Are you quoting something with those ellipses?
If "5.2" were a marketing decision, then it would probably be getting used in their marketing materials. But there you see stuff like "One D&D."
Incrementing the second number here is in line with general "geek numbering system" convention. It doesn't seem to me like marketing barged into the production room and insisted on a more "marketable" version number — not that that has never happened, but marketing would most likely have wanted "5.5" not the inscrutable "5.2."
This can happen with new players who are native English speakers too, as D&D has a fair deal of vocabulary not everyone knows. Words like charisma and melee really got popularized by D&D.
Deep cut here: When I was a kid (ages past) and first heard friends talk about D&D, I thought there was a lens to keep you on the border. And without it, you might go straight Into The Unknown.