We are end users like you so can't offer any insight into why Apple does stuff that is not speculation, and the rules here don't allow speculation.
I just bought my first Mac (iMac 2017 27-inch guad-core i7) that did not come an optical drive. So far, any new software I needed to buy was an online download so I've not missed the optical drive. I have an older external optical drive but, so far, have not needed it.