Contest: Guess the SQL Server 2022 Release Date

By Brent Ozar · November 8, 2019 · 371 comments

When will Microsoft officially release SQL Server 2022 for download? The dust is just barely starting to settle on the 2019 box, so it’s time to guess the next one.

  • Leave one – and only one – comment here in YYYY/MM/DD format with your release date guess. If you leave multiple comments, only the first/earliest one is going to count.
  • “The release date” is the date that Microsoft announces that the final RTM bits will be downloadable to the public from www.Microsoft.com. (Not the date they make the announcement, and we’re only talking the release-to-manufacturing public version, not a preview, CTP, RC, CU, or SP.)
  • Closest to win, without going over, wins a Live Class Season Pass and a Recorded Class Season Pass.
  • In the event of a tie (multiple people guessing the same date), the earlier comment wins both the live & recorded pass, and subsequent folks only win a Recorded Class Season Pass.
  • Only comments more than 48 hours earlier than Microsoft’s public release announcement will count. If Microsoft makes their announcement, and you run over here trying to leave a fast comment with the release date, not gonna take it.
  • If Microsoft announces two release dates – like one for Windows, and one for Linux – then we’ll pick a separate winner for each. (But you only get to leave one date in the comments.)

Place your bets!

Update 2022/11/16: Microsoft announced the release today. Nobody guessed that (at least, not following the instructions above), so the closest without going over was Scott Holiday, who guessed 2022/11/15.

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371 comments

  18. Why would you not use ISO-8601 date format for guesses? We’re all geeks here.

    2020-10-28 is my guess

    1. Maybe he’s testing who can follow directions 🙂 Or maybe it’s not a manual process.

  127. I would say, if the economic situation is getting better on May 16, 2021 will be the date for the release.

  129. Based on how this year has gone, would anyone want to market, let alone buy, something with 2020 in the name?

  137. 2020/12/31, at the end 2019 I asked to Bob Ward when SQL Server 2019 was going to be lanched by 2019/12/31?
    I did now find the post to paste it here.

  157. Hah! I was just talking to a colleague about how I expected there to be a SQL Server 2021 later this year. He seemed surprised so I came here looking for the original post to show him you guys were expecting a 2020 version. I see it has inconspicuously been updated to ask for 2021 predictions, so here’s mine: Nov 12th, 2021.

    1. Shame on me for not following the instructions. But just in case my first comment doesn’t count, 2021/12/11.

  200. 20220401… There’s normally a years worth of previews… The world has become to odd and Microsoft will move back to even numbers..

    1. @brent, Rebecca deserves a cookie for the first person to guess the second half of 2022..

  280. Does it count if we guessed the closest and the name for the next release is not called by the year 2021?

  286. my vote is we won’t see a ‘2021’ sql server, it’ll be a ’22’ or some other identifie.

    1. The thing is, I don’t believe there will be a “2021” version,,, I think the next release will be named 2022.

        1. Heh… Coffee… must have c-o-f-f-e-e. 😀 I didn’t add “for those that think it’s coming out in 2021”.

  309. Guessing it will be announced at the Dec 2021 conference, with a release date of 1 March 2022