Hi DadGran,
I am not from Laminar Research; just a flight simmer from downunder.
Although the Laminar team is very small in numbers they are concentrating on improving the current version which is xp11. As I have read from previous official Laminar responses to your question, V12 is not on their current radar.
The version 12 "furphy" has been around for quite some time. If it is about to be released it will surprise hundreds of flight simmers, especially those close to Laminar Research.
To release an official version, especially an upgrade from V11 to V12 there is a lengthy process to follow. The first instance will be a Beta version and will only be silently distributed to a select number of official testers . When the perceived problems have been fixed after several Beta releases (V11 had at least 8) the software will then be released for Beta testing by the normal flight sim fraternity. And only after these perceived problems are fixed will you and me be able to get our hands on V!2. So, a long period of testing before release.
Because you and I will have had V11 for some time we will have to purchase V12 as was the case with the change from V10 to V11. The same analogy can be applied when purchasing a new car even a day before an unannounced release of a new model.
However, Laminar Research did offer an enticement to newcomers to X-Plane, about 1 month before the official V11 public release, to purchase V10 and then upgrade to V11 at no extra cost. This enticement ceased one month after the release of V11. The unfortunate situation was V11 is a totally different package to V10. I imagine V12 may be the same making the purchase a necessity.
If not satisfied with my answer then have a look at the following link found at https://questions.x-plane.com/17670/why-buy-ver-11-if-ver-12-beta-is-out?show=17670#q17670 and the comment made by jroberts who is a staff member at Laminar.
If still not convinced then ask your question directly with Laminar at [email protected]
In the meantime safe flying and enjoy the current version.
Glenn