Just chiming in with my two cents here. Obviously any time there is a change in ownership and/or leadership (and that’s certainly what this is, moreso than with the Fuse acquisition, as Walter is stepping down as CEO), there’s a risk factor. I get it. Like many of us, I’ve put most of my proverbial eggs in the Corona basket - if the platform were to disappear overnight, it would take significant time, energy, and possibly money to retain my ability to quickly produce apps. So I share concerns about the future of the SDK. But I’m remaining optimistic about this change, and here’s why:
1.) I’ve been using Corona for just about 5 years now, and there have been lots of potentially game-ending changes in that time: Carlos (Walter’s co-founder) leaving, the addition of Enterprise (which many worried signaled the end of SDK support), the Fuse acquisition, going free, etc. Any guess what? The platform has only gotten better and better. Pick any 12-month period in the platform’s history and you’ll only see forward progress. No serious dips in quality or service to the community, even during the events mentioned above. To put it bluntly, they’ve got a good track record of not only surviving these changes, but growing through them. Could that record get screwed up here? Sure, but looking at the history, the safe bet is on survival.
2.) Charles McKeever (aka Corona Geek), who is an insider but also a genuine community member, is on-board with it. He’s optimistic about what this change means for the platform, and I trust him. You should too.
3.) Before you get worked up over the (potentially) low selling price of 2.3 million, keep in mind that (unless I missed something) the financial terms of the Fuse acquisition were never disclosed - probably because Fuse is privately-held and VC-funded. Which brings me to…
4.) Perk is publicly-traded, and profitable. Roj is Perk’s founder, but he’s not its owner. He has to answer to shareholders, who expect him to be a good shepherd of their investment. And given that the company is in the black, it seems like he’s doing a good job. He’s got real skin in the game to make sure that Corona thrives. And speaking of skin in the game…
5.) Perk actually USES the platform. So it’s not just a cold investment for them. So in the same way that Unreal Engine is not just a revenue stream for Epic, Corona is part of Perk’s toolchain. Do you think Perk devs have items on the feature request list? How much you wanna bet those features get implemented? So long as Perk’s in-house requirements push the SDK to grow, it’s good for everybody.
6.) New blood can be a good thing. I’m sorry to see Walter go, and while it’s a risk for him to depart, it’s also an opportunity for a new figurehead to make bold changes. @Roj: can you give any details for Perk’s executive search plan?
If it sounds like I drank the Kool-Aid, rest assured that I haven’t. I’m just optimistic, and I think there’s genuine reasons to be so. There’s a real possibility the whole thing could go belly up. But guess what? In today’s “app store economy,” that was already a real risk.
Sorry for the long post. TL;DR: Welcome Roj! You just bought a company with an active, helpful and friendly internet community (THAT’s a rarity). We’re happy you’re here but understandably skittish when our favorite platform changes. Please chime in often. We’d love to hear what you’ve got planned.