I can't actually figure out if it will make a difference to the developers in terms of money if they do make it freeware again.
The amount of players that have bought keys surely can't be enough to keep running the servers and forums day after day, and with no real advertising that i can see i don't think it will affect them in a monetary sense.

But removing the keys will take away the real enthusiasts, so i voted NO.

P.S: If this isn't just a bad joke from Veb to light up the forums then I think Qegola is bang on the money there with his idea. Then everyone wins.(Although some servers will HAVE to be restricted to keep the zerglings at bay)