They've completely reworked release plans. 2026 LTSC will come out a year after the initial VS 2026 release (at the same time as VS 2027) and be supported for 1 more year. You pretty much have to get on the rolling updates train for the IDE, which is why the C++ toolchain now follows a different schedule and you're supposed to be able to install any specific toolchain side by side.
alt Hacker News
They've completely reworked release plans. 2026 LTSC will come out a year after the initial VS 2026 release (at the same time as VS 2027) and be supported for 1 more year. You pretty much have to get on the rolling updates train for the IDE, which is why the C++ toolchain now follows a different schedule and you're supposed to be able to install any specific toolchain side by side.