6 days
Getting ahead of the curve regarding potential future legislations/regulations around unsafe languages, which may introduce contract conditions, liabilities…etc (See 2:30-4:30 of this talk for an overview).
If they listened to the calls describing this move as premature, and it arguably was, they could have gotten strapped for time later.
An implementation in a good safe fast modern language that developers actually enjoy has other tangible benefits of course. But if people want the “corpo reason”, the above should provide an answer.
It won’t be. Bjarne doesn’t want any real workable safety to be added. And that’s for the best because it’s a shit language. And falling out of favor, especially for new projects, is the best outcome.