I don't know if he ever had a change of heart.
Never underestimate the enduring pettiness of libertarian infighting.
Discussion
I feel like that's what Hoppe is starting to do more, after hearing the preview manuscript of his new book on methodologies in economics. Calling positive analysis a tremendous waste of resources. Like, if it's funded by the government yeah sure it's a waste of resources. But look at how Friedman verified the Austrian theories by positive analysis and brought loads of people to libertarianism!!
I'm very sympathetic to Hoppe's views about economic methodology, but I think it misses that empirical work like Friedman's can make people more willing to listen to Austrian Theory.