WordCamp Asia 2025 Highlights, Community Tensions, and What’s Next for WordPress 🚀 WP More #25
From Manila’s record-breaking event to a major lawsuit shaking the ecosystem—plus updates on plugin directory and open-source contribution debates. Don’t miss this issue!
Hi there, WordPress enthusiasts!
Welcome to the latest issue of WPMore. This time, we’re taking you to the heart of Manila for WordCamp Asia 2025, where over 1,400 attendees from around the globe gathered to celebrate, collaborate, and shape the future of WordPress. But that’s not all—we’ve also got the scoop on some pressing community issues, including a high-stakes legal battle and a fresh take on the Five for the Future program. Plus, there’s an important update for plugin developers you’ll want to catch.
Grab a coffee, and let’s get into it!
WordCamp Asia 2025 Wraps Up in Manila, Sets Sights on Mumbai for 2026
WordCamp Asia 2025 concluded last weekend at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila, bringing together over 1,400 attendees from 71 countries, with nearly 15,000 more participating online. This marked the first flagship WordPress event since WordCamp US 2024.
The conference unfolded against the backdrop of Matt Mullenweg's ongoing legal dispute with WP Engine, but in Manila, conversations focused primarily on innovation, WordPress's role for entrepreneurs across Asia, and bringing fresh faces into the community—including through the new YouthCamp initiative for attendees aged 8-17.
Reflecting on the event, Mullenweg noted on his blog that it presented an "interesting contrast to US and EU WordCamps as well in that the audience is definitely a lot younger, and there's very little interest in 'wpdrama' du jour."
Contributor Day: The Heart of Community Collaboration
The three-day conference kicked off with Contributor Day, bringing together nearly 800 people—including 126 first-timers—who collaborated across 19 Make WordPress teams.
Key accomplishments included:
Core Team fixing a critical media bug and progressing on vertical text editing in Gutenberg
Polyglots Team translating over 4,000 strings with 66 contributors
Plugins Team onboarding new contributors and handling queue management
Themes Team clearing all new theme submissions
Documentation and Marketing Teams enhancing WordPress learning resources
The "Human Library" feature was particularly popular, with 16 experts "books" available to share their experiences across 64 sessions.
Here’s a detailed recap of contributor day →
AI, Open Source, and WordPress's Future
The main conference opened with a keynote from Matías Ventura, Gutenberg's lead architect, who explored how the Block Editor and Full Site Editing continue to evolve while maintaining WordPress's core design principles.
Sessions covered diverse topics including:
Open source and GPL fundamentals
Block development and the Interactivity API
Artificial intelligence integration
Multisite for enterprise deployment
Structured content and content modeling
Read Conference Day 1 Recap: A Thrilling Start to WordCamp Asia 2025! →
Mullenweg's Q&A Addresses Community Concerns
Closing the conference, Matt Mullenweg took the stage for his keynote and Q&A. When asked about the reduced contributions from Automattic to WordPress development, Mullenweg attributed it to the ongoing legal battle with WP Engine:
"Automattic is having to spend millions of dollars—per month, sometimes—to defend against these attacks from WP Engine. And with the court injunction, it's just hard to stay motivated and to spare the resources to contribute so much. Now, [WP Engine] could end it tomorrow... But we can't end it. We can only defend... So as soon as they stop that, we'll get back to it."
A tense moment came when Taco Verdonschot challenged Mullenweg about how open the project is to change, particularly given recent bans of community members. Mullenweg responded that talking about change "isn't going to get you banned," adding that it's "other behavior" that leads to people being banned from WordPress.
Mumbai to Host WordCamp Asia 2026
As the event concluded, organizers announced that Mumbai, India, will host next year's flagship event.
India's selection makes sense given its strong grassroots WordPress community—the country has already hosted three WordCamps this year in Ahmedabad, Kolhapur, and Kolkata. WordPress Meetup events in India lead global engagement, with in-person meetups in Ahmedabad and Mumbai regularly drawing 165+ attendees.
