WotC is a trash company, but this is not a trash move, but it will be a trash move because WotC is a trash company.
So, let's unpack this a bit.
It makes sense that D&D needs to go digital. It is undermonetized, but not because it needs it players to spend more, but because the IPs that are under D&D collect dust, being brought out to make an adventure book once every 20 years. The many settings D&D has access too would be great fuel for a new era of comics, books, anime, movies, TV shows, video games and other cultural items like cookbooks (it's sold 200K copies!!), merchandise, VTTs, youtube and TIkTok prescence, and so on. In theory, if D&D tapped into just a bit more of its potential, it could catalyze into an even bigger phenomenon than now, becoming a Fantasy media tycoon on the levels of 90's Disney.
However, WotC sucks at hiring people with actual clear vision for the brand(s), game, and the overall company. The people currently in charge of WotC's future are thinking strictly in short term profits, and aren't thinking about maximizing their brand, which would lead to even greater profits. The lead designer of D&D has a conservative mindset when it comes to changes and refuses to bravely apply an innovative vision to the game, despite having literally all the money he needs to bring on actual 10/10 designers and game philosophers to help. I mean, if you have the money to hire celebrities for several streaming shows, you have the money to hire really good designers to perfect the adventure book, the setting book, etc.
Because WotC has already elevated D&D into mainstream status, they're resting on their laurels and trying to squeeze money from already existing ventures. A more bold and ambitious vision could take WotC even further, penetrating various media markets and becoming a TRUE household name, in the way that The Lion King and other Disney classics are. What I would give to be rich enough to just buy D&D for myself so I could hire people a lot smarter than me to realize the game and brand's true potential.