Mullenweg Considers Delaying WordPress Releases Through 2027 via @sejournal, @martinibuster

A leaked WordPress Slack chat shows that Matt Mullenweg is considering limiting aboriginal WordPress releases to conscionable 1 per twelvemonth from present done 2027 and insists that the lone mode to get Automattic to lend much is to unit WP Engine to driblet their lawsuit. One WordPress developer who work that connection characterized it arsenic blackmail.

WordPress Core Development

Mullenweg’s Automattic already reduced their contributions to core, prompting a WordPress developer attending WordCamp Asia 2025 to plead with Matt Mullenweg to summation Automattic’s contributions to WordPress due to the fact that his and truthful galore different businesses beryllium connected WordPress. Mullenweg smiled and said nary without really saying the connection no.

Automattic’s January 2025 connection astir reducing contributions:

“…Automattic volition trim its sponsored contributions to the WordPress project. This is not a measurement we instrumentality lightly. It is simply a infinitesimal to regroup, rethink, and strategically program however Automatticians tin proceed contributing successful ways that unafraid the aboriginal of WordPress for generations to come. Automatticians who contributed to halfway volition alternatively absorption connected for-profit projects wrong Automattic, specified arsenic WordPress.com, Pressable, WPVIP, Jetpack, and WooCommerce. Members of the “community” person said that moving connected these sorts of things should number arsenic a publication to WordPress.

As portion of this reset, Automattic volition lucifer its volunteering pledge with those made by WP Engine and different players successful the ecosystem, oregon astir 45 hours a week that suffice nether the Five For the Future programme arsenic benefitting the full assemblage and not conscionable a azygous company. These hours volition apt spell towards information and captious updates.

We’ve made the determination to reallocate resources owed to the lawsuits from WP Engine. This ineligible enactment diverts important clip and vigor that could different beryllium directed toward supporting WordPress’s maturation and health. We stay hopeful that WP Engine volition reconsider this ineligible attack, allowing america to refocus our efforts connected contributions that payment the broader WordPress ecosystem.

WP Engine’s historically slim contributions underscore the imbalance that indispensable beryllium addressed for the wellness of WordPress. We judge successful fairness and shared responsibility, and we anticipation this determination encourages greater information crossed each organizations that payment from WordPress.”

Leaked Slack Post

The station connected Slack blamed WP Engine for the slowdown and encourages others to enactment unit connected WP Engine to driblet the suit.

The pursuing is simply a leaked punctuation of Mullenweg’s station connected the WordPress Slack channel, arsenic posted successful the Dynamic WordPress Facebook Group (must articulation the Facebook radical to work the post) by a reliable source:

“Would similar to enactment unneurotic a Zoom for halfway committers to sermon aboriginal merchandise schedule, hopefully bringing unneurotic immoderate of the conversations happening the past 6 weeks:
6.8 includes a batch of “overhang” contributions from Automatticians, including 890+ enhancements and bug fixes successful Gutenberg.

I’d similar to marque definite we get other investigating connected 6.8 from web hosts, particularly if they tin upgrade possibly their institution blogs oregon something, worker sites, etc to marque definite upgrades and everything enactment good successful each environments and with the astir fashionable plugins without regressions.
The Chromecast update issues contiguous (https://x.com/james_dunthorne/status/1898871402049999126 )remind america however easy this tin happen.

I’m consenting to perpetrate radical to aboriginal roll-out to WP .com to supply wide investigating with hundreds of thousands of users. This is precise resource-intensive, but has contributed a batch to making definite releases are unchangeable earlier they deploy to the wider array of non-engaged web hosts successful the past.

We should see modifying the merchandise schedule:Other firm sponsors are protesting WPE’s actions by pulling backmost contributions, which I deliberation volition effect immoderate of the different largest contributors aft Automattic.

The tribunal docket successful the WP Engine suit against Automattic, me, and WordPress .org ( https://cloudup.com/c33IWQHdNMj ) goes to assemblage proceedings successful 2027. WPE appears to beryllium unresponsive to nationalist unit to resoluteness things earlier. (As I said astatine WC Asia, I’m acceptable to extremity it yesterday.)

We are approaching 7.0 successful 2 releases, which has an affectional valence and I’d alternatively not beryllium purely maintenance. (Nor bash I privation to interruption our naming operation and bash 6.10.)
One attack would beryllium delaying 6.8 and making it the lone merchandise this year, 6.9 successful 2026, and past purpose for a 7.0 successful precocious 2027 assuming a affirmative result of the assemblage trial.

FWIW I would estimation WPE is spending the equivalent of 60 engineers full-time wage astatine 250k/yr arsenic plaintiffs / attackers, and Automattic a akin magnitude connected defense. Imagine the task could bash for democratizing publishing and competing against proprietary alternatives if that were going into halfway and assemblage development.
Drop immoderate different thoughts oregon docket items you whitethorn person successful this thread.”

Response to Mullenweg’s leaked post:

One Facebook idiosyncratic accused Mullenweg of trying to “blackmail” the WordPress assemblage to unit WP Engine (WPE). They wrote that the assemblage is mostly sympathetic to WPE than to Mullenweg. But successful wide Mullenweg’s connection was met with a motion due to the fact that they consciousness that this volition springiness halfway contributors the accidental to drawback up connected maintaining the halfway which to them is simply a greater precedence than adding much features to Gutenberg which galore of the developers successful this radical seemingly don’t use.

One lone commenter successful the Facebook treatment asked if anyone successful the treatment had made a affirmative publication to WordPress. At the clip of writing, cipher had cared to respond.