Not all writers are perfect - or desire to be - but every writer has their strengths. World building comes strongly to writers who strive for complex governments and social structures encompassing a land filled with lush adjectives. Where other stories are driven by writers who create characters that you know so well you could predict how they would react in any situation presented to them. Readers are drawn to these attributes as well.
But, it is important to balance world building and character development. It is easy for writers to get caught up in one over the other. As a reader, knowing which of these you prefer is crucial in finding books - and authors, specifically - that keep you coming back for more.
Science fiction and fantasy are genres more suited for authors with skills in creating new and fantastical worlds with aliens, dragons, kings, space stations, undiscovered planets, and so much more that their minds can imagine.
Thrillers, mysteries, period dramas, and culture focused novels are genres that cater to character rich environments. When settings exist in a realm where the reader is vaguely familiar, at the very least, leaves the author more of their word count to flesh out the characters that bring the story to life.
Not all writers are perfect, but they strive to write the perfect piece for the reader. Sometimes that means that their boundaries of world building and character development are stretched. And they are better creators for it!