During his Q&A, Mullenweg suggested next year's event could bring in 3,000–4,000 attendees, potentially making it the largest flagship WordCamp yet.
Automattic Faces Class Action Over WP Engine Dispute
In significant legal news, Automattic is now facing a class action lawsuit related to its ongoing feud with WP Engine. Ryan Keller, who runs Ohio-based cybersecurity business SecureSight, has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of WP Engine customers in the United States.
The complaint alleges that Automattic deliberately sabotaged WP Engine's business by blocking access to critical WordPress.org services, causing disruption, security risks, and financial harm. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit accuses Automattic of multiple counts of tortious interference and violations of California's Unfair Competition Law.
Read the full report from The Repository →
Five for the Future Program Under Scrutiny
Adding to the ongoing discussion about WordPress governance, Samuel Sidler recently published an article challenging the Five for the Future initiative and how contributions to WordPress are defined and valued.
In "Challenging Five for the Future," Sidler argues that the program disproportionately benefits Automattic and creates barriers for independent contributors. The former Audrey Capital employee claims that contributors without Automattic's backing face significant challenges, while Automattic employees dominate leadership roles.
"In my experience, a perpetual problem within the WordPress core community is the 'backchannels' that exist, private spaces where contributors align on next steps. This is particularly acute with Automattic employees, which actively communicate in private spaces that do not include the community," Sidler writes.
Read the full article from Samuel Sidler’s Blog →
Plugin Directory Updates Author Display
In technical news, the WordPress.org Plugin Directory has implemented a change in how plugin author information is displayed. The directory now pulls author names and links directly from WordPress.org profiles, replacing the manually set "Author" and "Author URI" fields in plugin headers.
The update means that instead of plugin authors being able to display any name and link to any website, the attribution is now directly linked to the plugin owner's WordPress.org profile, showing their display name as set on their profile.
Companies and teams can still maintain branded profiles, but all plugins owned by the same entity must use the same account. The changes apply retroactively to all existing plugins in the directory.
While only the plugin owner's display name and profile will be shown under the plugin title, multiple contributors can still be listed in the "Contributors & Developers" section through the plugin's readme file.
On other WordPress News
→ Introducing Preview Sites: Pushing the Limits of Collaboration with Studio - One of Studio’s most-loved features just got a big upgrade: Demo Sites, now named Preview Sites, are enhanced to better support your local development needs and simplify sharing progress with clients and teammates. (WordPress.com)
→ 🌏 Can’t make it to Manila? Experience the energy of WordCamp Asia 2025 from anywhere in the world! - Check out the recorded live WordPress conference day here.(YouTube/WordPress)
From WordPress Community
→ What is a WordPress Contribution? - A complete guide on WordPress contribution, Bookmark it! (remkusdevries.com)
→ 2024 in Review and Transparency Report - Jack Arturo from WP Fusion shared his ongoing year in review of 2024, must read if you are interested in the WordPress plugin business. (wpfusion.com)
→ The Three Big Existential Threats Facing WordPress - Jamie dives into the threats that might end WordPress (X.com)
From the Editor's Desk
As we wrap up this issue, it's clear that the WordPress community continues to evolve in both inspiring and challenging ways. WordCamp Asia 2025 demonstrated the vitality and growth of WordPress across Asia, with youth initiatives and a focus on the future that bodes well for the ecosystem.
At the same time, the ongoing legal tensions between key players in the WordPress space remind us that open source doesn't necessarily mean freedom from conflict. The discussions around contribution models and project governance are important ones that will shape how WordPress develops in the years to come.
I encourage all of you to stay engaged with these conversations, consider ways to contribute that make sense for your skills and resources, and remember that the strength of WordPress has always been its community.
Until next month, keep building and sharing!
Happy WordPressing,
Nishat
Your WPMore Editor
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