Native Instruments is discontinuing its Kore system, it has said. Following speculation on the company's forum, NI has confirmed that, while maintenance updates will be forthcoming for existing users, sales of Kore products will end from today.
A statement on the Kore page of NI's website reads: "Native Instruments has decided to discontinue the Kore product range, in order to utilize its development resources in the best interest of its wider userbase.
"Kore 2 will be supported through further maintenance updates for the time being, with 64-bit plug-in versions of Kore 2 for Windows and Mac OS X currently in development. Technical support for Kore will also continue to be available.
"All owners of the full versions of Kore 1 or Kore 2 (excluding software-only versions) can purchase Maschine at a special crossgrade price of $449 / €399."
When NI launched the first version of Kore in 2006, it was billed as a 'hub' that would enable you to browse all of your plug-ins in one place and tweak them with the Kore hardware controller. Kore 2 was a slightly different proposition: this shipped with 418 sounds of its own, making it a self-contained workstation.
However, this is as far as the Kore story will go; it seems that NI has decided to shift its focus to Maschine, which will have Komplete-specific sound browsing features from version 1.7 (hence the crossgrade offer).
UPDATE: Native Instruments has now posted a longer statement on its forum. Here's the text in full:
In order to utilize its development resources in the best interest of its wider userbase, Native Instruments has decided to discontinue the Kore product range.
As an immediate consequence, Kore 2 and all Kore-based instruments and effects will no longer be offered for sale. The Kore Player will also be no longer available for download.
The Kore 2 software will be supported through further maintenance updates for the time being. Two updates that will optimize the compatibility with current setups are currently in preparation: The first update will integrate the latest engine versions of Absynth 5, FM8, Guitar Rig 4, Massive, Kontakt 4 and Reaktor 5, and is scheduled for the third quarter of this year; a further update will provide 64bit plugin versions for Windows and Mac OS X, and is scheduled for the fourth quarter.
Technical support for Kore will also continue to be available.
Future versions of the Komplete bundle and of individual NI instruments might no longer be fully compatible with Kore, and will not include special preset versions for its sound browser.
Development resources will be refocused from Kore to Maschine and its popular instrument hosting features. Maschine will be enhanced with specific preset management and parameter mapping features for Komplete and individual NI instruments in the upcoming free 1.7 update, and will be further expanded in its role as the central NI instruments host in the future.
Owners of the full versions of Kore 1 or Kore 2 (excluding software-only versions) who are interested in Maschine can purchase a special crossgrade price of $449 / €399 until the end of the year.
