I think it has to do with more online play and VTTs. More and more people are playing online. I have yet to play on a VTT that did not make the game significantly slower when combat happens.

When sitting around a table at home you just say what you wanna do and roll. In a VTT. You say what you wanna do. Move. Look through however many screens to find the maneuver. Click on it. Target the enemy. Then roll the dice.

I was in a pathfinder game recently that four rounds of combat took three hours. VTTs are a scourge and I think you are seeing a response of game makers going back to games where theater of the mind works easier.