Install related question for us over decade long-time users re: this new Studio Collection. @dakota.wixom
I currently have 2 different generations of Topaz Studio installed on my Win 11 Pro (desktop) PC.
I love them & use them as Photoshop CC plugins.
If the new, upcoming Topaz products collection ‘packaging’ (bundling?) is also called “Studio”, but is not the same as my legacy Topaz software of the same name (that I don’t want to risk losing under any conditions), will upcoming installers/uninstallers (if an uninstall is run on the new 2025 Studio) either overwrite or uninstall my pre-existing Topaz Studio/Studio 2 programs with the same name?
How is that being handled to prevent product ownership/installation/usage catastrophes?
I object most strongly to my post being hidden
I have been a supportive and loyal Topaz user for many years and recently an active beta tester
The current situation regarding Change to subscriptions is huge and has clearly been very badly handled by senior management at Topaz - evidenced by the user responses !
I have not said anything inaccurate or untrue in my post
I have expressed my personal feelings and opinions which I believe is my entitlement
I have not threatened either Topaz or any other user or community member
Nothing I’ve posted is either offensive or abusive or hateful or a violation of community guidelines
I don’t think Topaz or the automatic mentoring should be censoring factual and accurate comment and criticism of this matter
Yes, I criticize because as many other users also feel this change has been very badly announced and is contrary to so many repeated promises made over the last few months - most specifically the promised release of GPAI 8.5.0
My criticism is founded on such disappointment at such an ill-judged policy statement - with no warning or consultation and such inadequate detailed explanations initially about how existing and current users licences and upgrades are to be handled.
Some of the latest answers in this thread - if accurate and to be believed - seem to clarify some issues - but that’s the point of criticism - that information should have been in the initial statement or concurrent with it.
I request a real person moderator review my original post and communicate with me directly.
Meantime I will use AI to get its opinion(s) as to whether my post was " offensive, abusive, to be hateful conduct or a violation of our community guidelines." And I will report back.
A Gemini AI suggested version of my original more passionate comments :
As a long-time user and a contributing beta tester, I am incredibly disappointed with the recent changes. The way this has been communicated has been very confusing and feels like a broken promise. Most particularly the promised version GPAI 8.5.0. It’s troubling to see a team leader express uncertainty about how a feature like auto-renewal works, as it leaves users feeling overlooked and undervalued. I believe the developers and support staff are not at fault, but the leadership and management need to take responsibility for this rollout. A clear explanation and an apology from them would go a long way in restoring user trust.
By late 2025, Adobe lost approximately 8.2 million Creative Cloud subscribers due to major price increases, terms of service controversies, and backlash over AI integration.
Topaz is at risk of a similar customer exodus because it has not respected its user base. For the first time, I chose not to renew my Topaz Video subscription, and although I upgraded Gigapixel and Photo AI, I regret that decision. Now, Topaz is switching to a subscription model. It’s a greedy move, and they’re likely to lose customers just like Adobe has. I’m finished with Topaz, especially since the upscaling quality hasn’t improved and AI-generated eyes still look unnatural.
There is growing concern about Topaz’s support for perpetual licenses as well. If a user’s computer fails and they need to move their perpetual license to a new device, it’s unclear whether Topaz will allow license transfers or stop support entirely. Additionally, recent buyers of one-year upgrade plans now find they’re being denied major upgrades for perpetual licenses after September 16, 2025. The company’s communications frame ongoing studio updates as a benefit, but once the subscription ends, access reverts to the version from 9/16/2025. Previously, users kept the latest version when their upgrade period ended; now, this seems intentionally structured to push existing users into new subscriptions.
This approach has alienated many loyal customers, myself included, after spending over $2,000 on Topaz’s products. I discontinued Adobe for similar predatory behavior, and Adobe’s legal troubles show where such practices can lead. Thanks to these experiences, I’ve moved to AI Arty, which offers a real lifetime license, and in my view, the results are better than Artemis.
I can see lawsuits coming in Topaz’s future for breach of contract.
Are there plans to incorporate the new APIs that Apple relesases every with their new system software. For instance Mac OS 26 "Tahoe’ will have Metal 4. Eventually Metal 5, and 6 will be released. ML 4 is the current number there will be a ML 5, and 6 eventually. So will AI system softare improvements that Apple releases in the future be incorporated into the current Photo AI and Gigapixel to make them run faster or have you not discussed this yet, or will you just make sure it just runs as it is now with no possible speed improvements from future system software updates.
Just a bit more clarification, please. Minor updates that change the third number in the version number, i.e., 4.0.N, have been free even after the end of the subscription. But, updates that change the first and/or second number are only free for current, active subscriptions. Will that continue for anyone who decides at the end of their current subscription not to continue?
As I already wrote, I am still open minded about all this. I am very much looking forward to see the new stuff in the Studio versions.
Thanks again for this clarification.
I have an idea that I hope Topaz will consider. I think it would mollify just about everyone, would be easy for Topaz to do, and would likely have little to no revenue loss compared to your current plan for Studio.
As you say, anyone with a current active subscription will get the new Studio app and can use it for no additional cost until the end of the subscription. At that point if one pays for a new subscription then one can continue using the Studio app. If one does not pay then one can still use the old non-Studio version.
