I’d say that was the worst scenario possible that was expecting in their community update. From what it seems they’re trying to increase the replayability of the early access instead of moving forward.

It’s okay working on the bugs for those who are still hyped by EA
It’s“ nice to have” bringing that data related to the gameplay decisions
It’s vital to know where the company is heading now. I wasn’t expecting a damn deadline. I simply do not care about it at all. I just want to know how they’ll handle that major topics and what’s their vision of the future for the game.