The situation between Automattic and WP Engine is quite complicated.
If I simply click update, the default WordPress update server will automatically convert ACF into SCF.
To avoid that, I need to follow WP Engine’s instructions and download their zip file with the link to their update server.
My question is: would L&L continue to work as usual if I switch to SCF?
Please, take into account that I’m not taking any sides in this debate and I have no interest in doing so. I’m only concerned about not breaking the compatibility with L&L and I want to understand the implications of each option.
I fear that many have clicked the update button without thinking much about it and now they find themselves converted to SCF. So I can’t be the only one wondering what will happen next.
The only way to know for sure is to test, but my understanding is that they haven’t really changed the code of the plugin outside of removing the WPE upsells so I imagine it would work just fine.
I believe SCF will work fine for now, but Automattic has forked the code, and ACF and SCF are now two separate plugins that will diverge over time.
At present, the only differences are branding and security related changes to SCF, but if nothing changes between Automattic and WP Engine, the products will require separate support streams.
Every plugin vendor currently supporting ACF will have to decide what they are prepared to support going forward.
ACF Pro users are unaffected, but ACF free users may want to stick with the WP Engine version until there is clarity on SCF support from vendors.