JerBrains does something similar (after paying for a year I get perpetual license for the version released that year). I’m pretty happy and feel under control. I have been paying them for years now and in case they screw up I will stop my subscription and still can download and use old version. Sure I will be missing on some bug fixes but I have used the software for a year already, I can live with those annoyances. It’s not like the new version will be all bug free either.

Why would it only be a year of updates? Just go back to how it was 10 years ago when most software was a 1 time purchase and you got updates until the next major version, then maybe you'd only get bug fixes and security updates until your OS deprecated some API the app depended on.

The industry had arguably more innovative products than exist today and that business model worked totally fine until the platform gatekeepers and VCs invented SaaS because they decided they weren't making enough money and needed to do some rent seeking.

I think the best way is you buy a software, and that version is supported "forever".

The developer then creates version n+1. The old version is kept supported, but new features go only into the new version, which you can optionally buy again.