinuing Modo development. Zero surprise. Actually, kudos to them for managing to parasitize that product for 12 years. That's impressive longevity for corporate vampirism.

Back to Affinity: The "Four Pledges" Comedy Show

Right after the acquisition, Affinity published their "Four pledges to the community" to calm the terrified user base. Let's examine this masterpiece of corporate fiction:

Four Pledges

Pledge #1: "Perpetual licenses will always be offered and we will always price Affinity fairly and affordably".

Let that sink in. "WILL ALWAYS BE OFFERED". Not "might be" not "we'll try" but "ALWAYS".

November 2025: The Mask Comes Off

Three days ago, Canva announced they're relaunching Affinity as a "new all-in-one app" with a freemium model. You can use the basic version for free, but advanced features? That'll be a subscription, thanks.

V2 perpetual licenses? Removed from sale. You literally cannot buy Affinity anymore. You can only use their "generous" freemium version.

So much for "perpetual licenses will always be offered", eh?

The Predictable Pattern

This is textbook enshittification:

  1. Acquisition: Buy beloved product with loyal user base
  2. Honeymoon: Make grand promises, pledge commitment to values
  3. Pivot: "After listening to the community..." (translation: after our MBA spreadsheet jockeys ran the numbers)
  4. Extraction: Squeeze every penny until the product dies or users flee
  5. Gaslighting: "This is actually better for users!"

What "Always" means in Corporate Speak

The search for alternatives begins... Again

So here we are. Another good product sacrificed on the altar of "shareholder value". Time to start looking for alternatives, knowing full well that whatever we find will eventually be acquired by another soulless corporation that will promise to "accelerate innovation" while methodically destroying everything that made it worth using.

A Message to Canva

Congratulations. It took you just over a year and a half to break the very first promise you made. Right on schedule! Most companies pretend to care for 18-24 months, and you hit that window perfectly.

To everyone who defended this acquisition, who said "give them a chance" who believed the "four pledges" – how's that working out for you?

The Lesson

When a corporation makes promises, especially one that uses words like "always" and "committed", run. Run fast. They're not promises; they're countdown timers to disappointment.

The only pledge that matters in corporate acquisitions is the unspoken one: "We pledge to extract maximum value from this asset until it's a dried husk, then move on to the next victim".

Welcome to the enshittification of Affinity. It was nice while it lasted.

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