Smith Micro, the company that developed Manga Studio (which was renamed Clip Studio Paint) is officially handing the property over to CELSYS. According to their press release:

“We are pleased to announce that our good partner, CELSYS, is now expanding their capabilities beyond software developer. For Smith Micro customers of CLIP STUDIO PAINT / Manga Studio 5, as of October 28, 2017 you can now look to CELSYS for download licenses, support and technical inquiries.”

According to Smith Micro, CELSYS has taken over technical support for copies of Clip Studio Paint purchased from Smith Micro, and they promise the transition will be seamless. They also insist that “although CELSYS is a Japanese corporation, their capable English support staff will be more than happy to provide stable user support.”

The new CELSYS support system is described as follows:

• Clip Studio Paint’s online license activation system will continue to be operated reliably by CELSYS.
• Software updates can be accessed and downloaded from CELSYS’s homepage.
• Technical support is provided at CELSYS’s support desk.
• Additionally, users can use the official Clip Studio Paint user Q&A community Clip Studio Ask.
• Copies of Clip Studio Paint Pro purchased from Smith Micro can be upgraded to EX via CELSYS’s homepage.
• Smith Micro customers can still purchase packaged copies of Clip Studio Paint Pro and EX from Smith Micro websites, while supplies last.
• If you need help with license key retrieval for any software purchased from Smith Micro, continue to contact our Support Team for this assistance.
• The Smith Micro social media channels — which include Facebook and Twitter — will be shut down for good. To interact with CELSYS’ social media, you can follow them on Twitter and Facebook.