I agree with you. If the promise generated the receipt of money, then it must be treated as a promotion, and Chris is obligated to comply with the terms of the promotion by either freely giving his update to everyone who purchased Brass Complete after November 22, or issue them a refund. But Chris, who's always been a highly respected developer, admitted making a mistake. Granted, it was a whopper of a mistake from a consumer standpoint, but assuming it was an honest one, everyone can then look at the situation from their individual perspectives.
From my perspective, CHOB Complete is a fantastic-sounding library. The first time I played it, I was relieved to hear what processed, dry samples could accomplish in an orchestral setting, because nothing annoys me more than dynamics controllers lopping off baked-in reverb tails. Chris then spent six months adding tubas, euphoniums, and sousaphones. Factor in the phase-aligned crossfading and everything else, and it's a lot of work for which I hope he is duly rewarded through sales.
Mistakes happen. Sometimes good developers get excited and act without thinking, like when they tease an upcoming sample library by posting audio of a real performance of the instrument, or by prematurely promising a free update. Mistakes like these can be very inconvenient, but they do happen.
A couple weeks ago
in another thread, a VI-Control member noticed a developer apparently mark up their instruments up 200% right before advertising them for 50% off. These are the kinds of developers that need to be called out with pitchforks and held to the pyre. Chris Hein, however, has proven himself over the years to be nothing like that.