[Wargamer] At just 112 pages, DnD's next book is more of a booklet

Ok, this is mostly one of those fluff articles that I sometimes skip when finding stuff to post, but I find it notable for 2 reasons:
1. 112 pages is far from a booklet. The bloat of the books in the last few decades didn't really help endear it to me, but I remember when 112 pages was a solid sourcebook.
2. the author does point out that the last few sourcebooks were thinner though, and speculates what it means for WOTC as a whole. And despite my misgivings about calling a 112 pages book a booklet, the company seems to be affected by some structural rot that seems to make it likely that they just can't produce as much as they want right now.
Source: https://www.wargamer.com/dnd/forge-of-the-artificer-pages
At just 112 pages, DnD's next book is more of a booklet
Eberron: Forge of the Artificer is half the size of a normal Dungeons and Dragons sourcebook, but it’s also significantly less expensive.
Mollie Russell
Published: 5 days ago
Dungeons and Dragons
DnD's next book, Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, will be only 112 pages long, a D&DBeyond blog post confirms. Most first-party 5e books have an average of 200 to 250 pages, so this next supplement will be half the usual size. However, the blog post from July 10 also confirms a lower-than-normal price. Wizards of the Coast's pre-order page offers physical copies for $29.99 (£22.03).
Forge of the Artificer expands on the well-loved Eberron setting. The DnD classes will get a new version of the Artificer 5e, with four revised subclasses as well as the brand-new Cartographer. 17 new DnD 2024 backgrounds are promised, along with 28 feats, new spells, and extra bastion options.
The book also adds five revised DnD races, including the Warforged and, strangely, the previously-axed Half-Elf. The book also features over 20 new monsters and three campaign frameworks for "pulpy, high-flying, and intrigue-filled" Eberron adventures.
Wizards of the Coast seems to be short on resources since the release of its new core rulebooks. Its previous DnD book, Dragon Delves, is also on the slimmer side at 192 pages. This is closer to average size, but over 50 pages of Dragon Delves are dedicated to historical art of various dragons. We've acknowledged in our Dragon Delves review that the art adds its own value to the book, but it does mean that the adventure text itself is closer to 140 pages.
As outsiders, we can only speculate on why Wizards has opted to publish smaller sourcebooks. Perhaps the departure of Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins (and the search to replace them) has caused structural hiccups. Maybe the mammoth task of overhauling D&D's trio of core rulebooks was so great that it left little room to plan ahead. Or maybe Wizards of the Coast is saving its manpower for a chunkier project on this year's DnD release schedule - that double-whammy of Forgotten Realms books, perhaps?
Whatever the reasons, this change in output is noticeable. Wargamer editor Alex Evans argues that D&D's biggest challenge right now is growing too complacent, particularly as much-hyped rivals like Daggerheart are on the rise.