There are other players in the game: the business and the market.

Good code makes it easier for the business to move fast and stay ahead of the competition while reducing expenses for doing so.

That's true, but excel '98 would still cover probably 80% of users use cases.

A lot, and I mean a lot, of software work is trying to justify existence by constantly playing and toying with a product that worked for for everyone in version 1.0, whether it be to justify a job or justify charging customers $$ per month to "keep current".