The "hacks" to get semi-decent lighting are not free. Every time you want another lighting effect you need another hack. The hacks are getting more elaborate and complicated as people want a better looking result. It can be more difficult for artists to work with the current system since everything you see is an artificial hacky construction.
We're now approaching the point where raytracing is the simpler, easier, faster alternative. It's also great for artists because the results are more predictable. Raytracing gives a better result, or simply makes it possible for things like good shadows, transparency, reflection and global illumination.
It might take a while, but the current way of doing things is a dead end. If a triangle is smaller than a pixel, you're basically just raytracing anyway. That's also becoming a more common thing these days. There will continue to be hybrid solutions for a while, but as raytracing takes over certain portions of the rendering, which it is good enough for already, there is no reason to go back.
We're now approaching the point where raytracing is the simpler, easier, faster alternative. It's also great for artists because the results are more predictable. Raytracing gives a better result, or simply makes it possible for things like good shadows, transparency, reflection and global illumination.
It might take a while, but the current way of doing things is a dead end. If a triangle is smaller than a pixel, you're basically just raytracing anyway. That's also becoming a more common thing these days. There will continue to be hybrid solutions for a while, but as raytracing takes over certain portions of the rendering, which it is good enough for already, there is no reason to go back.