Hi! First of all, console is still a ways away (the release on the 29th is for PC Game Pass, while Xbox won't be released until early 2023).
As for patching, we will still keep the Public Test Branch in use, as we think it's a good way to let some users try out stuff before everyone gets access to it. Both testing and releasing will always be done with both multiplayer and singleplayer - no build will be locked to only allow solo play.
And it should only be the bigger updates that need thorough checking and validation before release, while hotfixes should still be possible to release on shorter notice. Even if hotfixes would need to be checked, it shouldn't affect the Default version of the game much, as it's ideally only the PTB that will be unstable. And the validation time isn't very long either, so there's no cause for worry! :)