WotC have been bouyed by the fact Magic: Universes Beyond has turned a quick buck, at the expense of longevity (turning mtg from a unique game to just a game mechanism to shill pop culture IP).
WotC is going through it's enshittification stage... ruled by executive bean counters, not passionate creatives...
That's literally been their business model since the beginning, it just used to be that the content was Umezawa's Jitte or Chrome Mox and now it's Gandalf or Doctor Who.
The real pack sellers are power creeped cards, not the IP of that set.
It really isn't. What you've described is every business plan ever, not psuedo-rent seeking or lessening the product for profit. You not liking their new choices is a personal problem, not an issue with the company.