Just a minor point, but which might throw another light on things.
All Linux distos I know of will only include the new version of VM into their NEXT release, not upgrade existing versions (this would only happen when there is significant security fixes and even then, usually only the security patches are backported).
While this does not regate your concern regarding breaking existing setups, I do think it modifies it slightly as the upgrade will only occur when the user explicitly asks for a distribution upgrade. Most users are expecting some breakage when doing a full distro upgrade compared to a normally update.
The other point to consider is that this could actually be beneficial. Distros put their next version through considerable testing and new package versions are normally only included if they pass this testing. Releasing could assist VM by getting additional testing. If issues come in which cannot be resolved due to lack of time;resources, no big deal as the worst case scenario is the disto ships with the last known (current) good verison rather than the new one.
Just a different perspective. As the bulk of maintenance falls on Uday's shoulders, I'm fine with whatever decision he makes as he is the only one in a position to judge what level of commitment he can afford at this time.
Tim