Update on the Next MCP Protocol Release

Clear signals in this update:

November 25 release, with RC on Nov 11—important that they’ve built in a 14-day validation window.

Working Groups & Interest Groups formalized, governance distributed.

MCP Registry now live as discovery backbone.

Async ops (SEP-1391) broaden use cases beyond quick tasks.

Statelessness & scalability addressed by Transport WG.

Server identity via .well-known makes discovery more intuitive.

Most popular protocol extensions being codified.

Tiering system for SDKs adds transparency on compliance & support.

Curious tension: MCP is positioning as both a protocol and an ecosystem backbone. Worth questioning whether tiered SDK support accelerates adoption or risks fragmentation.

Emergence suggests MCP is moving from “experimental” into “production AI plumbing.” If async, registry, & identity land cleanly, integration patterns could stabilize quickly.