The v0.59.0 release mirrors the previous v1.0.0-rc2 release to allow automation tools to recognize it as the latest version.
For example, Homebrew's k6 formulae and pkg.go.dev do not automatically fetch unstable versions such as v1.0.0-rc2, which is legitimately the expected behavior for these tools.
However, this has been the default for all previous v0.* releases, where they were considered the latest stable version—even if they were under a version typically associated with unstable releases. To address this, we will continue releasing mirrored versions under v0.* for necessary release candidates.
This practice will end once the official stable v1.0.0 release is available, after which we will follow the standard SemVer lifecycle to simplify the workflow for everyone.
The release notes for v1.0.0-rc2 provide a detailed look at all the changes that have been implemented since v1.0.0-rc1/v0.58.0 and are now part of this version.