It was an early developer of computer-based non-linear editing systems, and has been in development since 1989 and won a 2017 EMMY Award for pioneering digital nonlinear editing.
In 1994 it was sold to Tektronix, who were not successful at developing the company's products.
In 1999 it was sold on to the newly formed Lightworks Inc., then owned by Fairlight Japan, and then purchased by Gee Broadcast in May 2004. === Gee Broadcast ownership, 2004–2009 === Under Gee Broadcast ownership, new product releases resumed with the release of the Lightworks Touch range, and the Alacrity and Softworks ranges for SD & HD editing.
In 1999 it was sold on to the newly formed Lightworks Inc., then owned by Fairlight Japan, and then purchased by Gee Broadcast in May 2004. === Gee Broadcast ownership, 2004–2009 === Under Gee Broadcast ownership, new product releases resumed with the release of the Lightworks Touch range, and the Alacrity and Softworks ranges for SD & HD editing.
Alacrity supported dual outputs while the same facility was available for Softworks users as an option. === EditShare ownership, 2009–2020 === In August 2009 the UK and US based company EditShare acquired Gee Broadcast and the Lightworks editing platform from, along with their video server system GeeVS. At the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters, NAB Show, on 11 April 2010, EditShare announced that they plan to transform Lightworks into Lightworks Open Source.
The development of an open-source version was announced on April 11, 2010.
Alacrity supported dual outputs while the same facility was available for Softworks users as an option. === EditShare ownership, 2009–2020 === In August 2009 the UK and US based company EditShare acquired Gee Broadcast and the Lightworks editing platform from, along with their video server system GeeVS. At the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters, NAB Show, on 11 April 2010, EditShare announced that they plan to transform Lightworks into Lightworks Open Source.
It was presented at IBC in Amsterdam September 2010. On 9 November 2010, EditShare announced that Lightworks would be downloadable on 29 November of the same year, at first exclusively for the users who had registered during the initial announcement, but subsequently publishing the software as "public beta". EditShare planned the release of the open source version in Q4 of 2011, after they finished code review.
It was presented at IBC in Amsterdam September 2010. On 9 November 2010, EditShare announced that Lightworks would be downloadable on 29 November of the same year, at first exclusively for the users who had registered during the initial announcement, but subsequently publishing the software as "public beta". EditShare planned the release of the open source version in Q4 of 2011, after they finished code review.
Shortly before the scheduled release date of 29 November 2011, EditShare announced that an open source release of the software would be temporarily delayed, but did not announce a new release date.
The announcement noted that they were not yet satisfied with the stability of the new version. ==== Windows version released at NAB 2012 ==== After an 18-month beta program, EditShare released Lightworks 11, for Windows only, on 28 May 2012.
The Free version now also comes with a 30-day Pro Trial period. ==== Linux version announced at IBC 2012 ==== EditShare demonstrated the Linux version at the NAB in Las Vegas in April 2012, and posted a video of it running on Ubuntu on their YouTube channel.
Lightworks 11 alpha for Linux was released on 30 April 2012, but only to a limited audience.
The free version supports DV, MPEG, Uncompressed and other codecs for both import and export. ==== Windows version 11.1 released 29 May 2013 ==== On 29 May 2013, v11.1 stable release was made available for download.
It was an early developer of computer-based non-linear editing systems, and has been in development since 1989 and won a 2017 EMMY Award for pioneering digital nonlinear editing.
14.5 added a vast array of new features including variable frame rate support, a huge amount of codec support including Red Cinema R3D, Cineform and Blackmagic Q1 codecs. === LWKS Software Ltd ownership, 2020-present === In September 2020, a new company, LWKS Software Ltd, founded in August of the same year by two members of the development team, took ownership of Lightworks, as well as QScan AQC software.
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