Why MySQL 8?

In short, Oracle has decided to create a new version of MySQL with the number 8 simply because MySQL 6 already existed in 2007 but was then abandoned.

So why isn't is called MySQL 7, then? Because Oracle already has a version 7, called MySQL Cluster, and this version is 7.5 (GA). So, the next number that is available is 8. At the moment, MySQL version 8.0 is in DMR, which means it is in development and not available for production. However, I encourage you to download and test the new features.