I think Topaz should modify that though. At the end of the current subscription anyone who does not renew can continue to use the Studio app version as of that date. Maybe with a limited number of cloud renderings per month (20?, 10?), but no updates. Similar to now. Of course, new customers as of 9/16 wouldn’t get this deal.
Topaz seems extremely confident that it has made tremendous strides and has lots more good stuff coming, particularly since there are unlimited cloud renderings included which allows you to have models and algorithms that most of us cannot reasonably run on our home computers. I suspect that most people (including me) will be so impressed that when the current, old subscription expires we will want to pay again to get the updates.
That is what was already suggested - and what all(!) subscribers whose subscription is still active on 9/16 should be entitled to, legally as well as in terms of customer appreciation. I, personally, don’t care if the thing is called “Studio” or “Gigapixel 8.5” but my subscription will be active through 9/16 and I very much expect not only to get this version (which has already been clarified by Topaz) but to be able to use it locally after my subscription expires. If I decide to continue my subscription thereafter, of course, the new billing models apply, but no one with a current subscription has ever agreed to them, so it would be highly unfair if Topaz applied the new policy to those already subscribed.
My Photo AI licence expires on 20 November 2025, and Gigapixel AI on 24 November 2025. I was already 90% certain I wasn’t going to renew, mainly because of lack of use, - the only doubt being whether you’d introduce something wonderful to entice me to renew. Unbelievably, you’ve managed to do the exact opposite.
Any updates after Sep 16 will only be available to me through Studio, and only until my licences expire in November, meaning I won’t be getting what I’ve already actually paid for. Can I therefore expect pro rated refunds for the period from Sep 16 until their respective expiry dates?
You couldn’t have made the announcement more vague and confusing if you tried. To be frank, I don’t even care about the minute details. What you fail to realize is that I was your customer precisely because you didn’t sell a subscription, but a product.
None of us ever believed that the move to pseudo subscriptions by Topaz a few years ago as well as this current move to full subscription was driven by any consideration for what the customer desired. This is all about the evolution of modern business practices, and staying viable in the eyes of the financial world. No one will sign up to provide your business operating funding if you’re in the risky world of selling discrete products that customers may or may not occasionally buy from you. Show me your total number of subscribers, and I know with more certainty what your income stream will be over the next year so I can count on you paying me back with interest. This business financing model is driving every market in the direction of subscriptions. It’s why companies make it a lot harder to unsubscribe than to subscribe once they get you hooked with introductory rates and discounts for auto-renewal or multi-year subscriptions. They also have no motivation to hold their rates steady for loyal long term customers. If you don’t actively complain about the annual increases you will, over time, be paying far more than the new customers are paying.
This thing is Adobe all over again, no matter how many excuses are being presented trying to explain the why behind the change,and no one in their right minds can say it isn’t.
I still own the last version of Lightroom from before Adobe went subscription, and actually subscribed to the photography plan for a year before I realized I was spending my money on something I would not have access to if I stopped paying. Sure, can still fire up my old lightroom, but the difference with current versions is probably more than huge. Same with Photoshop… How many people still have CS6 as their last version?
This with GAI & PAI vs Topaz Studio is exactly the same… Welcome to Adobe-land everybody!
It should also be mentioned that the model that made the difference over the last two or three years of GPAI updates - Redefine - is still in the beta stage and that there were tons and tons of advice by GPAI users in which respect Redefine still is flawed. As a big thank you from Topaz, we, those users, will never get a fully productive Redefine that is ours permanently (in fact, no one will). I have contributed quite a lot reporting Redefine flaws but I will certainly not continue as an unpaid bug tracker if not allowed to permanently use the improvements coming up within my subscription time frame.
Going to a subscription model isn’t going to cost anymore
I only have PAI and with the “Studio” version. I get: “Unlimited cloud rendering for images (non-batch)”, which I feel is a great benefit. This will allow Topaz to produce features that would be hard to run on a PC.
If I decide to stop paying, it means I’m not interested in it any more and will just uninstall it. This is true for Topaz’s present model or the new one.
I realize why Topaz and Adobe and other companies are doing this. That is so they can get a constant income stream.
Other companies such DXO will go this way. It’s not a question of “if” but “when”
Oh that solidifies it for me. I’m cancelling all 3 of my renewal subscriptions. Also I never got to use Gigapixel Redefine in full since they never fixed it for the M3. I renewed in Feb and can’t even use the full feature of the app. Too bad, I was looking forward to Starlight Mini app but looks like this will not happen ever. OH also, I want to re-do all my Family VHS, Mini VHS, DV tapes with newer models on Video Ai. This new subscription only model mean better tech or changes are not available for local use. You have to use credits to do cloud base video upscale. No thanks. Nov 1 will be my deadline. Unless this changes I will then cancel all of it.
I’ve read most of the post, but I’m still not really sure what I’ll be getting from September 16th.
I owned Sharpen AI, Denoise AI and Gigapixel AI. For all these products there’s no active subscription. For Photo AI I’ve renewed the subsription end of August. It will be expired August 28th, 2026.
That’s the point I doesn’t understand. What I get exactly on September 16th?
Must I pay anything before Aug. 2026?
I’ll wait and see what happened and in the meantime I hope for a better communication and informations.
You will get the “studio” version of PAI until at least August 2026 with no additional cost. If you decide to pay after that you can keep using it. You can keep your present version of PAI forever.
