WordPress.com Mummy automattic changes the direction … again.
IN Blog post Automattic, entitled “Returning To Core”, Automattic announced that he would recognize its contribution to the WordPress project. This happens, despite the saying only last month that version 6.8 WordPress It would be the final main edition for all 2025.
“After stopping our contribution to regrouping, thinking and planning strategically, we are ready to press the playback again and to fully return to the WordPress project,” says a new blog post. “Expect that we will find our contribution to all the biggest hits – WordPress Core, Gutenberg, Playground, OpenVerse and WordPress.org. This return is for us a moment of excitement, because it is about continuing the mission in which we always believed: democratization of publication for all, everywhere,” we read.
Automattic says that he has learned a lot from a break in many ways in which WordPress is used and that he is now involved in helping “developing and developing”.
Post also notes that WordPress today powers 43% of the network.
It is not clear what has changed.
However, according to the sources that talked to Techcrunch, Matt Mullenweg, the CEO of Automattic, explained in the internal post published last night that he wants to release the edition of 6.9 with refreshment of the administrator and something from the “new AI team” this year. (The latter refers to the announcement this week that WordPress has created a new team to manage the development of AI projects.)
“I don't think it will happen without our contribution,” said the post, according to the source knowing internal discussions.
Internal speculate that there is something more in it, and different theories are floating. Some people wonder if Mullenen was forced to move, or did he realize that the pull was not good for his company or his reputation? Others debate whether this change of heart is related to the ongoing dispute of the Automattic with the Hosting company WPPPress, WP Engine, which Automattic called “A”threat ”for the WordPress community and “Cancer for WordPress”.
Nobody knows what to believe, and none of these theories of backghannel contain an officially specific reason.
Automattic was asked for an additional comment.
Since 2024, Automattic has been involved in a legal dispute, which is related to how little, in the opinion of Mullenweg, the WP engine contributes to the WordPress project, despite its size and revenues.
He believes that the hosting company is gaining profits from Open Source WordPress, without devotion. Mullenweg also claims that the WP engine uses the confusion between WordPress and commercial services such as WP Engine. This led him to ban access to WordPress.org and Sue in court Unauthorized use of trademarks.
Simply put, Mullenweg believes that the WP engine He should or pay Direct license fee or contribution to the Open Source WordPress project or should not be able to use its trademark.
WP Engine replied that he did not think he needed a license and that automatic does not understand the right of a trademark, posing in return the machine.
Last month, Automattic dismissed 16% of staff, saying that restructuring was necessary to be more agile and improve its performance and profitability.
You can get to Sarah Perez at @Sarahperez.01 on Signal and Sarahp@techCrunch.com.
