As of the next minor release, HashiCorp Packer will stop bundling official plugins within its binary releases, separating them from the core to allow for community-driven updates and management through manual installation or `packer init`. This change aims to improve maintenance and flexibility for users, while providing a transition period for critical plugins already used in existing workflows. The removal of bundled plugins will be completed with version 1.10, scheduled for November 2023, and users who manage external plugins via `packer init` or `packer plugins install` are not affected by these changes. The use of `required_plugins` blocks in HCL2 templates can help pin specific plugin versions to avoid issues during the transition.