Update: Gabe from Microsoft just updated the blog. You have to stay on as a Windows Insider for Windows 10 to remain active. If you stop being an Insider then you will not have an activated version of Windows. Windows Insiders will continue to get patches before anyone else. This seems fair as testers have an incentive to stay on and get Windows 10 for free.
Windows Insiders running the Windows 10 Insider Preview with their Microsoft account—whether it is the Home or Pro version—will receive the final release build of Windows 10 for free starting on July 29. The final version will be available to testers as just another regular update. If you were thinking about joining the Preview program, do it right now because this is an amazing and fair offer. You get Windows 10 for free even if you don’t have Windows 7 or Windows 8 to begin with or are virtualizing it using Parallels on another platform.
For those who installed Windows 10 from a disc image, as long as you are running an Insider Preview build that is connected with the Microsoft account you used to register, you will receive the Windows 10 final release build for free. Once you have successfully installed this build, you will also be able to clean install on that computer from final media if you want to start over fresh.
Customers running genuine versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8 can upgrade to Windows 10 as part of the free upgrade offer too. If you are running the Enterprise edition of the Windows 10 Insider Preview, to upgrade to the final release of Windows 10 Enterprise you will need to download and activate it from the Volume Licensing Service Center. The Enterprise edition of the Windows 10 Insider Preview is not eligible for the free upgrade offer and can be upgraded to the final release of Windows 10 through an active Software Assurance agreement.
Source: Microsoft
Asher Madan is a games journalist, former News Writer (Gaming) at Windows Central. They contributed 182 articles to ICXM in 2015, focused on Windows and PC, and Xbox news: joined Future plc’s Windows Central in 2017 covering Xbox news, hardware, and reviews.