The WP Engine and Automattic Dispute Explained (October 2026)

Since September 2024, WP Engine, a large managed WordPress host, has been in a public and legal dispute with Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and WooCommerce, and with WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, who leads both Automattic and the WordPress open-source project. The dispute has touched trademark licensing, access to WordPress.org, the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin and, according to WP Engine's court filings, competition law.

For most site owners the practical impact today is small: WordPress keeps updating, plugins keep updating, and ACF is back on WordPress.org under WP Engine. But the dispute changed several things you may notice, including a forked plugin, a temporary update outage for WP Engine customers in 2024, and shifts in WordPress's release planning.

This article sets out a neutral timeline, with each event attributed to its source, and explains what it means for hosting choices, plugin updates and custom fields as of October 2026. It does not take a position on who is right. Where we rely on press reports rather than the parties' own statements, we say so. This is general information, not legal advice.

Who the parties are

• WordPress is free, open-source software. WordPress.org hosts the software, the plugin and theme directories and the community infrastructure.
• Automattic is a company that runs WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Jetpack, Pressable and WordPress VIP, among others. Matt Mullenweg co-founded WordPress and leads Automattic; in September 2026 Automattic's board briefly placed him on leave before he regained control, according to TechCrunch.
• WP Engine is a managed WordPress hosting company. It also owns ACF, one of the most widely installed plugins in the directory.

The distinction between WordPress.org (the project) and Automattic (a company) matters in this dispute, and both sides have argued about where that line sits.

Timeline: September to December 2024

Timeline: 2025 to October 2026

After the September 2026 ruling, Search Engine Journal quoted WP Engine as saying, "We are gratified by this important ruling allowing our antitrust claims to proceed". After the September 2025 ruling, Mullenweg wrote on his blog that "the court dismissed several of WP Engine and Silver Lake's most serious claims". Both statements are each party's own characterization.

The Automattic leadership events in September 2026 concerned the company. TechCrunch quoted WordPress Executive Director Mary Hubbard as saying, "Matt remains the leader of the WordPress project and I remain Executive Director of WordPress".

Where things stand in October 2026

As of October 1, 2026, press reports describe the case as active and unsettled. We did not find a trial date in a verified source. The claims that remain on both sides are in front of the court, and none of them has been decided on the merits. Any summary of who will prevail is speculation.

For WordPress itself, the 2026 release schedule has continued. WordPress 7.0 shipped on May 20, 2026, 7.1 on August 19, 2026, and 7.2 is targeted for December 2026 according to the WordPress.org roadmap.

What it means for site owners

Hosting choices

According to press reports, the December 2024 injunction led to WP Engine's WordPress.org access being restored, so its customers can again receive plugin and theme updates through the normal channels. The September 2024 outage showed one lesson that applies to every host, though: understand how your host delivers updates and what happens if a dependency fails. When comparing hosts, focus on support, backups, staging, performance and contract terms. Our guide to managed WordPress hosting covers those criteria.

Plugin and theme updates

For most sites, nothing has changed: WordPress core, plugins and themes update from WordPress.org. Keep updates current, because Patchstack reports that 91% of the 11,334 vulnerabilities found in the WordPress ecosystem in 2025 were in plugins. The dispute also renewed interest in alternative distribution. The FAIR Package Manager, launched in June 2025 as a Linux Foundation project, is one example; it is a separate initiative and not part of the court case.

ACF and Secure Custom Fields

This is where the dispute most directly touches individual sites. As of October 2026:

• Advanced Custom Fields is listed on WordPress.org with WP Engine as author (2+ million active installs).
• Secure Custom Fields is a separate plugin authored by WordPress.org (100,000+ active installs). Its listing says installing it will deactivate ACF and ACF PRO.

Check which one your site runs and keep it updated. If a site was switched to SCF in October 2024 and you want ACF instead, or the reverse, test the change on staging. Our custom fields guide covers both plugins and alternatives in detail.

Release planning

WordPress.org itself linked a 2025 cadence change to legal matters. In practice 2025 ended with two major releases and 2026 is on track for three. If you plan site work around WordPress releases, use the official roadmap rather than older announcements.

How to follow the case without the noise

Commentary on this dispute is often partisan. To stay accurate:

• Read the parties' own statements: WordPress.org news, Automattic's blog, WP Engine's case page and Mullenweg's blog.
• Check court filings on the public docket for case 4:24-cv-06917 in the Northern District of California.
• Prefer reporting that quotes rulings directly and dates every claim.
• Remember that a ruling allowing a claim to proceed is not a finding that the claim is true.

Practical checklist for October 2026

1. Confirm automatic or regular updates are working for core and plugins.
2. Open Plugins and note whether you run ACF, ACF PRO or SCF, and who the listed author is.
3. Keep ACF PRO licenses active if you use PRO features.
4. Keep field group definitions exported to JSON or PHP.
5. Know how your host delivers updates and backups, whichever host you use.
6. Re-check this topic after major rulings rather than acting on rumors.

Keeping a site current through events like this is part of routine upkeep; our guide to maintaining and updating WordPress covers the basics.

Conclusion

The WP Engine and Automattic dispute is a significant event in WordPress history, but for most site owners in October 2026 its day-to-day effects are limited. Updates flow normally, ACF is listed under WP Engine, SCF exists as a separate plugin and the court case continues. Keep your site updated, know which plugins depend on which vendor and rely on primary sources as the case develops. If you want a hand reviewing your plugin stack or hosting setup, eSEOspace offers WordPress maintenance services, and our WordPress hub has related guides.

Frequently asked questions