Yes I’m in a similar position. I renewed my Photo AI upgrades package on 31 Aug 2025 and my Gigapixel AI was/is due for renewal in Nov 2025. So I was expecting to have an Aug 2026 updated version of TPAI to keep and in Nov2026 to have an updated GPAI to keep.
In a just and honest world this never happen but we don’t live in a just world and Topaz broke their founding promise of lifetime support and upgrades a few years ago - so this isn’t a new thing for them.
As a long time user and active beta tester I feel badly let down - but life goes on.
Whether I bail out or persevere with subscriptions will depend on the final outcome of this current fiasco. Actually for me Topaz have become a 2nd grade software company because their coding and GUIs are so sloppily put together and have so many fundamental workability issues that never get corrected I may well just step away and use some of the competitor softwares. They tend to be pretty much neck by neck and the current plethora of free and low cost AI apps offers plenty of choice.
Add in the likely acceleration of development in the whole fields of AI and image processing and I’m sure in 12 months time this will all seem like a painful but irrelevant blip on the horizon of passing time … life will go on !
Unfortunately I’m sure Topaz’s highly paid lawyers will have an unassailable anti-class-action claim legal defence - even if it’s only “S..t happens”
I’m sure in the small print of the terms and conditions box that we all tick when we agree in the install process that it says somewhere " … Topaz may change anything and everything in these specifications and terms of this agreement . blahblahblah …"
Remember we never actually own our installed software we have bought a licence to use it under the providers terms and conditions - which they can change as they wish …
yes. it doesn’t list anything in my account details. just the generic Thanks for being a founding customer.
On September 16, we’re launching Topaz Studio, a subscription collection of all our apps. Studio will include 7 products, over 100 image/video AI models, unlimited cloud image processing, and local processing.
Because you own an active upgrade license to Video Al, you get access to the new Topaz Video and new pro-only models at no extra cost. On Sept 16:
Your Video AI perpetual license remains yours forever.
With an active upgrade license, you’ll get access to:
Topaz Video, with a new Nyx XL model and instant previews
The Starlight Sharp model, normally for Pro only.
Grandfathered auto-renewal price as long as your plan is active.
Founding customers with 2+ auto-renewing upgrade licenses get access to the whole Studio collection.
By keeping your existing upgrade license, you get more features at half the cost for new customers after Sept 16. We’ll also have a special gift for you before the launch - no action required.
yes. it doesn’t list anything in my account details when I click on Dakota’s link. Dakota’s link just provides a generic message of " Exciting things coming soon!
We can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on. Stay tuned to your inbox. If you haven’t received an email yet, that’s okay. We’ll be sending out individual notifications over the next few weeks."
Topaz said we own our perpetual products forever. If that is a true statement, they should send each owner executable copies of the programs they currently own so they can put it back on their systems should a hard drive fail or something else happens. I think the word forever means something entirely different to Topaz than what the rest of the world knows the word as.
I am sure there are some nice features in Studio, but most of it I have no need for. It would just bloat my hard drives even more than they already are with programs and model’s I will never use and I sure don’t want auto pay and subscription’s. Did that a couple of years with Adobe and hated it and canceled my subscription. Even that was a fight to cancel. Once they get their hooks in you they do not want to let go.
The free server processing is nice but seriously, it’s probably just another ploy to get subscribers hooked, and once they are happy with that new subscriber base, start charging for that service again. It has already been stated that some of the new Studio AI models will require server processing because they are to powerful for even powerful consumer systems to handle.
We all know they can’t be trusted…! If you doubt that, just ask a perpetual product owner with time left on their last purchase.
When I clicked on it it explained my status, then down below gave more of an overview of what’s included w/out the excessive hyperbolic mktg speak. I imagine more details will be shared as they gel them.
Baldrick: "Oh yes Topaz have a very cunning plan indeed !
What they do is Photo AI & Gigapixel AI get clouted from behind with a pick-axe and given a nice big dose of chloroform to help them snooze until your current licence expires.
