In late 2014, Serif released Affinity Designer to the world. In early 2015, they followed that success with the release of Affinity Photo, the would-be Photoshop-killer. It seems to have worked out pretty well for them. While software packages like Pixelmator and The Gimp have failed to make any serious dent in the Photoshop market, Affinity software comes with the full weight of Serif behind it. They have the means to make a great product, keep it updated, and most of all, support it (especially important in the professional sector). Even better, each app only costs $50 USD, and that’s a one-time price. That’s more than reasonable, considering... ahem... some other companies’ pricing policies. The only problem thus far has been the fact that Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo were Mac-only. Needless to say, Windows customers are interested. Who doesn’t want great software at a reasonable price? According to Ashley Hewson, Serif’s Managing Director:

Pretty much any article, blog or social post about our Affinity apps now seems to attract a rush of comments from users asking why we don’t make them available on Windows.

No kidding. Well, your prayers, demands, and pleading comments have availed much, friends! As you may have guessed from the title, Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo are both on their way. In fact, they’re nearly feature-complete, and there’s a beta program in place. The betas are free too. If you want a piece of the action, sign up here. Now, Mac users might be thinking something like, "Hey... they said the Affinity apps were ’built for Mac’. What gives?" You needn’t worry. The original development team is still working on the Mac version, and only on the Mac version, in fact. Even as I write, the Mac team is lining up a bug-fix update, followed by a feature update. The Windows version isn’t a port, either. It is being built from the ground up by a separate development team. It will be their job to ensure complete file compatibility, and keep up with the features. All in all, this is fantastic news for designers. More competition in the marketplace will lead to further innovation, and lower the likelihood of any company getting a total monopoly. Plus, we get cheaper options, and can work with whatever makes us most comfortable. But now, I must ask the question that’ll make Serif executives groan: When’s the Linux version due?