If they were smart they would have continued the series to keep kids interested and then ween them onto the older series. Increase fan base = increase monetization of products.
I too am saddened by the loss of the potential this show had. I loved the colorful animations. Even my husband, who is not a fan of Picard or Discovery, enjoyed Prodigy with surprisingly little criticism (he has a lot of opinions contrary to mine about the nature of the newer generation of Star Trek series).
I am holding hope that maybe they will bring it back at some point or perhaps another production company buys creative rights/licensing (not sure how it works) and revives the series.