It definitely devalues the event and title - we all know that Magnus is the best in the world - but it (the world championship) is starting to look dusty and outdated in the world of streaming successes like Hikaru, ChessBrah, Botez, etc.
Chess has moved on significantly since Magnus first became champion (partly due to the man himself).
If Fide is struggling to move with it, there will be a limit to what it can ask of its dominant figure in the context of an event that requires huge investment in time, money and energy for participants.
