Any news about Xenforo 3.0, can we expect modern forum?

[qnkov]

Hello. For half a year, I have been looking for a modern forum system to start an anime/manga site with various features. For example, a video system for watching movies/episodes, a way to add manga/anime as pages with information about them, topics with posters, etc. I saw that all of this is possible with Invision Community.

I waited to see version 5, but it turned out that the self-hosted platform is extremely expensive and has functionality limits. They also changed the way we acquire add-ons, significantly restricting options, and almost no themes exist for their latest version.

On the other hand, XenForo seems like a better alternative in terms of user base and price, but the forum and themes, in general, look like they’re from the early 2000s. I understand that some may find this nostalgic, but it looks incredibly outdated and is not visually appealing.

That’s why I’m wondering what exactly to expect with version 3.0. Can we anticipate a modern interface similar to Invision Community? I really don't want to go to invision as they may drop self-hosted in next version, as they aim for big comapanies, not common users now.

 

[Wing]

This situation really sucks.

I am genuinely wondering if 2.4 or 3.0 ever comes out. 2.4 should have come out more than a year ago(!) and Kier seems to have gone AWOL a long time ago.

The XF teams should just be honest about this whole situation. Be fair to your customers.

I mean, there’s a reason why we all have been talking about this subject so much over the last 3 years. Even after thousands of pages of posts with similar feedback or concerns - nothing really has changed.

 

[Brad P]

I’ve been with XenForo since the very beginning and still genuinely believe it’s the best forum software out there from a core stability/usability standpoint. But I think a lot of long-time customers are now just looking for some clearer communication on the direction of things moving forward.

@Chris D , you seem to be the only developer/community-facing presence consistently active lately, so would it be possible to give the community some kind of update on where things currently stand with XenForo and Kier?

Not asking for promises or release dates, just a bit more transparency really. A lot of us have invested well over a decade into the platform and want to feel reassured about the future direction of it.

 

[dutchbb]

Post in thread 'If XenForo's finished, what's next?'

Dec 5, 2025

Let me address a few concerns floating around.

I apologise for the recent silence. Work on XenForo 2.4 is ongoing. A new HYS is coming soon, and we are targeting a release for some point in 2026. As for 2.3.8, we’re aiming to release that before Christmas, or shortly after the New Year.

To be blunt, this year has been incredibly difficult for the team personally. We've faced a wave of health issues, bereavements, and family emergencies. When a small team gets hit with this much "real life" all at once, productivity takes a hit. It’s noticeable, and we know we didn't get it right this...

• Chris D

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• 

 

[smallwheels]

Be fair to your customers.

The customers should be fair, too, and you are not.

I am genuinely wondering if 2.4 or 3.0 ever comes out.

2.4 should have come out more than a year ago(!)

Obviously you ignore everything that has been said about that topic. In December last year Chris has clearly set the timeline for 2.4 to "some time in 2026":

Post in thread 'If XenForo's finished, what's next?'

Dec 5, 2025

Let me address a few concerns floating around.

I apologise for the recent silence. Work on XenForo 2.4 is ongoing. A new HYS is coming soon, and we are targeting a release for some point in 2026. As for 2.3.8, we’re aiming to release that before Christmas, or shortly after the New Year.

To be blunt, this year has been incredibly difficult for the team personally. We've faced a wave of health issues, bereavements, and family emergencies. When a small team gets hit with this much "real life" all at once, productivity takes a hit. It’s noticeable, and we know we didn't get it right this...

• Chris D

• 
• 

It seems pretty obvious that 3.0 won't be released before 2.4 but only a while later. Maybe you should read the thread from that cited posting on.

Over the last 12 month there were four releases:



So it is not as if nothing would be happening.

This thread started as a constructive debate about what one could or should expect from a modern forum, mainly in the sense of ui (b/c that is what 3.0 is about). Once more, the notorious whiners have taken over the thread recently and started again to do what they did last autumn in countless threads: Endless whining and complaining and in endless loops repeating themselves, linving in a dream world and in complete ignorance of the thread topic and the information that has been around. Nobody needs that and it is completely destructive.

