This is a partially informed comment; something new in gerbers. I do not know if it is a tiny or a medium splash.
In the last 2-3 weeks I had learned about X2 gerbers, and that KiCad’s gerber viewer (at least in 5.99) can find reference designations when it opens the gbrjob file.
I have used Pentalogix viewmate for many years, and I was curious about this capability using that viewer. I inquired with their customer support and they responded nicely (remarkable for free software.) More remarkable…they tweaked the software in response to my inquiry. As of a few days ago, you can import X2 gerber files in Viewmate and find (at least reference designations.) This does not use the .gbrjob file.
I am curious as to whether anyone has insight or pros/cons comparing KiCad’s gerber viewer with Viewmate. For me the main benefit of this advanced gerber viewing capability is when I review layouts produced with other software such as Altium.