--- title: "Creator of Free Adobe Suite Strikes Again, Reverse Engineers Microsoft Office" description: "ArtCraft has announced open-source clones of Microsoft's widely used Office tools, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Word." date: "2026-10-14" modified: "2026-10-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor.md" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/creator-free-adobe-suite-microsoft-office" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Ethics" --- # Creator of Free Adobe Suite Strikes Again, Reverse Engineers Microsoft Office ![A screenshot of ArtCraft's Microsoft Office Word clone.]() *ArtCraft / Futurism* As the fiery debate surrounding AI and copyright infringement continues to boil, the software world has run into its own controversy head first. Earlier this month, crafty software engineers used Anthropic's Claude AI model to reverse-engineer Adobe's expensive and widely-loathed Creative Cloud suite of apps, including Photoshop, Lightroom and Premiere. The resulting "ArtCraft" suite was a shot across the bow, highlighting how quickly industry-leading software can now be copied and redistributed for free. “We were shocked by how well they actually worked internally, so decided to open source them,” ArtCraft co-founder Michael Caffrey [told *Futurism*](). “Adobe has been notoriously scummy in the past, and when using it we were shocked that this wasn’t an alternative, it was better.” Now, ArtCraft developer Brandon Thomas has thrown down the gauntlet once more by announcing open-source clones of Microsoft's widely used Office suite, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. The resulting apps — GridCraft, DeckCraft, and WordCraft, respectively — are already [available to download for free]() on ArtCraft's website. The startup will also happily sell you optional AI image and video generating credits, powered by Google's Nano Banana Pro. And judging by the appended screenshots, they're close to one-to-one carbon copies of the original apps, which cost anywhere from $19.99 to $199.99 a year when purchased from Microsoft directly. Neither Adobe nor Microsoft have done much to appease to their user base. Prices have skyrocketed over the years, while subscriptions have become increasingly limiting, requiring sign-ins, license activations, and active internet connections. Both companies have also been criticized for overcharging for features that most users never asked for (we're looking at you, generative AI.) As [*Tom's Hardware* points out](), ArtCraft's latest tools also have an inherent advantage over Google's Sheets, Docs, and Slides apps, which are available for free. Since they're a standalone app, they work without an internet connection and aren't at the whims of a tech giant looking to start charging for a subscription out of the blue. How long ArtCraft will be able to keep up its momentum — it's presumably only a matter of time until their inboxes are flooded with cease and desist letters, if they haven't already — it's a satisfying win for those who've begrudgingly paid companies like Microsoft and Adobe extortionate amounts of money year after year. To the people behind the project, it's also a win for the open source community after years of creatives being stuck with paying considerable monthly fees. "The tech industry has relied on the open source community for decades to keep their companies running," Caffrey told *Futurism*. "Now models are being trained on open source code. So it’s kinda cosmic karma that open source bites back." **More on ArtCraft:** [*Adobe in Trouble After Someone Reverse Engineered Adobe Creative Suite and Released It as Open Source*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()