xtc got burned by their label a ton of times. they didnt own their music or the rights to anything XTC related, and for most of the time they were active as a band the only money they made was weekly stipends and they were always in debt because the label would bill them for all their expenses as a band. thats why in the 90s they took so long to release Apple Venus, since they were on “strike” refusing to put out the album until they got a better deal. Andy has also been jerked around behind the scenes for many songwriting oppertunities. Infamously he was hired to write the music for James And The Giant Peach movie, and then at the last minute was replaced by Randy Newman. It’s a big factor for why Andy is often such a cynical and grumpy old man when you see interviews. And I have no doubt that all that business stuff was a big part of what soured him to making new XTC music. But those factors are no longer at play now so he could come back and do an XTC album and make way more money than he ever has before even if the album didnt sell a ton cus he’d own all the rights and everything. which is why i think there are likely other factors such as not wanting to work with the other guys again.

EDIT: to add that they also had a shady Manager for a long time who took a ton of their money and had them sign deals that benefited him at the expense of the band.