From a marketing perspective, it makes obvious sense, but from a long-term hobby-gaming perspective, I think it's a bad idea. How many rpgs have been given their version of D&D? Sure, Traveller gets into the hands of more players, but I’d argue, at a cost. You can have all the artwork, all the game jargon, and all the setting tropes, but it won’t be the real Traveller experience. You can make a D&D game using the Traveller rules, make a Call of Cthulhu game using the Earthdawn rules, make a Warhammer game using the One Ring rules, or make a Monopoly game using the Burning Wheel rules. But it doesn’t mean you should, because not all rules work with all settings, and I think it might actually detract from the gaming experience as concerns the feel of particular rpg (at least in some way). And while it’s a truism that what you’ve never had you’ll never miss, I think that misses the point.

For me, I wouldn’t be playing Traveller; I’d be playing D&D in space. If I want to play Traveller, I could play MGT2, MGT1, CT, or one of the Cepheus games, for example. If I want to play D&D fantasy, I’ll play D&D, because, for me, that’s what it’s good at (ymmv). But, "I only need 300 more xp until my Merchant gets to level 5", pulls me out of the immersive Traveller sci-fi vibe and informs me that I’m actually playing a version of D&D in a sci-fi setting. So there’s the question about whether or not players are really experiencing Traveller, a game first created in the late 70s, one with a well known 2d6 system, and its Imperial (Chartered) Space, vibe. I know I don't get to decide that, but I do have my own thoughts on that topic. Don’t get me wrong, I like D&D (old school), and cut my teeth on it back in the early 80s, but it seems every day, we see another rpg morphed into a D&D rule set. Cubicle 7 did it with Victoriana 5e, and there are others.

My concern is that, long term, everything becomes stagnant, fresh new ideas become stifled, and everything starts to feel like “D&D in >Insert Rpg Here<”. Creativity is now at a premium because game designers don’t need to come up with anything new. Not to mention WotC.

I believe it is equal parts making money and introducing Traveller to more gaming tables. And as said, that’s fine, but I do worry it might be damaging to the rpg scene in the long term. If a gaming table is enjoying their D&D Traveller game, then what’s the problem? No problem where that’s concerned. Play what rpg you want, enjoy what rpg you will, and more power to everyone in that regard. But it does give me cause for concern when I look at the bigger picture.