Facepalm: Automattic and WP Engine are competing for control of the WordPress.org project, and users will bear the consequences. After its initial legal setback, Matt Mullenweg's company has now confirmed that it will "align" its development efforts with the minimal code contributions provided by other third-party companies. A California judge recently granted WP Engine a temporary injunction against Automattic, the organization managing many crucial aspects of the WordPress project. The judge ruled that WordPress.com can no longer prevent hosting company WP Engine from accessing its online resources. However, Automattic is now escalating matters further.A recent post by Mary Hubbard confirmed that the company is being forced to "rebalance" the resources it allocates to WordPress.org, the open-source project at the core of the entire WP platform. Automattic will reduce its "sponsored" contributions to the WordPress.org project, instead prioritizing for-profit ventures such as WordPress.com, Pressable, WPVIP, Jetpack, and WooCommerce.Volunteer contributions will be slashed to about 45 hours per week, a sharp drop from the 3,988 hours previously committed. Automattic will match the support provided by WP Engine and other WP players, focusing primarily on security patches and critical updates. The company was apparently forced to reallocate its resources after WP Engine's lawsuit, as considerable time and energy must now be diverted to addressing legal issues.Hubbard stated that Automattic is forced to spend significant time and money defending itself against WP Engine, a WordPress hosting company backed by private equity firm Silver Lake. The organization is also lamenting the criticism and even personal attacks coming from the WP "community" aimed at Automattic and Matt Mullenweg's leadership role.Members of the community have argued that working on WordPress.com and similar initiatives should count as a contribution to WordPress, Hubbard said. As a result, Automattic will now comply with the community's request. Mullenweg had previously referred to WP Engine as a "bastardized simulacrum" of WordPress, urging the third-party company to use its own resources to serve its WP users. // Related StoriesRuby on Rails creator David Hansson has stated that both Automattic and WP Engine are misguided about WordPress and open-source principles. Hubbard added that Automattic remains committed to the WordPress platform and hopes to resume active contributions to WordPress core, including the controversial Gutenberg editor, and other WP elements once WP Engine's legal challenges subside.