DxO buys the Nik Collection to save it from an untimely demise

Photographers can breathe easy knowing that a beloved tool will avoid dying a premature death. Google announced earlier this year that it would discontinue development for the Nik Collection software suite, but today DxO issued a statement that it would be sweeping in to save the day. DxO is likely best known for its mobile camera benchmarks, but the company puts out its own photo editing software, as well.

“The Nik Collection gives photographers tools to create photos they absolutely love,” Google Engineering Director Aravind Krishnaswamy said of the news. “We’re thrilled to have DxO, a company dedicated to high-quality photography solutions, acquire and continue to develop it.”

DxO will let the Nik Collection remain free for now while working on a new version to launch in 2018. The set of Lightroom and Photoshop plugins was once priced around $500, but Google eventually dropped the price to free after picking it up along with the powerful mobile photo editing tool Snapseed in 2012.

While photographers wait to see what DxO will do with the next version of the Nik Collection, they can still pick up the well-loved set of software tools for free as a download from DxO.