Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com, has ended its strategic pause and resumed full contributions to the open-source WordPress project. This move marks a renewed commitment to advancing core development, including WordPress Core, Gutenberg, and AI features, amid ongoing legal and governance negotiations.
The decision is crucial for the WordPress ecosystem, which powers roughly 43% of the web. It follows concerns raised after indications that WordPress 6.8 might be the final major release of 2025, fueling uncertainty about the project’s future momentum.
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg emphasized the company’s long-standing mission “to make publishing accessible to everyone” in internal communications, as reported by TechCrunch. He expressed confidence that the upcoming WordPress 6.9 release—which will include admin interface updates and new AI capabilities—would not be feasible without Automattic’s renewed involvement.
This strategic reversal comes after a period marked by legal disputes with competitor WP Engine, substantial layoffs at Automattic, and heightened scrutiny of WordPress governance.
Background: The Controversial Pause
Automattic’s reduced engagement with WordPress.org became apparent early in 2025. In January, the company cited “legal attacks” from WP Engine—backed by private equity firm Silver Lake—as a primary reason for reallocating resources, specifically naming WP Engine and addressing criticism from segments of the WordPress community.
As a result, Automattic’s “Five for the Future” contributions—a WordPress initiative encouraging organizations to dedicate 5% of their resources to development—plummeted from 3,539 weekly hours on January 1 to just 45 hours by May. By late May, the company reported 76 contributors dedicating 500 weekly hours collectively.
This reduction followed service interruptions in late 2024, when Mullenweg announced suspension of several free WordPress.org services, including new account registrations and plugin submissions. He attributed these moves to legal pressures from WP Engine and volunteer burnout, controversially stating that WP Engine’s legal actions effectively forced Automattic to provide free labor and services.
Legal and Governance Disputes
The conflict with WP Engine intensified in late 2024 when a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against Automattic. The order required Automattic to restore WP Engine’s access to WordPress.org and to cease replicating WP Engine’s Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin.
Automattic had launched a competing “Safe Custom Fields” plugin on WordPress.org, which WP Engine condemned as an attempt by Mullenweg to “unilaterally control” the open platform. WP Engine warned this posed a “severe risk of disruption and irreparable damage” to the WordPress ecosystem, accusing Automattic of serious trust violations and breach of openness commitments.
These legal challenges coincided with Automattic’s internal restructuring, which included approximately 16% workforce layoffs in January 2025. Mullenweg described the layoffs as a “difficult but necessary” measure to safeguard the company’s long-term viability, emphasizing the need to improve productivity, profitability, and investment capacity amid fierce competition.
WordPress governance also faced turmoil when Mullenweg suspended WordPress.org accounts of several key community figures, including Joost de Valk and Heather Burns. This prompted calls for systemic reforms, including a legal motion by developer Michael Willman advocating for an independent oversight board for WordPress.org, alleging that the suspensions were retaliatory and inconsistent with the platform’s fairness and transparency principles.
Meanwhile, WP Engine customers have initiated a class-action lawsuit against Automattic and Mullenweg, with amended complaints anticipated.
Outlook and Unresolved Questions
Automattic’s recommitment to WordPress Core, Gutenberg, Playground, and Openverse suggests a strategic recalibration. However, the company has not yet disclosed the number of contributors returning or whether previous levels of resource investment will be restored.
The pause has spurred WordPress leadership to consider moving to an annual major release cycle. Interestingly, the current WordPress 6.9 development page on WordPress.org still lists Matt Mullenweg as release lead but designates the release as the first major version of 2026, a detail that may be updated following this announcement.
As Automattic reengages with the WordPress community, all eyes will be on how this complex episode influences the platform’s future development and governance.
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