I do not know if this is done on purpose to "milk for longer" or just just because the dev likes to try new things, but it is true that many parts of the game have been redesigned over time, not only in the 2.x demo but also in previous 1.x versions. I prefer to think that there is no hidden agenda and that the dev is honestly trying to improve the game.
In any case, I am very happy that the 1.12 version was released because it does not require Unity and it can run in any browser, contrary to the 2.x demo that I cannot run. I hope that the 1.x series will keep on being maintained and improved for a looooong time.