Adobe CS6 Will Be The Last Creative Suite: Why Photoshop And Family Are Now Subscription-Only Apps In The 'Creative Cloud'

Adobe announced at its Adobe MAX conference on Monday that CS6, the sixth version of the company’s popular set of software design tools, will be the last Creative Suite. Adobe has decided to refocus its energies to its Creative Cloud, which was announced last April alongside CS6, and end development on the Creative Suite entirely.

Adobe said CS6 will continue to receive bug fixes, but the company will not be creating a Creative Suite 7.

The Adobe Creative Cloud is a digital hub that allows users to use its software applications through a subscription-based service. A one-year commitment to the Adobe Creative Cloud costs $49.99 per month, but users who own Creative Suite 3 or later can purchase a full year’s access to the Creative Cloud for $29.99 per month as long as they have their serial numbers. Adobe will also sell single app subscriptions for $19.99 per month each.

Adobe is also offering its Creative Cloud for teams, asking users of Creative Suite 3 or later to pay $39.99 per month or new users to pay $69.99 per month. Students can purchase the complete Creative Cloud for $19.99 per month, and a new Teams for Education tier will be charged $39.99 per month per user.

While users may feel dismayed at the decision to kill the Creative Suite, Adobe's move should not come as a major surprise. Adobe has long been looking for ways to stabilize its revenue, but, over the past year, fans had also begun to challenge Adobe’s steep price structure for its Creative Suite and the company had few legitimate answers to users’ questions.

Adobe released the first Creative Suite in 2003, but, despite the temporary boost in income from each of its six releases spread over the last 10 years, Adobe was still struggling to make money on a consistent basis, especially with the increase in piracy regarding serial numbers for the Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection, which costs several thousand dollars.

By switching to a subscription-based model, Adobe can generate income more evenly while maintaining better control over piracy. With an Internet-based subscription model, Adobe can also release updates and changes in a more cost-effective manner via the Creative Cloud.

Adobe will still sell its Creative Suite 6 -- check out our guide to Adobe CS6 for much more information on all its features -- but users looking for new Adobe applications will want to check out the company’s new software tools optimized for its Creative Cloud.

Adobe will release all of its new software tools this June with the new “CC” branding, including Photoshop CC, InDesign CC, Illustrator CC, Dreamweaver CC and Premiere Pro CC.

For a rundown on all the new features in Adobe’s latest software, including Photoshop CC and Illustrator CC, check out the Next Web’s in-depth guide to the new-and-improved Creative Cloud.

What do you think of Adobe’s move to the Creative Cloud? Will you miss the physical Creative Suite? Would you spend money on the company’s new subscription plans? Let us know in the comments section below.