Technology is always changing, and sometimes these changes are linear, like moving from one system to another. The goal is usually to ensure that your chosen creative technology always performs and offers the best.

Now that Adobe has acquired Substance 3D, let’s see how it will affect current users.

Adobe Has Acquired Substance 3D

Creative tech giant Adobe has acquired Allegorithmic, the company behind Substance 3D, making the suite now Adobe Substance 3D. While it won’t be part of the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, it will run similarly with a monthly subscription.

After Adobe’s decision to discontinue 3D features in Photoshop, it happily welcomes more 3D options within its toolkit. Adobe began the process of acquisition in 2019, giving users plenty of time to decide what they want to do before the switch.

When Will the Change Happen?

On September 30th in 2022, users will no longer have access to Substance 3D. This change has been a long time coming since being first announced in 2019. Substance 3D’s parent company, Allegorithmic, stopped offering automatic annual subscription renewals in July 2021 and monthly subscription renewals in November 2021 to prepare for the switchover.

Users will have access to their accounts until September 30th, but they were able to create Adobe accounts to access Adobe Substance 3D from mid-2021 to start the switch on their own time. If you want to keep using your original account, then keep an eye on the calendar, so you don’t get a surprise when you can no longer log in.

At the time of writing, despite being able to access the rest of the original Substance 3D, users cannot access Substance Launcher any longer.

How Will the Change Affect Users?

Largely, it won’t affect users to move to Adobe; however, we don’t know what the future holds. Until the final switch date, you still have time to access your account to save invoices or retrieve perpetual license keys if you have them, so you can reactivate the software.

If you are a Steam user, you won’t be affected and can still use Substance 3D in the way you have been. But for regular users of the software, they’ll have to create an Adobe account if they want to continue using it—or log in to an existing Adobe account.

From your Adobe account, you can get a 30-day free trial for each Substance 3D program—and even apply to be invited to the latest beta program, Modeler—and, of course, you can buy access to the programs from there.

If you have credits in your original Substance 3D account, then there’s good news: you can transfer the credits to your Adobe account. And all is not lost if you have an Annual Legacy Subscription, either. You are eligible for a prorated refund when moving to Adobe.

To keep your old assets when making a new Adobe Substance 3D account, simply locate the asset folders on your computer, and drag your old assets into the new folder to overwrite them. This allows you to use your new account with all the assets you’ve built up over time.

Is It Worth Switching to Adobe Substance 3D?

It depends. The price to subscribe to Adobe Substance 3D Texturing is the same as the Substance 3D Indie package at $20.99 per month. And with Adobe’s 30-day free trial, you can save yourself a month’s payment.

To get the full Adobe Substance 3D Collection—including Stager, Designer, Painter, and Sampler—it costs $49.99, which is more than Substance 3D’s original price plan. However, you’ll also get the expertise that Adobe brings to the mix.

Substance 3D might be new to Adobe right now, but it won’t be long before they add great new tools and other options that were unavailable with the original software.

If you do not want to commit to an Adobe subscription, there are other 3D programs available, such as Blender or its alternatives.

Will You Make the Switch?

Change might be frustrating, but Adobe has made it easy to switch with plenty of time and warning. You can still access your Substance 3D assets and files and won’t lose years of hard work. And you can even transfer any remaining credits to the new Adobe version. If you decide not to take the plunge with Adobe, there are still many great alternatives for you to work in 3D.