After a brief retreat from contributing to the open-source WordPress project, Automattic has now reversed course—again. In a Thursday night post titled “Returning to Core,” the company signaled its full reentry into the WordPress ecosystem, pledging renewed involvement across key pillars like WordPress Core, Gutenberg, Openverse, Playground, and the .org platform itself.
This move comes barely a month after Automattic said version 6.8 would be the last major release for the year. Now, insiders say CEO Matt Mullenweg is eyeing a 6.9 release by year’s end, potentially featuring a refreshed admin panel and early outputs from WordPress’ newly minted AI team.
Automattic’s public justification centers on so-called “strategic regrouping” and a sharpened focus on advancing WordPress’s global objectives. Yet, private discussions reveal considerably more complexity. Industry analysts point to significant internal discord, concerns about potential reputational harm, and possible legal complications with major hosting provider WP Engine as contributing factors in the decision. In reality, the situation appears far less straightforward than the company’s official narrative suggests.
The courtroom battle between Automattic and WP Engine—centered on alleged trademark misuse and disputes over open-source contributions—has already fractured parts of the WordPress community. Mullenweg has accused WP Engine of extracting value from the project while failing to give back, branding the company a “threat” and “cancer.” WP Engine, in turn, fired back with its own lawsuit, insisting it needs no license to operate as it does.
Automattic’s recent decisions reflect a rather intriguing tension. Not long ago, the company reduced its workforce by a notable 16%, citing the need for increased agility and sharper organizational focus—standard rationales in the tech industry. Now, in quick succession, Automattic is placing renewed emphasis on WordPress, even as it contends with ongoing litigation and the intensifying demands of internal AI development.
Frankly, the timing here seems less a gesture toward community-building and more a calculated attempt to keep a strategic foothold as the industry consolidates and competition intensifies. Whether these actions will genuinely allay stakeholder concerns or merely stoke further unease is still up in the air.
What isn’t up for debate, though, is Automattic’s unwillingness to make a quiet transition. With its foundations in open-source ideology, the company is navigating a maze of both internal and external pressures. Honestly, if you’re studying the shifting dynamics of tech organizations, Automattic’s trajectory right now is more than deserving of some serious academic attention.
