Photorealism was, is, and always will be the wholy grail of CGI.

Simply because it is (was) way harder to achieve than anything else.

And don't confuse intentional "non-realism" with ineptitude or simple technical limitations.

I worked very hard to turn the technically limited/stylized virtual Barbie dollls that DAZ/SM handed to us in the past into something more lifelike.

No, so far no Poser/DAZ doll (Except MIKI I, perhaps) was out of the box photorealistic in a sense of being "non idealized".

Sadly, most people want the glamorus photoshopped "reality" of high gloss fashion magazines in their renders, too.

The fact is that between photogrammetry, weightmapping and unbiased render engines, achieving photorealism has become easier than ever, even for the hobbyists. And no player in the CGI world can afford to ignore it.

But its up to you how far you're going down the rabbit hole of photorealism.

I found my "happy spot" with realistic looking/bending figures with a slightly stylized (but pretty fast) render/shader style.

Although that's an old render and my new light/render setup has improved in the meantime. I now use higher GC settings and compensate with less light.

But as I said, it's up to you what you use and how you use your tools.

But yes, the movement is clearly towards more realism.

And personally I think it was about time.  :-)