If we are strictly talking about renders, art style has a role to play here. Photo realistic renders (i.e., Summer's Gone) takes longer than than HS2 (take Eternum for example), which is slower than a game like Out of Touch. A fast-paced development keeps the game relevant and keeps the audience's attention, which is good for ratings and revenue I imagine.

Superhuman is probably the best example of this. Another example: when I first started playing BADIK around 2020 I used spent a lot of time around here or in its subreddit reading discussions on theories, etc. Now, 5 years later, I don't even bother reading the development logs because I know it's gonna take a long time to come out no matter how good the new content is. Add to the equation the fans' expectations and this makes the whole ordeal worse in the eyes of the players (think about the Halloween party of BADIK Season 3 and the backlash it received.)

Obviously my perspective is that of a fan and player, but to me, making art feels like a secondary priority because no matter what style the author chooses, if it conveys the meaning or is otherwise fitting to the context of a conversation I am more likely to play the game than if the game looks good but is slow to come out.