I completely understand and support the idea that updates, especially those adding new features and improvements to a complex software like Cubase, should come at a cost. It’s fair for Steinberg to charge for their hard work and continuous innovation.
However, the recent situation with the Cubase 14 grace period does leave a bit of a sour taste. Steinberg held a sale in September, encouraging many of us to buy Cubase 13. Yet, with the grace period in place, anyone who activated Cubase 13 after October 8th gets the update to Cubase 14 for free. To make things more complicated, there seems to be a loophole where users could take advantage of the 60-day fully functional demo to now qualify for the free upgrade, even if they purchased during the sale.
Wouldn’t it have made more sense to hold the sale at least 90 days before the release of Cubase 14? That way, customers wouldn’t feel like they just missed out or need to resort to tricks to get the latest version. A little more time between the sale and the release would likely reduce complaints and provide a better experience for all customers.