Channel: eng, content People: Michael Houck (posted), Mehul Jariwala, Rafael Bruno (directed to pause) Date: 2026-08-07
Signal
Michael posted in eng at 6:37pm ET: “stop all work on Hard Calls for now except for reviewing PRs I’m going to ship over the next few days. Just had a bit of a breakthrough with it.”
Earlier in content at 6:08pm: “Just had a breakthrough on Hard Calls and Hard Calls Pro with Hermes. Know we’re delayed but it will be worth it.” Blake Stewart replied “just gonna drop a teaser like that with no follow up?” - Michael said he will share details “this weekend.”
Why this matters
Michael is taking the HC build into a personal sprint mode, shipping PRs himself via Hermes. Engineering (Mehul, Rafael) is in review-only mode for HC until further notice. The HC Pro launch date of 2026-08-09 is already flagged as no longer operative (see Hard Calls Pro and Hockey Stick launch schedule confirmed; ad-free windows set follow-up). The breakthrough implies a significant direction change or acceleration - details TBD until Michael shares this weekend.
Status
Open. Michael to share details weekend of Aug 9-10. Engineering on standby for HC.