Well $539/yr is not quite the same as $500 for life. Plus, MSDN software should only be used for development, using it e.g. as a workstation would technically be a violation, albeit one that is unenforceable. And yes, I am aware that if you install it in the first year, it will continue to work long after your MSDN license has expired.
My interest is not in "getting it", or "keeping it working", but rather doing everything 100% legally, not through loopholes. Otherwise I might just as well get a Windows 10 LTSB MSDN license key for $25 from people who illegally sell MSDN keys on reddit.
However, I am pleasantly surprised that there is a MSDN tier that only costs $539/yr instead of the $10000/yr (!) it used to cost. Also, apparently now MSDN is available for anyone, previously you had to enter into some kind of business contract with Microsoft, it wasn't available to individuals.
Nah you don't need to renew it. You pay $1200 upfront and it comes with a bunch of license keys, each allowing multiple activations, that you get to keep even if you do not renew the subscription. Renewal is only if you want a key for future versions of windows (Windows 11?), which there won't be according to Microsoft. The catch is that the license prevents you from using it as a main/production machine, it's for dev, testing and demo only.
In your link the "Software for dev/test" is blank for cloud subscriptions. It comes with TFS licenses but I do not believe it comes with Windows licenses, even for the period of the subscription.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/d/visual-studio-profes...