IE: Q1 2018....
They said that they are HOPING to have EJ ready by the end of March 2018 (the end of Q1) - but don't hold them to it, if there are significant issues.
I think Mesanna and the rest are wary of definitive deadlines, after what happened with Kingdom Reborn.
With KR, EA Japan committed to a Q2 2007 release, including making a version of KR for the shelves (technically, it was a bonus CD for a UO Soundtrack release, to get around any restrictions at the time on doing a box set for just one nation). This included reserving shelf space in several Japanese chains, and all that money would be lost if the stuff didn't ship to the Japanese retailers by the end of June. As a result, in order to keep from embarrassment, EA Japan (which has always been rumored to have more UO players than the rest of the world) pressured the US side to move the KR client from Alpha to Beta when it was barely ready for Alpha, and release it worldwide when it really needed another 4-6 months in Beta. And, those of us around for KR know just how big a debacle it was, and the reason EC exists was that it was easier to start from scratch with a KR replacement than repair/update KR. (sources: former UO staff, in personal conversations 2007-2009).