Free Software

CodeWeavers supports the concept of Free Software, or as some prefer, Open Source Software.

CodeWeavers is the leading corporate backer of the Wine Project. Not only do we support Wine, we draw many of our employees from Wine's long time contributors, including the maintainer of Wine, Alexandre Julliard.

We believe that if Free Software succeeds, and computing becomes more open, then the world will see an even more dramatic burst of exciting products and services that will touch all our lives. We also believe that software applications that augment Free Software platforms, without impeding their growth, provide excellent models for corporate growth. That's been our sole business model since 2000. To that end, we have returned all of the changes and improvements we've made to Wine back to the Wine Project.

Proprietary Software

At the same time, in order to reach that goal of freedom and greater competition, we have to eat. Additionally, many of our own customers make their livings selling proprietary software. Thus, CodeWeavers believes that there is a place in the world for both models.

CrossOver, too, while composed primarily of an open-source core, also contains proprietary components that comprise some of our "value-add." This allows us to differentiate ourselves against free Wine, so that our customers understand that they're getting more than just Wine. With CrossOver, they're getting a slick installer, bottle management, configuration tools, and (most of all) support. Our proprietary components allow us to package and sell that differentiation.

By purchasing CrossOver, our customers directly benefit CodeWeavers, of course. Beyond that, though, our customers also directly benefit Wine as a whole, because of our commitment to returning our work to Wine. That, in turn, improves both the computing landscape, as well as the lives of many other people.

Thank you, esteemed customers, for making that happen: we deeply appreciate your support of our business philosophy.