The Model Context Protocol project is moving to a regular six-month specification release schedule, targeting March 30, 2027, for version 2027-03-30. Core maintainers announced the update following discussions at MCPCon Europe.
New Release Schedule and Deadlines
The Model Context Protocol project is shifting specification releases to a regular six-month schedule, generally publishing them on the last Tuesday of March and September. To keep the timeline predictable, any proposal that is not ready will move to a later release rather than delay the entire specification.
Planning for a release will start eight calendar months in advance. The schedule includes a soft freeze at two and a half months before release, where every proposal must be marked Final and merged, and a hard freeze at one month before release.
Release Manager Role and Upcoming Targets
Core maintainers are introducing the Release Manager role to track work across proposal authors, Working Groups, and SDK maintainers. Luca Chang is joining David and the other maintainers as a Release Manager for the upcoming specification cycle.
The next release, version 2027-03-30, is targeted for March 30, 2027. Existing clients and servers do not need to change MCP messages or version negotiation due to this announcement.
Key facts and where they come from
- MCP is moving to a regular six-month specification release schedule.
we’re moving MCP specification releases to a regular six-month schedule.
- The next release is targeted for March 30, 2027, as version 2027-03-30.
For the next release, we’re targeting March 30, 2027 – expect MCP version 2027-03-30 to land then.
- Luca Chang is joining as a Release Manager for the next specification cycle.
Luca Chang will join David and myself as a Release Manager for the next specification cycle.
