Giving carrara away free was a successful marketing strategy. It put C6 in the hands of people that then upgraded to 7. It put C7 in the hands of people that then upgraded to 8. But with DAZ charging $285 before discounts for a .5 update I don't see them giving C8 away. 
 
Personally I think they need to sell DAZ period before this new crew that is managing it manage it right in to the ground. I mean DAZ is little more then a brokerage house now. 
 
Are they even developing Studio now? DAZ used to release a new version of Studio practically every year. Studio 4 is over 3 years old now and has gotten a total of 2 updates; and the main bugs I encounter still aren't fixed.