Cycling 74‘s Darwin Grosse has announced the release date for the latest version of Max, Max 5:

I’m pleased to announce a release date for Max 5. This new version will be available as a download on April 22nd, with packaged versions available shortly thereafter. Compatible versions of MSP and Jitter will be released at the same time.

The new version will work on your system without disturbing your Max 4.6 environment, so you can evaluate it without affecting your existing Max license. Max 5 will continue to have a 30-day evaluation period.

This is an exciting upgrade that represents an enormous effort by the entire company.

Here are the details:

How much will it cost?

• $199 MSRP There will be education discounts available.

When will it be released?

• Expected release date is April 22, 2008. See forum post for a few additional details.

Will there be a grace period?

• Customers who purchase the current version of Max/MSP or Max/MSP/Jitter after October 1, 2007 will be eligible for a free upgrade to Max 5 when it becomes available.

What if I buy from an authorized reseller?

• Make sure you have registered your software with us. Click here to visit the Registration Page. You’re eligible for a free upgrade if you purchase from an authorized reseller after October 1, 2007. Please fax or e-mail your receipt to us when the upgrade is released.

If I still have time left on my Student 9-month purchase when Max 5 is released will I get the upgrade for free?

• Yes.

Will my old patches work in Max 5?

• We’re working to ensure that the vast majority of existing Max 4.x patches will work in Max 5 without any appreciable pain and suffering.

Will my third party externals need to be updated?

• While most objects are going to work without any modification in Max 5, third-party user interface objects such as sliders and dials, and objects that display something in their own window will not work and will need to be rewritten completely. There really aren’t very many of these objects, and developing new ones is now so much easier, we expect the trade-off will be worth it in the long run.

What will happen with the licensing requirements for the runtime version on Windows with Max 5?

• We are happy to announce that with the release of Max 5, all Windows runtime / standalone licensing fees and restrictions will be eliminated.

Will Pluggo plug-ins work in Max 5?

• Existing VST plug-ins created with earlier versions of Max — including Pluggo, Hipno, Mode, and UpMix, as well as Max/MSP-based plug-ins created by third parties — will not work inside in Max 5. At some point in the future, after the initial Max 5 release, it will be possible to create new plug-ins that will be compatible with Max 5.

Will there be a Pluggo run-time available for Max 5?

• There will eventually be Pluggo support for Max 5, but it won’t be available with the initial release.

I develop objects for Max. Can I get an advance copy of Max 5 to ensure my objects are compatible?

• While we certainly appreciate the interest in ensuring that all objects are compatible when Max 5 is released, our resources for support are limited and it will be easier for us to assist developers with any compatibility issues after the software is publicly available. In general, we do not want to force object developers to have to distribute special Max 5 versions of their objects, so it is our hope that the vast majority of Max, MSP, and Jitter objects that currently work in Max 4.6 will not need to be updated at all.