2026 predictions

🗣️ Off-Topic Lounge
1

I think CodeCanyon and ThemeForest will shut down sometime in 2026. I’m not sure exactly when, but it feels like their time is coming to an end. Thank you Hichame Assi did a “great” job — even if he had tried to mess things up this badly, it would have been impossible. He literally destroyed an ecosystem that could have worked for decades to come, even in the age of AI.

I expect WPBay to grow organically and, in the near future, potentially replace CodeCanyon and ThemeForest. For the WPBay team, it would be great to integrate other niches more clearly—such as HTML5 and PHP scripts—while keeping a structure familiar to CodeCanyon. There is a lot of potential here, and this clarity is important for developers who want to migrate.

I also expect the current idea that AI can fully replace software engineers to start opening CEOs’ eyes—it’s not that simple. AI is already a part of our lives, and I personally use it a lot. For focused, well-defined tasks, it’s amazing. But software development is far more complex than that, and there’s an intuitive, human aspect to it that can’t be easily replicated. AI will continue to improve, but it will also create serious problems in environments where it’s embraced blindly. This is already happening, and until the consequences become more obvious, many CEOs won’t learn that lesson.

On a personal note, health-wise, I really hope I won’t get COVID again. It has literally destroyed me—I’ve had around 32 infections in four years, and I’ve had enough.

All the best!!!

2

Merry Christmas! :christmas_tree: :santa_claus:

3

Merry Christmas! I guess predictions are not on your list :slight_smile:

4

2025 has really humbled me and all my predictions have turned out wrong. I have reached the conclusion the only thing you can do is stay diversified and prepared for all scenarios.

It’s interesting that the one thing that can really ruin you (financially, personally, etc), is not something that you have doubts about, but rather something you are certain about which turns out to be wrong.

5

You’re probably going through this for the first time. Back in the day, I was a Flash developer—and I was really good at it. Between 2004 and 2008 I made around $500K, which at that time was something exceptional for a freelancer. I had to fight my family, my friends, and pretty much everyone around me to do what I believed in.

Then in 2008, Steve Jobs published that famous letter about why Flash was bad and why the iPhone wouldn’t support it. The reality was that Flash was incredibly powerful, and the iPhone was still very limited, the last version of Flash would work like a charm after almost two decades since tis dead, it was a truly amazing piece of software, and it died in three months —but that’s what happens when someone with massive influence speaks their mind. Sound familiar today with AI and these idiot CEOs that would want to automate even their lives?

Long story short, Flash was effectively dead within a couple of m,onths. Years of work went straight down the drain. I had to switch to HTML, and for me—as a creative developer—that period was deeply depressing. I barely made it through, they comoared jwuery with flash with was a joke but the entire world bought that. On top of that, I got sick with Lyme disease.

What I’m trying to say is this: these things happen regularly. Today it’s AI; tomorrow it will be something else. Eventually, things fall back into place—they always do. What we do isn’t just “coding.” It’s software development. We are engineers, and there will always be demand for people who can truly build things.

As for me, I’m finding my rhythm again with Three.js. I create visual experiences—this is what I love to do, and this is what drives my passion. What I do isn’t something many developers can handle, and I’m not saying this to brag. Out of 10 developers, 9 give up on Three.js once things start to get hard.

For me, this is a breath of fresh air. I can express myself again, and with AI it’s become much easier—especially the math part :slightly_smiling_face:

So keep your morale up, 2026 will be difficult but at some point things will fall into place…

This period will rid the world of these so-called developers that really don’t know s*it, not sure if this is a good thing or a bad one, we will see.

1 Like
6

Interesting story. It is true, I think we can always adapt and build something else. This is one of the advantages over a normal job.

7

IMHO, 2026 will be about limited freedom. I am sure that freedom isn’t being taken overnight, it’s being rate-limited. One regulation here, one “safety” clause there, one platform rule dressed up as ethics. I think that in 2026 you won’t be silenced directly, you’ll just learn what not to say if you want to keep your life going unrestricted.

Governments don’t like uncontrolled narratives. Free speech will die because of fear. The result is self-censorship becoming a survival skill people will develop. As long as food is delivered, entertainment is endless, freedom becomes abstract and even optional (as long as it is not inconvenient). It will be something that you defend online on forums, but don’t care about offline.

And no, this isn’t about left or right, it’s about control versus unpredictability. Systems hate humans because humans are emotional and hard to model.

By 2026, the real divide won’t be rich vs poor or devs vs AI. It’ll be between people who still think independently and people who outsource thinking to systems that promise comfort…

The path is laid ahead for us all.

8

Well said!

I don’t expect 2026 to be a good year, but I am glad I am still alive :slight_smile:

2 Likes