As an effect of the recent Reddit blackout, the company is now surrounded by disappointed investors and community. I predict that Reddit may end up facing the same fate as Tumblr: being sold to another company. Only time will tell what the future holds for Reddit, but one thing is for sure - the protest will leave a lasting impact on the platform and its users.
I think even 100% reversal and going back to a free API indefinitely would still not be enough to get many of us back, including myself. The entire company has lost any remaining trust, and they were pretty much in negative balance to begin with.
The API stuff may have been the motivator, but this kind of movement doesn’t happen so quickly without lots of underlying, pre-existing problems.