From Neowin:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/windows-12-will-not-be-a-free-upgrade-according-to-a-new-leak/ar-AA1hKF7s?ocid=socialshare&cvid=f1a048b9b56644c792f2edf98111b3ec&ei=61
I'm hoping this is NOT the case. It will be mass confusion for the masses, Microsoft will see its market share drop through the bottom of the barrel. Enterprise customers will benefit most, not the everyday users.
Linux is looking better and better.
My current machines don't meet Win11 requirements. so unless one dies and I need new hardware I'm not too concerned anyway.
FWIW, I believe it will eventually head that way sooner or later.
Update to the last Windows 12 WAAS rumour mill!! Microsoft is still known for going against the grain. They're greedy as rip.
https://www.neowin.net/news/a-new-report-denies-rumors-of-a-subscription-based-windows-12/
Still, you can expect Microsoft to lock more parts of Windows behind some sort of subscription. For example, the company plans to make Windows 365, an enterprise-exclusive service, available for regular consumers, allowing them to use cloud-based Windows PCs for daily needs. Therefore, more references to new subscriptions in the Windows code base should not surprise you. Still, the main dish, Windows "12," will remain a pay-once (or source it using other methods) product.
SA
Yeah yeah!! Microsoft threatened Windows as a subscription as far back as Windows 10 began. Maybe everyone's memory has faded through all the MS Office suites being pushed into the cloud with 365 as a subscription. Although, as stated, enterprise customers would benefit from WAAS. Everyday users won't. Its something to watch, trust me on that one. 
No, of course 'Windows 12' won't require a subscription to use it
Rumors that the next version of Windows will require a subscription are greatly exaggerated.
This week, the rumor mill has been rife with activity over the possibility that "Windows 12" will be subscription based. Ever since we entered into the era of "Windows as a Service," rumors that the next version of Windows will be subscription based never fail to appear.
Now, references to a subscription model were found in the latest Windows preview builds, suggesting that Microsoft is finally going to force users to pay a monthly subscription to use Windows, right? No. These references are almost definitely tied to the newly discovered "IoT Enterprise Subscription" edition of Windows 11, not the client version of Windows vNext.
PS: Don't shoot the messenger, SA. 