I understand that he intends to release the changes in a year. It is good that he’s doing that.
I agree that many assume that improvements to Blender ‘just happen’ and that they can get it all for free. They can. For them, everything really does just happen, and they can get it all for free. These people don’t play any part in this discussion.
Let’s go with the idea of a new game engine. If everyone expects the development to happen for free, then it simply won’t happen. If the team charges money for those who want to use it, they will either get enough interest for it to be viable, or they won’t. The deciding factor is how many people with money want this.
Now, if a team was to propose development for a new game engine and state what it will cost to make, and those same interested people contribute the same amount of money, then it gets built and everyone has it. The only difference between these situations is the exclusivity for those with money. I don’t think that’s a healthy thing to have in any community.