If gameplay has changed (and it has, regardless of what HT might feel), and nothing in the game has changed but the numbers in the arenas, perhaps reverting to smaller arenas with different time frames will appeal to some of the customers he's lost, and provide some variety for those he's kept, while at the same time not directly encouraging the change in gameplay that has soured for many.
Or, more likely, he's just doing it to piss you guys off. Obviously, he's pretty new to this type of game, and he probably made all of these changes without any thought as to ramifications and issues that might arise. In fact, he probably did this late last night while violently drunk, and I'm sure if he gets another few "**** this, this is BS, I'm cancelling my account" emails, he'll change it back to the way it's been, so that he can continue to receive those emails from other customers who like the change.
