10 Clockwork Annual Releases
Since PHP 7.0 in December 2015, PHP has shipped a new minor or major version every single November/December. Ten years. Ten releases. Zero missed.
| Version | Release Date | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| PHP 7.0 | 3 Dec 2015 | — |
| PHP 7.1 | 1 Dec 2016 | 12 months |
| PHP 7.2 | 30 Nov 2017 | 12 months |
| PHP 7.3 | 6 Dec 2018 | 12 months |
| PHP 7.4 | 28 Nov 2019 | 12 months |
| PHP 8.0 | 26 Nov 2020 | 12 months |
| PHP 8.1 | 25 Nov 2021 | 12 months |
| PHP 8.2 | 8 Dec 2022 | 12 months |
| PHP 8.3 | 23 Nov 2023 | 12 months |
| PHP 8.4 | 21 Nov 2024 | 12 months |
| PHP 8.5 | 20 Nov 2025 | 12 months |
Each version gets a 4-year support window: 2 years of active bug fixes, then 2 more years of security patches. This means you always know exactly when to plan your upgrades.
Compare this with other languages: Python mostly hits its October target but has slipped. Node.js uses a different model with twice-yearly LTS releases. Ruby ships annually on Christmas Day. But PHP's decade-long streak of November releases — never early, never late — is a feat of engineering discipline.
Source: php.net/releases · php.net/supported-versions.php
Significance: Reliability
A predictable release cadence is a signal to the entire ecosystem: framework maintainers, hosting providers, CI pipelines, and enterprise teams can all plan around it. When PHP says "November", they mean November. That kind of reliability compounds over a decade into deep ecosystem trust.