 

[Brad P]

The customers should be fair, too, and you are not.



Obviously you ignore everything that has been said about that topic. In December last year Chris has clearly set the timeline for 2.4 to "some time in 2026":

Post in thread 'If XenForo's finished, what's next?'

Dec 5, 2025

Let me address a few concerns floating around.

I apologise for the recent silence. Work on XenForo 2.4 is ongoing. A new HYS is coming soon, and we are targeting a release for some point in 2026. As for 2.3.8, we’re aiming to release that before Christmas, or shortly after the New Year.

To be blunt, this year has been incredibly difficult for the team personally. We've faced a wave of health issues, bereavements, and family emergencies. When a small team gets hit with this much "real life" all at once, productivity takes a hit. It’s noticeable, and we know we didn't get it right this...

• Chris D

• 
• 

It seems pretty obvious that 3.0 won't be released before 2.4 but only a while later. Maybe you should read the thread from that cited posting on.

Over the last 12 month there were four releases:

View attachment 337699

So it is not as if nothing would be happening.

This thread started as a constructive debate about what one could or should expect from a modern forum, mainly in the sense of ui (b/c that is what 3.0 is about). Once more, the notorious whiners have taken over the thread recently and started again to do what they did last autumn in countless threads: Endless whining and complaining and in endless loops repeating themselves, linving in a dream world and in complete ignorance of the thread topic and the information that has been around. Nobody needs that and it is completely destructive.

I think that’s where a lot of the frustration is coming from lately. Most of us long-term customers understand software development takes time and nobody is expecting daily updates or unrealistic promises, but the silence over long periods starts creating uncertainty.

A lot of customers vbuilt communities, businesses and projects around XenForo because of the confidence we had in the platform and the people behind it. That trust is still there, but I think people just want to feel connected to the direction of the platform again.

Chris has honestly carried a lot of the visible communication side recently, which people do appreciate, but it would definitely help calm concerns if there was a broader update about the future vision and where things stand overall.

 

[smallwheels]

but the silence over long periods starts creating uncertainty.

Sure. But atm there is a time frame set "some time in 2026" and it has not run out. Yet, the very same people that made this forum a horrible, useless and toxic place last autumn by taking over and destroying thread after thread with whining start now to do this again. In all fairness: If you (not literally you) are in sorrow about delays or the release date of 2.4 or the communication (which is all understandable): Create a thread for that instead of destroying others, completely ignoring the thread topic. In the end it will only be a repetition of last year's debate anyway as there are no new arguments that one could post.

 

[Semper]

Giving a range of 12 months even for software development is not reasonable, especially when at the end of the 12 months we will hear "finally it will probably be in 2027"… delay, as usual.

I left more than 18 months ago now and I no longer connected to XenForo, a few weeks ago I came back to take a look and I was half surprised that nothing had changed except a few HYS...

 

[Brad P]

Sure. But atm there is a time frame set "some time in 2026" and it has not run out. Yet, the very same people that made this forum a horrible, useless and toxic place last autumn by taking over and destroying thread after thread with whining start now to do this again. In all fairness: If you (not literally you) are in sorrow about delays or the release date of 2.4 or the communication (which is all understandable): Create a thread for that instead of destroying others, completely ignoring the thread topic. In the end it will only be a repetition of last year's debate anyway as there are no new arguments that one could post.

That’s fair, and I do agree there’s a difference between constructive discussion and threads getting completely derailed. I don’t think most long-term customers raising concerns are trying to intentionally make the place toxic though.

A lot of it probably comes from people caring about the platform because many of us have been here for well over a decade now. When communication slows down, people naturally start speculating and repeating the same concerns.

But you are right that constantly dragging every thread into the same debate doesn’t really help either, especially when this thread was originally about XF3 expectations rather than wider frustrations around communication.