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I remember hearing Guido comment that CPython is much easier to hack on compared to PyPy. I think this reason alone is why other Python implementations will remain separate from the 'reference' CPython.

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The majority of PyPy development is done in RPython which probably makes hacking on the runtime available to something like 100x as many developers. The only limiting thing is knowledge and exposure, but mostly exposure.

Sorry, CPython is much easier to hack on than PyPy. To start with, for every change you do recompilation takes 4GB of memory and half an hour to complete.

This is a rather slow feedback cycle.

Secondly, while the syntax of RPython may be clean the necessary incantations to actually achieve something aren't at all obvious.

I don't know much about pypy, but do you need to compile it each time? Just use pypy to live interpret the interpreter.

Lots of RPython development can be done in the repl, code can be debugged with pdb. Not nearly as difficult as it is often made out to be.

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