GIMP 2.99.8 Released As Another Step Toward The Long Overdue GIMP 3.0

GIMP 3.0 as the GTK3 port of this open-source Adobe Photoshop alternative has been talked about for nearly a decade now and the work remains ongoing. However, out today is GIMP 2.99.8 as the newest development snapshot.

Adding to all of the changes building up across the GIMP 2.99 series beyond the big fundamental ones like GTK3 toolkit usage and Wayland support, GIMP 2.99.8 brings some more exciting changes like:

- The clone-type tools now work on multiple layers.

- The selection cue is now fixed when running on Wayland.

- Support for more input devices and drawing tablets for GIMP on Windows.

- Improved support for file formats like JPEG-XL as well as better Adobe Photoshop PSD. There is also support now for PSB files as like Adobe Photoshop PSD files but allowing for width/height up to 300k pixels.

- Enhancements to the plug-in API.

- Several memory leak fixes.

As for when GIMP 3.0 will finally surface, it doesn't appear to be clear yet, besides the usual "when it's ready". The GIMP 2.99.8 release announcement does note, "We are still working hard to finalize the GTK3 port as well as the new plug-in API. Taking care of technology changes (Wayland on Linux and macOS in particular) these days is also taking quite a toll in our development efficiency as we spend a lot of time fixing things which just get broken because the underlining systems change. Nevertheless we are quite happy of how things evolve as future GIMP 3 is looking more and more awesome every day, right?"

Downloads and to learn more about the GIMP 2.99.8 development release via GIMP.org.