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Native Instruments is discontinuing several of its software products in May.
The announcement affects over 45 legacy Native Instruments and 60 third-party software, plugin instruments, effects, and sample libraries. Older versions of Traktor, Absynth, Battery, FM7, Pro-53, Spectral Delay, and Guitar Rig are all affected.
The company is also discontinuing its activation tool, Service Center. That means future activation for supported software must be handled through the Native Access platform. The changes will not affect anyone who already has the software installed and activated. However, anyone who needs to reinstall in the future will be SOL come May.
“It is no longer possible to reinstall or reactive any of these products on a new computer,” the announcement reads.
Most of the affected software have newer versions available. Native Instruments says users should contact third-parties for updated or alternative libraries. The full list of software affected is included in the original announcement.
The company says the change is being made due to data collection practices. Native Access replaced Service Center in 2016. The shutdown comes as NI is refocusing on newer, more secure technology.
“The older technology we are currently relying on is impeding our complete move to an enterprise-grade user authorization service that offers state-of-the-art security features,” the company said.
So why did Native Instruments decide to drop support for legacy products altogether?
Native Instruments says, “at this point, the effort required to uphold activation mechanisms for products that have been conceived and implemented more than ten years ago has already obstructed our path towards more modern ways of delivery and use.”
Significant changes to OSes like Mac and Windows also multiply those issues for the company. For third-party alternatives to its legacy software, Native Instruments says to contact the maker. They’re only providing “at-your-own risk support” for their end-of-life products.