Roadmaps are where chains make promises they later forget. This one is different in a small way: every item below is taken from a document in the chain repository that names a prerequisite, and the prerequisite is stated here too. If the prerequisite is not met, the item does not ship, and no date is attached to it.
Published SDKs
Today: the Rust SDK and CLI build from source; the Dart SDK is a path dependency marked publish_to: none; the TypeScript package returns 404 on npm and, where it exists in source, covers 3 of 143 pallets.
Next: publish the Dart SDK to pub.dev with a real README (the current one is the 39-line dart create template), and either complete the TypeScript SDK to a useful pallet coverage or point developers to Polkadot.js API officially. Nothing goes to crates.io without an explicit decision — that is a standing rule.
A public faucet
Today: none. Testnet DMS is obtained from the team.
Next: deploy it, at a documented endpoint, before the grants programme opens. The grants and hackathon documents both carry a correction block saying their promised faucet and explorer URLs pointed at a domain (empoorio.io) that was never registered, and that the programme cannot be announced until what it promises exists.
The emp_* RPC reference
Today: the node exposes emp_getAiModelStatus, emp_getBlobData, emp_getDomainOwner, emp_getTrackInfo, emp_getValidatorScore and others, unenumerated.
Next: enumerate against rpc_methods on the live node, document signatures from observed request/response pairs, publish. Until then the docs say "not published" rather than guessing.
Parallel EVM
Today: parallel execution exists for native transactions behind a feature flag, with projected (not measured) throughput.
Next: apply the same deterministic scheduler to Frontier transactions using revm with independent state overlays; run the prepared four-validator Zombienet benchmark; replace projections with measurements under artifacts/performance/testnet/<date>/.
The hackathon and grants programme
Today: fully designed. A 48-hour virtual hackathon with three tracks — native DeFi, AI/zkML, identity and privacy — judged on innovation (30 %), native pallet use (25 %), code quality (20 %), documentation (15 %) and a working demo (10 %). A grants programme for ten pilot projects across DeFi, NFT/gaming, AI, tooling and identity, with public KPIs (≥ 100 verifiable testnet transactions, open source, a reproducible README, at least one native pallet). Prizes in testnet DMS only, with no financial commitment.
Next: the faucet, a stable EmpooScan with a public database, and dApp templates (testnet-dapp-react, testnet-ts-scripts, testnet-rust-backend) verified against the current runtime. Then announce.
The validator set
Today: two validators, one operator.
Next: external operators meeting the six independence conditions, toward the gate of ten validators and four operators. The MaxAuthorities = 32 ceiling reconciled with MaxValidators = 100 before the set approaches it.
The upgrade rehearsal
Today: normal and storage-migration upgrades rehearsed on the live chain.
Next: an economic-class upgrade and an emergency drill with rollback, completing the four classes the upgrade policy requires before a mainnet gate can open.
What is not on this list
A mainnet date. Wasm/ink! contracts (the pallet is not in the runtime). Client diversity. Any exchange listing. Any partnership. Each of those would need to exist before it could be announced, and this ecosystem has adopted the rule that things are announced after they exist.
Compiled from PARALLEL_EXECUTION_REPORT.md, TESTNET_GRANTS_PROGRAM.md, TESTNET_HACKATHON_PLAN.md, DECENTRALIZATION_REPORT.md, RUNTIME_UPGRADE_POLICY.md and the September 2026 documentation audit.