The "new" aspect usually refers to:
PHP 7.4 reached End of Life (EOL) on November 28, 2022. While ionCube continues to support it, you should ensure you are using the latest version of the Loader (currently version 13.x or higher) which includes support for PHP 7.4 to 8.2+. ORC Webhosting 2. Decoding vs. Encoding The Encoder: ioncube decoder php 74 new
If you legally own the source code and simply lost it (only having the encoded version), you have two pathways. The "new" aspect usually refers to: PHP 7