So my problem with MSFT's big plan is that I simply don't know it.

I do know the price I'm paying for using Emacs and Vim. Even though (in theory) they are completely free, in reality there's a price there. Vim and Emacs require time, patience, and dedication, just like any other tools. I know who gains from my choice - myself, the community, and the industry.

I knew exactly how JetBrains profited from my choice of using IntelliJ in the past - I paid for the license and renewed it every year.

But what's MSFT's scheme here? They're giving me this beautiful, nice tool completely for "free"? What price will I have to pay for that choice in the future?

I'm sorry, but I think every dev should remain at least a bit skeptical, do you truly believe that Microsoft, a colossal corporation with a market capitalization comparable to the GDP of Germany, spends an enormous amount of resources to build "a free" code editor, because... I dunno, they love you or something?