Then on 16 September, Topaz release two completely new subscription only products called Photo and Gigapixel - they put a few gummy bears on top as sweeteners ! Actually the new releases may be called Photo AI 4 & Gigapixel 8 or even Bubble & Squeak - the new names are not really that important, they just need to be new …
Within a week or so they also release updates to the older Photo AI & Gigapixel AI releases which probably add a “ping” when you export plus change some colours in the GUI. That honours their older promise to maintain and update your software as specified when you last renewed your licence until your licence ends. The big advantage of this bit is that you probably won’t actually have to install anything on your computers because almost certainly nothing additional or useful will ever be released - it’s all a bit like the much older plans for Topaz AI Clear, Topaz DeNoise and Topaz Sharpen which were also put to sleep when Topaz Photo was released.
I’d say that was a very cunning and subtle plan indeed !"
Blackadder: "By Jove Baldrick, I do believe you’re right - what a dastardly trick !
I was so busy looking at the 8.5.0 trenches I never saw that coming - is this classified information by any chance ?"
Baldrick: "Oh yes Sir, but everybody here knows, however I don’t think Field Marshal Haig knows anything yet "
I agree. I used to use almost all Adobe perpetual products, After the switch to subscription, I left all but two behind, Avid, maker of Pro Tools did a similar thing initially with their switch to subscription where you wouldn’t get any updates to the perpetual past their equivalent of the Sept. 16th date. They lost so many customers they had to add back the updates to the perpetual a few years later. I was a 20 year Pro Tools user, and guess what, I no longer use Pro Tools because of Avid’s greedy and predatory behavior. I will never go back to them because I have a high level of distrust. Waves, the plugin maker, tried to do a similar thing, but the feedback was so negative from their customer base, including me, that the CEO sent a letter a week after their subscription announcement that perpetual users could continue as before, with normal updates. I like the current Waves model. You can update anytime and bring everything perpetual current and you can skip a few years if you want. This makes it so Waves has to generate real content in their releases if they want to keep their revenue stream going. As a customer, that’s the model I want. I want options, not the subscription model. Topaz, you don’t have to do this. It is NOT in your customers best interest and you will lose many as a result. You do not have to make another studio product and claim that there is no way to update the perpetual version. If you can’t it’s because of poor software design. Avid can support both the perpetual and subscription models at the same time, why can’t you?
The above comment about Adobe’s current subscriber’s numbers is fake news.
Adobe delivered record-breaking performance in Q1 and Q2 of 2025, and it’s important to rely on verified data rather than speculation; especially when discussing business practices we may disagree with. Financial results speak for themselves, and Adobe’s continued growth reflects strong market demand and enterprise adoption… like it or not. Facts are facts.
That said, from an operational standpoint, if our partners don’t provide Adobe’s licenses, we remove all Adobe software from our systems immediately upon project completion. We maintain strict control over software footprint and licensing compliance, period!
Make no mistake… Adobe remains in a completely different league compared to Topaz [Studio?], though… both in capability and ecosystem reach. The revenue scale, global integration, and long-term partnerships Adobe maintains are unmatched.
We’re talking about… Apple, Pixar, Autodesk, major government agencies, education systems worldwide… on & on for decades; these aren’t just clients; they’re foundational collaborators shaping the future of digital content.
People memories are short (or credulous); and let’s be clear; Topaz was already moving in this direction well before its recent ToU’s revision a few months ago. The signs were evident as far back as late 2022.
So here we are. Topaz has evolved, Topaz’s policies has shifted, and user trust… well, as always… that’s for the majority to decide… again.
I have an active licence of Video AI currently and a lapsed one for PhotoAI. If I pay for the PhotoAI to get updated before 16th Sept will I get access to all products on the Studio suite?
I know people who were thinking of buying Topaz Video AI. Can they buy now and get a permanent licence or can they only go to subscription?
Without going all long-winded… ha-ha; the best way to look at Topaz’s future policy is retention. Future stuff as long as the user has an active license… aka the Adobe model, ect.
Well, but isn‘t this what they‘re doing since quite some time anyways?
Ever changing the GUI with (apart from SLM which got crippled down later) otherwise no new or even reduced functionality…
I would guess people that “sign up” after the 16th will have no up front cost for the Studio products. That is they would just pay the monthly subscription cost like one does for Photoshop and …
