Linux 5.20 Likely To Be Called Linux 6.0

In case you missed it in yesterday's Linux 5.19 announcement and to avoid reader questions/confusion in the days ahead, just making it loud and clear here: what was referred to as the Linux 5.20 kernel in development will most likely be called Linux 6.0.

With Linus Torvalds' modern versioning after 19~20 point releases has been when he bumps to the next major version number... Linux 4.0 succeeded Linux 3.19 while Linux 5.0 came after Linux 4.20. He hasn't been consistent whether the major version bump comes after 19 or 20, but usually makes a joke about when he runs out of fingers and toes for counting. In Sunday's Linux 5.19 announcement, he indicated that the next kernel version will likely be 6.0.

Torvalds remarked, "I'll likely call it 6.0 since I'm starting to worry about getting confused by big numbers again."

So all the excitement around the big features coming for Linux 5.20 will likely be christened as Linux 6.0. It will be quite a great match for Linux 6.0 if the initial Rust code manages to land, the possibility of MGLRU, PREEMPT_RT patches getting very close to the finish line and potentially submitted this merge window, the Intel DG2/Alchemist graphics being refined, AMD RDNA3 potentially being in good shape, and a heck of a lot more coming for this next cycle. See the Linux 5.20 feature preview to learn more about what's on deck for Linux 5.20~6.0.