Is an episode a year just the new normal?

I know the quality has increased over the the years, but so have the patreon contributions! (I would assume)

Forgive me, I know very little about the production of the show, or how many people work on it. But surely they could be get them out a little faster.

Considering there is a total of 96 episodes of SAO proper, both we and the creators will be dead before they finish.