Features and improvements are routinely added. An update from the 6.x or 7.x series might be well worth it.
The mail wasn't nefarious, just marketing. Avoid 8.56. It's successor will appear shortly.
For licensed users upgrades are free for up to six months from purchase date. After that, VP will continue to fully function but a fee will be required in order to register the newest. Retain your old install file and registration info.