Photoshop Elements 2022 update

Each version of Elements is a separate program and requires a new payment.  Occasionally, minor bug fixes are provided in a version update.  These are usually installed automatically and there is no charge for them.

If you purchase Elements 2025, you can install it on the same computer as your Elements 2022 and there will be no interaction between them, although your Organizer catalog will be copied and converted to  the new version.  These then become separate catalogs and any changes to the catalog that you make in Elements 2025 will not be backwards compatible with Elements 2022.

You may have seen that Elements 2025 now has a 3 year term license.  In other words, the Editor will only work for 3 years from purchase.  Presumably, there will be a new version later this year.  However, you will have to purchase that version if you want any new or improved features.  Once the Elements 2025 Editor stops working, we have been assured that the Organizer will continue to work.

Mac users have a separate wrinkle.  Over the past few years, as the Mac OS is updated, older versions of Elements no longer work.  Windows users can generally use their programs in perpetuity.  I have a copy of Elements 4.0 running on my Win 11 computer.

So, while your version of Elements 2022 has a perpetual license, the length of time it will work depends on compatibility with future operating systems and hardware.