If it is then i will skip this release and go back to Cubase, Nuendo is already 5 months behind the curve on new features as it is.
Hello, we keep the pricing stable and even reduced it for Nuendo dramatically over the years. In fact, the update has become way cheaper than it was 10 years ago. In 2015, the update from the predecessor version was EUR 299. If only adjusted for inflation, without further benefits for the company, this would be EUR 393 in 2025. And we’re far away from that.
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Nuendo lags behind by design.
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And, of course, if you don’t need Nuendo’s exclusive features, Cubase is the much cheaper and logical option.
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Not really. At least the way I look at it. The majority of the userbase of Nuendo, as I understand it, does not want a dot zero release, especially the traditional Nuendo userbase. And keep in mind that Steinberg has been harshly criticized in recent years for rushing the release of Nuendo after Cubase with too many bugs, and I for one (among many others), have asked Steinberg to make Nuendo more robust from launch.
So in my mind, that makes Cubase 14.0.20 the real start date for Nuendo’s “lag time” in this case. And Cubase 14.0.20, which is a great release IMO, came out one week ago. So for me, Nuendo is lagging behind Cubase by ONE week, not 4.5 months.
IMO, the larger long-term problem is that Steinberg – deliberately or accidentally – started promoting Nuendo as a sort of “Cubase Pro Pro” to broaden the user base, and some people crossgraded from Cubase Pro to “Cubase Pro Pro” (aka “Nuendo”!) with the expectation that Nuendo was the right tool for their projects. I think Steinberg marketing blurred the lines a bit too much TBH. Years ago, the lines were much more clear, and the music features were actually an add-on to Nuendo (aka the “NEK” or “Nuendo Expansion Kit”.) One could rightly argue IMO that the old strategy was a poor strategy and that they rightly ended the NEK days… but then again, over time, the lines shifted and became a bit too blurry IMO.
In any case, even with the blurry lines we have today, there is still a majority bifurcation of the markets, and some people who use Nuendo are probably best served by sticking with Cubase, and vice-versa. Just my opinion.
Also in any case, again, traditional Nuendo users in my experience do NOT want the rougher edges of a first dot-zero release, and want a much more stable/smooth release, and have been very critical of Steinberg for releasing Nuendo TOO SOON.
So this is where we are today. A compromise in release cadence. It’s not perfect. But personally, I PREFER this lag time so that Nuendo is more fully baked, and it should ONLY ever be released on the X.0.20 of the sequencer branch IMO, which is 14.0.20, which is exactly what is happening with Nuendo this time, which will be released at version 14.0.20… just one week after Cubase 14.0.20.
Just my opinion, I accept that you can have a very different point of view of course. Cheers!
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You’re absolutely right—while Cubase and Nuendo share the same core engine, their focus is fundamentally different. Not to repeat what @uarte has already explained so well, but I see it like this:
First and foremost, Nuendo, as a superset of Cubase, goes beyond music production into the world of film, TV, and game audio post-production, where efficiency, precision, and reliability are paramount. When millions are at stake, tools must not only perform flawlessly but also integrate seamlessly into complex workflows—hence the necessary gap between the two.
That said, its power extends beyond high-end productions and can be incredibly useful for everyday tasks. Take podcasting, for example—a now-standard medium. Imagine recording a podcast in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, only to return to the studio and realize there are speech fumbles. The usual fix would be ADR, but this presents another challenge—your clean studio recording now sounds entirely different from the original location audio. This is where tools like Tonal Match and Curve EQ become invaluable. They analyze the spectral characteristics of the original recording and apply them to the ADR, ensuring tonal and ambient consistency. Within minutes, your audio is corrected and ready for upload.
This is the level of refinement Nuendo brings—precision tools designed for environments where time, quality, and authenticity matter. While these capabilities might seem excessive for a casual podcast, for professionals working on immersive content, they’re not just helpful—they’re essential.
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Uarte & Rajive, You are both right in what you say but whilst Nuendo & Cubase do share the same core engine, then I believe they should both update that part together. ie for Cubase 15, an interim Nuendo 14.5 featuring the core update features?!
That certainly would be a welcome move.
There’s also a possibility that Nuendo 14 users may receive an extended trial window exception when Cubase 15 is released, allowing composers to explore new innovations while seamlessly updating their sessions once Nuendo 15 arrives. This would be a smart decision, ensuring a smooth transition for professionals who depend on Nuendo’s advanced workflows for high-end post-production and finishing. You can start from Cubase and finish in Nuendo.
