CodeWeavers cancels free giveaway
November 19, 2008
It seemed like a good idea. CodeWeavers, the makers of CrossOver software that lets you run Windows applications like MS Outlook or games like Half Life on Mac andLinux machines, held a tongue-in-cheek promotion where the company promised to give away free copies of its software if one of a number of economic goals were met in the US. While it’s likely that the US government had little to do with the recent dip in gas prices, this week CodeWeavers decided that $2.79 gas meant it was time to give away a copy of CrossOver to anyone who wanted it within a 24 hour period.
And then all heck broke loose. The story made the front page of Digg and was reported on countless tech blogs. The CodeWeavers website crashed, although the company quickly got the download links back online. When the rush cleared, the company gave away about 750,000 copies of its software.
Let’s let that sink in. A company that many people may not have even known existed, had its software downloaded three quarters of a million times in one day. CodeWeavers sent an email this week stating that the move expands the company’s customer base by 400%. The value of the free software given away tops $45 million.
In other words, the whole thing might have backfired and ruined the company’s bottom line. On the other hand, it could be awesome news in the long run for CodeWeavers. A lot of people who weren’t aware of the software are now potential customers. Many of the people who downloaded free copies may not really use it, but those who do may decide to upgrade when a new version is available or pay for another year of support when the 1 year of free support expires in a year.
Still, CodeWeavers has decided to cancel the promotion going forward.
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2 Responses to “CodeWeavers cancels free giveaway”
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We’re actually very pleased with how the promotion went–as you might have gathered, it exceeded our wildest expectations. And thus far it doesn’t *seem* to have ruined our bottom line (although I suppose the jury’s still out on that one…).
That said, enough was enough. We came, we saw, we had a blast. But 650,000 copies of software was enough, and we didn’t feel that another giveaway would be in anybody’s best interests. 
Cheers,
-jon parshall-
COO
CodeWeavers
@Jon Parshall: hope it all works out well for you guys & thanks for comment, also its a shame you didnt wana give out 650,001 copies, i kinda missed that promo,