On July 9, 2026, OpenAI officially released GPT-5.6 during a livestream, unveiling three versions at once: Sol, Terra, and Luna. This naming system replaces the previously rumored single-model strategy, aiming to cover different levels of need from lightweight to high intelligence. According to live demos and social media reports, Sol is positioned as a fast-response version, Terra as a balanced version, and Luna as the highest-intelligence version, but specific parameters and pricing have not been announced.
This release is OpenAI's largest model update since GPT-5. The simultaneous availability of three versions suggests OpenAI is attempting to address increasingly fierce market competition through tiered pricing and feature differentiation. Notably, the GPT-5.6 naming skips 5.5, jumping directly to 5.6, which may reflect a major internal version number adjustment or significant functional improvements.