<p>Thomas Ward has <a
href="https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/mate-no-26-04-release-how-does-that-affect-you-and-what-is-the-future-of-ubuntu-mate/83877">published</a>
an update about the future of the Ubuntu <a
href="https://ubuntu-mate.org/">MATE</a> project, which did not have a
26.04&#160;release with the other <a
href="https://ubuntu.com/desktop/flavors">Ubuntu flavors</a> in
April:</p>

<blockquote class="bq">
<p>There is a new team working on Ubuntu MATE who have stepped up to
help take over flavor management. They haven't formally introduced
themselves yet, but I can safely say that other developers HAVE
stepped up for the future of the MATE flavor, despite its prior team
lead having stepped down.</p>

<p>[...] Ultimately, this means that they are working to cover the
missed items and gaps, and may quite possibly have a 26.10 release in
October of 2026, which I believe they most likely are targeting.</p>

<p>This also means that bugs in the MATE environment and in packages
they normally would have shipped had they have a 26.04 release are
still going to get attention and fixes. So, effectively, nothing has
changed. The only difference is that there was no 26.04 installer
image released.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>For those looking to install a MATE desktop on a "clean" install of
Ubuntu&#160;26.04, Ward <a href="https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/mate-no-26-04-release-how-does-that-affect-you-and-what-is-the-future-of-ubuntu-mate/83877/4">suggests</a> installing Ubuntu Server and then
installing the <tt>ubuntu-mate-desktop</tt> package.</p>