Construct 2 was first released 9 years ago, in February 2011. Back then, Flash was still a dominant technology on the web; Microsoft's latest browser was Internet Explorer 8, which had no support for HTML5 games at all; Chrome 9 had just come out (it's on version 80 today); and modern browser technologies like WebGL were patchy experimental features, rather than a reliable and ubiquitous part of today's web. At the time, supporting HTML5 games was a daring and controversial choice.
We've come a long, long way! We went on to release Construct 3 in 2017, doubling down on the web with an entirely browser-based editor as well, and Construct 3 itself has also come on leaps and bounds since then. (Check out this summary of what we did through 2019, for example.) No technology lasts forever though, and Construct 2 is already very old by software standards. So the time has come to announce its retirement. We realise that this will come as a disappointment to some, but all software is eventually retired, Construct 2 has lasted a very long time, its technology is ageing and increasingly difficult to support and maintain, its one-time payment model is uneconomical to support indefinitely, it only ever had one developer (me), and we've moved on to the newer and much improved Construct 3 which has been the focus of our energies for some time now.
Retirement schedule
We want to make sure everyone has time to complete their projects or migrate them to Construct 3. The planned schedule is:
- From now on, Construct 2 will only be maintained with essential bug fixes and compatibility updates.
- On July 1st 2020 Construct 2 will be taken off sale and will no longer be available for purchase.
- One year later on July 1st 2021, Construct 2 will be fully retired.
This represents a full 10-year lifespan for Construct 2. The retirement in July 2021 means:
- No further Construct 2 releases will be made
- No official support will be provided for Construct 2, with the exception of email support regarding any historical payment or license issues
- No further official NW.js updates will be issued for Construct 2
Note that:
- All existing valid Construct 2 licenses will continue to work indefinitely. You will still be able to use the full features of Construct 2 if you've purchased it in the past - it is only continuing support and updates that will stop. Bear in mind though that if changes to other software causes features of Construct 2 to stop working, no further updates will be forthcoming.
- The online manual and tutorials will remain available.
- The Construct 2 related forums will remain accessible (but will be collapsed to a sub-category in the main forum list).
- NW.js updates will continue for Construct 3.
We strongly recommend that any customers still using Construct 2 for any important work make the switch to Construct 3 well before July 2021. Switching over may take some time, especially if you use third-party addons that are no longer supported by the original developer which you need to find replacements for. Making the switch sooner rather than later ensures you won't end up stuck with a problem on a tight deadline after we've stopped supporting Construct 2. Construct 3 also has loads more features and capabilities, some of which may be able to replace any addons your project is using.
Upgrade discounts
Now’s a great time to upgrade from Construct 2 to Construct 3 and take advantage of major new features, performance improvements and extra capabilities. The following past discounts are still available for Construct 2 users:
- If you purchased Construct 2 before 1st February 2017, you are eligible for a 50% discount on the first payment of Construct 3 (either annual or monthly)
- If you purchased Construct 2 between 1st February 2017 and 21st February 2018, you are eligible for a 100% discount on the first payment of Construct 3 (either annual or monthly)
Customers who purchased after 21st February 2018 are not eligible for a discount (Construct 3 was fully launched by then).
To claim the discount, sign in to your account on the website and visit Your discounts & offers page.
Monthly Personal subscriptions now available
You can now also pay as you go with monthly Personal subscription plans for Construct 3 now available worldwide! This makes it even easier to get started if you only use Construct for a short period of time. Take a look at Personal plans for Construct 3.
Deprecating the C2 runtime in C3
In addition to this, Construct 3 users should note that the Construct 2 runtime is now also officially deprecated. This means it is scheduled for removal as well. We introduced the new C3 runtime towards the end of 2018, with major performance improvements, loads of new features, and a modernised codebase that is easier for us to maintain and improve further. According to our data the vast majority of projects have already switched over to the new C3 runtime. With Construct 2 being retired and only a small number of Construct 3 users still using this legacy runtime, we also intend to retire the Construct 2 runtime in Construct 3 in July 2021. This will eliminate its maintenance burden and considerably simplify the product, freeing up our developers to spend more time on things like new features - all especially important given we're a small company.
As with migrating from Construct 2, we strongly recommend that any customers still using the C2 runtime in Construct 3 switch to the C3 runtime well before July 2021 to ensure there is plenty of time to deal with any issues switching over while it is still supported. Throughout this year we will be introducing new prompts when opening C2 runtime projects in Construct 3 to help make sure everyone is aware of its upcoming retirement and ensure any important projects get upgraded.
Note you’ll still be able to import Construct 2 projects (.capx) and Construct 3 projects using the C2 runtime beyond the deadline, providing they are compatible with the C3 runtime (which most projects are).
From the past into the future
Looking back, it's quite a journey we've been on. The first lines of code for Construct 2 were written while I was still a student armed only with a laptop, moving on to working from home, then to a shared office, and eventually to our own office and hiring more staff to help work on Construct 3. I'm thankful to everyone at Scirra who's helped get us to where we are today - in particular Tom, who's been working super hard all these years behind the scenes from the very beginning, and generally not getting as much credit as he deserves! I also wish to express gratitude to all our customers over the years who have helped make Scirra possible by purchasing Construct, being part of a great community around it, helping with questions on the forum and bug reports, trying out beta releases, and sharing our passion for great technology.
It's not the end though! This is another step along our journey that first started with Construct Classic in 2007, then to Construct 2 in 2011, and now Construct 3 since 2017. I hope you'll continue using and enjoying Construct 3 as we keep working hard on it as we move on into the future.