I gave
@runwayml another chance. That was clearly a mistake.
When I subscribed to their Unlimited plan, one of the major selling points was Explore mode, which allowed for unlimited generations (two at time) using Seedance 2.0 at 1080p. That's what people expected. That's what people paid for. Then, after people had already subscribed and paid, the 1080p option was removed. The explanation given was that removing 1080p would help improve queue times and create a better experience for everyone. While people weren't thrilled about losing this, many of us accepted the explanation because we assumed there was a legitimate technical reason behind it and that the sacrifice would result in meaningful improvements.
Except those improvements never materialized.
What makes this even more frustrating is that throughout all of this, we were repeatedly told on Discord that work was being done behind the scenes to improve the queues. We were told that optimizations were being made. That things would get better. So, many of us continued our subscriptions because we believed those assurances.
Now, after all that, we are being told that Unlimited is effectively being abandoned all together in favour of a credits-only Max model, going into effect as of September 1st.
The sequence of events leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.
Had Runway simply been upfront from the beginning and said that keeping the Unlimited plan was unsustainable, at least users could have made informed decisions about whether they wanted to stay subscribed or not. Instead, we were given the impression that the Unlimited experience was being refined, improved, and invested in for the long-term.
We were flat-out lied to.
I have since submitted a refund request, because the service I received ultimately does not reflect the service the was presented when I subscribed. Should that refund request be denied, I will be initiating a chargeback through my credit card company and providing them with documentation showing the features that were available when I subscribed, the subsequent reductions to those features, and the repeated statements and false promises indicating that improvements were on the way.
If you're considering subscribing to Runway, don't just look at what they're offering today. Look at how quickly that offering can change after you've paid.
That's not just a pivot. It's a failure in transparency.