Because one of the key objectives of the Windows Registry is to centralize the chaos induced by programmers being programmers.
Of course, if you bothered to learn how it all works you will know each program gets its own "directory" inside the Registry. Or they should, anyway; programmers gonna be programmers.
>Of note—you can edit the linux configuration files with any editor you give a shit about, not just a one-off proprietary tool that obviously sucks ass.
You can access and modify the Registry using any of: Registry Editor, Powershell, and plain text files imported into or exported from Registry Editor.
>Why are we stuck with 1980s solutions for 2024 problems?
The only people stuck in the 80s are the FOSS neckbeards such as yourself insisting on doing things the One Holy Way(tm), which is plain text files of arbitrary formatting located and accessed in arbitrary fashion.
The Windows Registry mandates a single format and central location and access scheme, which reins in at least some of the programmer chaos.