I notice that it is free for now but is that always intend to be the case?
Such question already was. Yes, it will remain free. I suggest that in the future will be a shop where will be sold a variety of goods. For example there are various paid plug-ins, add-ons, etc.
To my knowledge, only Xenko beta is going to remain completely free.
However, I’ve got the same question about the pricing model. I would welcome a pay-when-you-ship price tag.