What kind of **** is that? The Express editions are, and always will be free - they can't suddenly remove a license from a product and replace it with a new one.
Oh, and about coding - if you were serious about it, particularly C++, you wouldn't be relying on a vendor specific compiler anyway. You code to standards set by ANSI/ISO, and they compile with any compiler that conforms. Visual Studio is tool, not a requirement.