WordPress 7.0, previously scheduled for an April 9th release, will be delayed in order to stabilize the Real-Time Collaboration feature and assure that the release, a major milestone, will “target extreme stability.” Much is riding on WordPress 7.0 as it will ship with features that will usher in the age of AI-driven content management systems.
Prioritization Of Stability
Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress, commenting in the official Making WordPress Slack workspace, said the release should step back from its current trajectory and prioritize stability, calling for a longer pre-release phase to get the real-time collaboration (RTC) feature working correctly. The delay is expected to last weeks, not days, and is described as a one-off deviation from WordPress’s planned date-driven schedule.
Mullenweg posted:
“Given the scope and status of 7.0, I think we should go back to beta releases, get the new tables right, lock in everything we want for 7.0, and then start RCs again. Date-driven is still our default, but for this milestone release we want to target extreme stability and exciting updates, especially as AI-accelerated development is increasing people’s expectations for software.
This is a one-off, I think for future we should get back on the scheduled train, with an aim for 4-a-year in 2027, to hopefully reflect our AI-enabled ability to move faster.”
Extended Release Candidate Phase Replaces Beta Reversion
To avoid technical compatibility issues, the project will remain in the release candidate phase, extending the testing period through additional RC builds as needed.
The proposal to return to beta releases was rejected because it would break PHP version comparison behavior, plugin update logic, and tooling that depends on standard version sequencing. Continuing with RC builds preserves compatibility while allowing more time for testing and fixes.
Real-Time Collaboration
The delay is largely due to the Real-Time Collaboration feature, which introduces new database tables and changes how WordPress handles editing sessions. Contributors identified risks related to performance, data handling, and interactions with existing systems.
A primary concern is that real-time editing currently disables persistent post caches during active sessions, a performance issue the team is working to resolve before the final release.
Database Design Raises Performance Concerns
A key part of the discussion focused on how to structure the database for Real-Time Collaboration (RTC). A proposed single RTC table would support 1. real-time editing updates and 2. synchronization. But some contributors noted that the workloads for real-time editing and synchronization are fundamentally different.
Real-time collaboration generates high-frequency, bursty writes that require low latency (meaning updates happen with very little delay).
While synchronization between environments involves slower, structured updates that may include full-table scans.
Combining both patterns within one table risks performance issues and added complexity. Contributors discussed separating these workloads into separate tables optimized for each use case, but no decision has been made.
Gap In Release Candidate Testing Raises Concern
The discussion in the WordPress Slack workspace also raised concern over whether there was enough real-world release candidate testing, and database schema changes increase the risk of failures during upgrades. The solution of using the Gutenberg plugin for testing was rejected because database changes could affect production sites and require complex migration logic. Instead, the project will use an extended RC phase to increase testing exposure and gather feedback from a wider group of users.
Versioning Constraints
The proposal to delay version 7.0 led to additional issues. PHP version comparison rules and related tooling complicated returning to beta versions. It was agreed that staying within the release candidate sequence (ergo RC1, RC2, RC3) avoids these issues while allowing continued iteration, so it was decided to continue with release candidates.
Future Release Cadence Remains
The delay is described as a temporary exception. Matt Mullenweg said the project intends to return to a regular release schedule, with a goal of delivering roughly four releases per year by 2027 as development speeds increase with AI-assisted workflows.
Implications For Developers And Users
Developers should expect continued changes to the Real-Time Collaboration feature and its supporting database structures during the extended release candidate phase. The longer testing period provides more time to identify issues before release. For site owners and hosts, the delay shows that WordPress is prioritizing stability over schedule while introducing more complex real-time and synchronization features.
Impact Of RTC On Hosting Environments
Something that wasn’t discussed but is a real issue is how real-time collaboration might affect web hosting providers. They need to test that feature to see if it introduces issues on shared hosting environments. While RTC will be shipping with the feature turned off by default, the impact of it being used by customers in a shared hosting environment is currently unknown. A spokesperson for managed WordPress hosting provider Kinsta told Search Engine Journal they are still testing. Given how the feature is still evolving, Kinsta and other web hosts will have to continue testing the upcoming WordPress release candidates.
I think most people will agree that the decision to delay the release of WordPress 7.0 is the right call.
