It's so weird to keep seeing franchises I like morph into something barely resembling their glory days as creators lose sight of what they are doing.
RWBY turning into a vaguely religious fantasy setting with Jaune usurping the lead role and any setup or worldbuilding going out the window.
Dragon Age did it multiple times finishing off with Veilguard robbing it of its identity, lore and tone.
Whatever happened with Genlock S2.
Double exposure trying to turn Life is Strange into MCU and ruining Pricefield.
Arcane S2 wanting to be MCU and basically underdelivering on or invalidating every single exciting setup of S1 in a rushed safe mess of S2.
Now Arknights joins the list with Endfield going all-in on lighthearted gooner-core uninspired designs and typical open world gacha story tropes and protagonist glaze.
A clearcut creative vision is one of the most important parts of a fictional setting. Knowing what your story is and what it can't be sets boundaries and provides needed tools for your story. Losing track of the tone, the core themes, etc, is the most sure way to kill a story.
Treasure the franchises and stories that never lose the sight of themselves and instead manage to stick landing, y'all.