neowin[.]net/news/microsoft-account-and-internet-now-mandatory-to-set-up-windows-11-22h2-insider-builds/
neowin[.]net/news/bypass-microsoft-account-requirement-when-setting-up-windows-11-with-internet/
The change started with the Home version first, but has spread to the Pro version too, though only when the copy of Windows is for personal use, rather than licensed through a biz or school with volume licensing. It is possible to easily skip that step & use a local account instead, simply by filling in a bogus email & password.
neowin[.]net/news/bypass-microsoft-account-requirement-when-setting-up-windows-11-with-internet/
When I recently installed Win11 on my unsupported tablet I had no choice -- setup stalled when it couldn't find a driver for the Wi-Fi chip -- so I used a workaround & set up a local account. That worked OK, but when I later added a Microsoft account the local account seems to have disappeared... in Win10 you used to be able to have both, & switch between them.