(That aside)
The real shift isn’t just in features—it’s in how AI is being integrated. Training and refining AI models is a time-intensive process, but Nuendo 15 is poised to take another step toward singularity, where AI—not human intelligence or capabilities—starts determining the evolution of creative workflows. This raises important questions: Will AI remain a powerful tool that enhances human creativity, or will it begin to shape and redefine the creative process itself? Nuendo 15 could mark a turning point, not just in automation but in how composers, sound designers, and audio engineers interact with their tools. As AI-driven assistance becomes more sophisticated, the gap between Cubase and Nuendo in the release cycle may also widen, reflecting the growing complexity and specialized demands of post-production workflows.
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There are a lot of ideas floating around about how to handle the release cadence gap between Cubase and Nuendo, and my personal favorite idea (at least right now) is to just give Nuendo users something like an extended trial access to the new/next version of Cubase by default.
In this case, my preferred idea is that Nuendo 13 users would have instantly received something like a 5-6 month extended trial license to Cubase 14 back in November, as a professional courtesy trial for Steinberg’s loyal Nuendo community to experiment with the latest sequencer features in the gap, which would have covered the current situation just fine. Seems pretty good to me… and it’s hopefully not a huge amount of code in the Steinberg licensing system they’d have to work out.
So it would continue such that Nuendo 14 owners would get a 5-6 month extended trial license to Cubase 15, and so forth moving forward… i.e. Nuendo 15 users would get extended trial license to Cubase 16… basically Nuendo license +1 cadence for Cubase, and we’d always be covered.
I know there are other ideas out there, and I thought I saw @TimoWildenhain mention somewhere he was going to consider some options for the sequencer 15 cycle. I don’t recall the specifics (and Timo forgive me if I misremember).
Anyway, I am certain that Steinberg knows that some people are not happy with “the gap” situation but it’s a question of what is the best solution that is economical, technically feasible to implement with the licensing system, effective, and meets whatever regulatory crap that the German government has about shipping pre-release software products (don’t underestimate the power of bureaucracy to unnecessarily screw up free market capitalism!).
In any case, what I DON’T want to see is the stability of Nuendo to be sacrified. I do NOT want to see Nuendo screwed up by aggressive release cycles dictated by urgency to match Cubase. That will have a larger negative impact IMO.
And remember that Steinberg will never be able to please everyone. Someone will complain about something for sure. So whatever they come up with will have to be a compromise.
But I do agree some kind of gap coverage for Nuendo users would be nice to have.
My own “gap coverage” is that I own both a license of Cubase and Nuendo.. 
– And if Steinberg were to implement my suggestion above, then I would crossgrade my Cubase license to Nuendo and I’d own two licenses of Nuendo.
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That is certainly an understandable request, but unfortunately, not feasible in reality. The effort for such interim-release is way to high. It takes weeks to prepare such release and that time would have to be deducted from the Nuendo development time.
As stated in other chats a couple of times, and as rightfully mentioned by @uarte and others, there are good reasons for having a later release of Nuendo.
Anyhow, less than 24 hours to go for N14!
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At what time? (In Europe…) Morning or afternoon? I’m very exited!
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Can you therefore make a crossgrade option available so that I can exit Nuendo and go back to Cubase - my previous version was 12? There is a crossgrade option from Cubase to Nuendo but not vice versa?!
My current options are :-
1 ) Upgrade from Cubase 12 pro to Cubase 14 pro for £165;
2) Purchase Nuendo 14 at the same price as a Nuendo 12 user who skipped 13 and had no input in to bug fixes, crashes, etc but who can hop on board with a free grace period purchase!
As to your point on the ever reducing price of Nuendo upgrades over the last decade - I believe it is called “market forces”!
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@TimoWildenhain
Excited also about the release tomorrow and many many thanks to Timo and the team for their work. Sure do hope the upgrade price is £132 or lower 
(A bit sad the release will inherit the ‘Cubase midi remote failing to save state bug’ which has persisted from ver 13.0.51 through to 14.20 - but will learn to live with it for now - I certainly hope to be proved wrong about the bug tomorrow ).
Many thanks again.
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I’m getting excited about the new dialog-related workflows. I already use (and love) the C14 features, which are worth the upgrade… but I have active projects where Nuendo 14’s new dialog-related tools might help me save time (and money!) right now… I don’t want to get my hopes up too high, but fingers crossed they work well. 
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Many thank, I appreciate your feedback! Have fun with the new N14 release!