Only One Major WordPress Version Release Happening In 2025!

In a major shift from the usual number of releases a year, it looks like the world will be getting just one major WordPress version update in 2025. Version 6.8 is set to be the only major release this year. This change comes in the middle of a substantial restructuring at Automattic, along with their high-profile legal battle with the WordPress Hosting company, WP Engine. This begs the question: Will this year’s single release be temporary, or the beginning of a new approach to managing the platform in the future?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The move to a single annual major WordPress version release is a result of fewer hours contributed to the development, bringing potential changes to update schedules and a worldwide mixed reception.
• Automattic’s workforce reduction, combined with the WP Engine legal battle, directly affects WordPress’s development capacity and potentially explains the single-release approach for 2025.
• The WP Engine-Automattic dispute highlights concerns about WordPress’s future direction and governance, which are influencing development priorities.
• This change will impact WordPress users, developers and businesses, requiring changes in site maintenance and updates for releases and development.
• While offering potential benefits like improved quality and less overhead, the downsides include delayed issue resolution, slower plugin and theme updates, and uncertainty about whether the change will be permanent.

The New WordPress Version Release Schedule

For most of its 21 years, WordPress has consistently released three major versions annually. This predictable schedule has allowed developers and website owners to prepare for said updates and incorporate new features accordingly. The shift to a single release is a pretty big change from the established norm.

On March 27, 2025, nearly 30 core committers, project leaders, and team members gathered to discuss the release schedule and whether it needs to be changed. The TLDR version is: yes, it’s going to change.

The conversation was sparked by organizations cutting back on the number of hours they contribute, resulting in less time for WordPress development.

What is especially notable is that the contributions of one company, Automattic, have dropped drastically since January 2025. Automattic owns WordPress.com along with the ecommerce plugin WooCommerce and manages WordPress.org.

At the same time, its CEO, Matt Mullenweg, is both a founder of WordPress and its lead developer.

Having said that, according to the announcement, the move to one major WordPress version release should have no impact on the minor ones, like Gutenberg and others, as needed in terms of their frequency and scope. However, they didn’t provide information about the future of major releases in the coming years.

Version 6.8: What We Know

WordPress version 6.8 has been diarized for release on April 15th as the only major update planned for 2025, making it uniquely important. The team appears to be focusing on quality over quantity by improving the features from previous versions into this single release, compared to what is usually done over the three annual updates, as previously released.

Some of these include more streamlined design and content editing, performance optimizations and ongoing support for PHP 8.x

Initial reactions from the WordPress community have been mixed. While some developers welcome the opportunity for a more focused, comprehensive update, others have expressed concern about the implications for new features and how quickly bug fixes will be implemented.

Some are particularly worried about having to adjust their update and maintenance schedules, which are structured around the previous tri-annual version schedule.

Behind the WordPress Updates Change

Following the dispute with WP Engine (more on that later), Automattic has said it intends to ramp up its work on WordPress.org again after slashing the hours it previously contributed to the open-source platform.

Restructuring and WP Engine

Automattic recently laid off approximately 16% of its workforce, effective immediately, affecting employees across 90 countries, including some that have been with the company for over a decade. According to a blog post by Matt Mullenweg, the reasons (and this is a direct quote from it) for the restructure are:

• Become more agile and responsive.
• Break down silos that have created inefficiencies.
• Focus on product quality, doing fewer things better.
• Ensure a viable financial model for long-term success.

He stated: “To support our customers and products, we must improve our productivity, profitability, and capacity to invest.”

The blog goes on to say that Automattic will share more about how they will be moving forward.

In theory, concentrating on fewer but potentially more comprehensive releases means less workload and coordination overhead for contributors and systems teams. The focus on quality over quantity may partly explain why we’re only getting a single version release in 2025.

On the other hand, we could be looking at a longer wait between smaller but necessary updates and improvements while operating with reduced personnel. Only time will tell.

The downsizing also comes off the back of Automattic and Matt Mullenweg’s ongoing legal battle with WP Engine. The dispute between Automattic and WP Engine became public last year. In short, it started with disagreements about contributions to core WordPress code development and the financial interests surrounding the platform.

What began as a blog post and some name-calling eventually escalated into both parties heading to court. According to a Slack post from Mullenweg, the situation is still ongoing, with the matter going to jury trial in 2027.

The fallout has directly affected WordPress site owners, companies that rely on the platform to make a living, and the ecosystem as a whole. It also led to some employees voluntarily leaving the company last year.

This conflict, along with a smaller workforce, has changed Automattic’s strategy for WordPress. In addition to cutting back on the hours, they are redirecting resources to their “for-profit projects”, instead of developing for the open-source WordPress.org project.

What This Means for WordPress Users

This brings us to the pros and cons of only having one release a year and the possible effects it could have across the board for all WordPress users.

Starting with the Pros

It allows developers to concentrate on infrastructure improvements with less overhead, as mentioned earlier. Instead of major version releases being purely bug fixes for the previous one, they could include more features and enhancements. At the same time, we could see an increase in quality, thanks to developers having more breathing room to test and refine rather than rushing to meet deadlines. This could also mean that the process down the line could become more automated, making it faster to implement with less update fatigue.

Following that, with time freed up, developers would be able to put more work into what are known as canonical plug-ins. These plugins are created by core people and companies that contribute directly to the WordPress core project. They have become highly valued and widely adopted because they provide essential functionality like WooCommerce and Yoast SEO. Their separation from the WordPress core software allows them to be delivered and updated independently, ensuring continued compatibility and reliability regardless of WordPress’s version release schedule.

The shift to a single major release may simplify maintenance for website owners, letting them spend less time on updates for the core software and the necessary theme and plugin updates that come with it.

Looking at the Cons

There could be less feedback on new features and issues from users due to the time between updates, slowing down patches and fixes. It is also more difficult to introduce features that would normally be spread over several versions, and it also makes it harder to roll out changes after the initial release. 

Following that, developers would have to wait longer for their work to be published. This could lead to them not feeling recognized and not contributing further.

Users are nervous about major releases when updating at the best of times, and this can be amplified when there is only one major update a year. This is because there could be plugin conflicts and breaks in functionality, causing downtime, which may be further extended. After all, the next update is a whole year away.

Finally, WordPress risks being seen as “dropping the ball” instead of preserving the culture and trust that it has built over the last decade.

Due to these massive implications, WordPress users will probably have to look at how they deal with updates and possibly devote more time and effort to in-depth testing when version 6.8 arrives. The same goes for website developers, who will probably need to change how they work to accommodate the new schedule.

Fewer major releases will come with more consequences, again potentially requiring more testing and client communication to keep things running smoothly.

The people who create WordPress plugins and themes may also have more on their plates when adapting to the new system. With just one major WordPress release to align with, developers may need to change their own release and maintenance schedules. This could lead to either more gradual, incremental updates throughout the year or timing them around the single core release.

Is This a Temporary Change?

At this point, the question remains unanswered: Is this single-release approach a temporary thing while Automattic gets its house in order or a permanent change in WordPress’s development cycle?

There have occasionally been times in the past when WordPress switched up its release approach before returning to the norm. All the factors in play at the moment however, make it difficult to tell if it is here to stay or if it will return to its regularly scheduled programming.

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