Why the new version is called 2026.7.19 — and not 0.9.2 🗓️

Anyone updating today jumps from version 0.9.1 to 2026.7.19. It looks like a typo and is a deliberate decision: we changed our versioning scheme — from "semantic" versions to date-based versions (year.month.counter). Here's why.

The old scheme answered questions nobody asks. Semantic versioning (0.9.1, 1.2.3 …) comes from the world of software libraries. There it's great: the first number promises "nothing breaks", the second "only additions", the third "only repairs". A game makes that promise to no one — there are no third-party programs building on our interfaces. So for us the number answered questions nobody asks, while the one question that actually comes up — "how old is my version?" — it never answered.

And then there's our pace. This game doesn't get an update per quarter; it averages one every day or two — July alone saw eighteen before this one joined as number nineteen. At that rate the bookkeeping turns absurd: is a new biome a 0.10.0 or a 0.9.2? The honest answer, every single time: doesn't matter. Meanwhile the leading 0 permanently whispered "unfinished", while out there families are already playing on hosted worlds. And when would it have become "1.0"? There was never a good answer to that either — the game simply keeps growing every week; there won't be a ceremonial finish line.

Date-based versions answer the right question instantly. 2026.7.19 means: July 2026, nineteenth release of the month. Every bug report, every glance at "About the game" now says by itself how fresh the build is. For a project whose defining trait is the speed at which it improves, the date is simply the more honest number. 📅

Why not the full date, like 2026.07.28.1? We'd have loved to — it's technically impossible. Our auto-updater only understands three-part versions without leading zeros; a fourth part or a "07" gets rejected. So: three parts, 2026.7.19. One curiosity remains: the Windows installer caps the first version number at 255 — so internally 2026 becomes 26 there, and "Apps & Features" shows 26.7.19. Every other place in the game shows the full number. 🔧

A one-way street, on purpose. Since the updater simply compares versions by size, 2026.7.19 is bigger than any conceivable 0.x or 1.x — which is exactly why auto-updates keep working across the switch. But it also means there is no way back to the old scheme: any old-style number would look like a downgrade to every installed client. We closed that door behind us with eyes open. From August on it gets properly tidy: the counter restarts at 1 each month — the first August release is simply 2026.8.1. ✨