Nova Launcher Founder Departs, Open-Source Plans Shelved

Kevin Barry, founder of Nova Launcher, announced his departure from Branch and the halting of Nova Launcher's open-sourcing efforts. Despite Branch's prior commitment to open-sourcing the code upon Kevin's departure, this promise ultimately went unfulfilled. Kevin had spent the past year solely maintaining Nova Launcher and had undertaken significant preparation for its open-source release, including code cleanup and license review. This move has caused concern and regret within the community, leaving the future of this popular launcher uncertain.