It does seem to me like the author doesn't expect to sell many more licenses and perhaps wants to wind down his work on it. This can definitely endanger a proje

It does seem to me like the author doesn't expect to sell many more licenses and perhaps wants to wind down his work on it. This can definitely endanger a project (especially previously a one man show, bus factor and all). But instead of a fairly certain death, they have chosen to give the community a chance to keep working on it, which can succeed and help make Nebulosity the de-facto standard in its category.