The outlook for physical games appears bleak.

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How it started
As a kid, I loved visiting Best Buy, GameStop, and the local mall to explore video games. I enjoyed flipping through game titles and chatting with friends about upcoming releases. On those rare days when I snagged a new game, I cherished reading the manual cover to cover on the way home. Over time, I amassed a collection of games I was proud of.
That was ages ago. After college, I decided to sell my collection of older games and hardware since I wasn’t using them and needed cash for other things (probably for weekend outings). Starting with the Nintendo Switch in 2017, I shifted to buying games digitally for the convenience of downloads, avoiding the clutter of physical cases. Now, my Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam libraries are entirely digital.
I’m not alone in this transition to digital gaming. Digital libraries are becoming increasingly convenient, especially as console manufacturers work to maintain backward compatibility across generations. Some gamers can’t even play physical games anymore, as PlayStation and Xbox launched all-digital versions of the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, which are cheaper than their disc-drive counterparts. On PC, digital libraries through platforms like Steam have been the norm for quite a while. Capcom recently reported that a staggering 93 percent of its game sales were digital copies in its last fiscal year, a figure expected to rise to 95.4 percent. Many popular titles, like Roblox and Fortnite, are exclusively available digitally.
For better or worse, gamers are overwhelmingly purchasing and playing digital games. However, in just a week, two major players took significant steps that could signal the end of physical games.

How it’s going
On June 24th, Rockstar Games revealed the pricing for Grand Theft Auto VI ahead of its November 19th release on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S: $79.99 for the base edition and $99.99 for the Ultimate Edition. While the prices weren’t shocking—Nintendo has also experimented with $79.99 games for its biggest titles—the real surprise was buried in Rockstar’s announcement: the physical version of the game won’t include a disc, just a download code in the box.
This announcement raised alarms for physical games. While selling games as codes isn’t new, GTA VI will be the largest title to adopt this model. Rockstar’s decision could encourage other publishers to follow suit. By limiting the game to digital storefronts, players lose the ability to share it with friends or resell it once they’re done.
It’s also becoming increasingly clear that relying on digital storefronts can be risky. Games can be removed due to licensing issues or if a store shuts down. While this may not be a concern for GTA VI—Rockstar will likely ensure it remains available on various digital platforms for the foreseeable future, especially if it wants to replicate the longevity of the 13-year-old GTA V—there’s always the risk of being locked out of your account, even by mistake, which could result in losing access to your games. In 2023, some PlayStation users faced unexpected bans through no fault of their own, although Sony eventually restored their access.
Just days after Rockstar’s announcement, Sony dropped an even bigger bombshell: starting January 2028, it will no longer produce physical discs for new PlayStation games.
This decision sparked widespread backlash online. Sony faced a torrent of criticism, and the PlayStation account remained silent for six days after the announcement. The comments section of Sony’s iconic 2013 PS4 game-sharing ad—where one person hands a disc to another—has been flooded with jabs at the company. Ironically, on the same day as the disc announcement, Sony revealed it would be closing the digital stores for the PS3 and PS Vita, highlighting the pitfalls of abandoning physical media.
Retailers and game preservationists also voiced their concerns. Frank Cifaldi, executive director of the Video Game History Foundation, stated, “This is unfortunate news for those who still prefer buying games on physical media, and is certainly a significant hit to consumer rights, the resale market, and game creators whose businesses rely on the physical market.”
Sony’s rationale for the change was clear: “This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” the company stated. “This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.” Their numbers back this up; in the fourth quarter of its 2025 fiscal year, Sony reported that the “Full game software digital download ratio” for PS4 and PS5 games was 85 percent.

What happens next
We’ll have to wait and see if Grand Theft Auto VI actually launches on November 19th and whether it will ever be available on disc. Despite two major delays, it seems likely the game will release as planned, especially since Rockstar has set a price and is promoting preorders.
We’ll also need to keep an eye on Microsoft and Nintendo. Xbox hasn’t revealed its plans for discs with Project Helix, its next-generation console, but reports suggest that it will “likely soon” stop producing physical discs for Xbox games. However, there are indications that the company is testing a feature allowing players to digitize their physical game collections.
Nintendo is likely to stick with physical games for the foreseeable future. According to its last fiscal year report, digital sales accounted for 54.6 percent of its game sales, meaning physical media still plays a significant role in its business. The Switch 2 is also relatively new, making it unlikely that Nintendo will abandon physical games anytime soon. However, with the Switch 2, Nintendo is offering developers the option to sell game-key cards, which are physical items that don’t contain game data but serve as keys to download games to your system.
Game stores and preservationists will need to adapt to the reality that physical games are becoming scarcer. Cifaldi noted that museums and archives have been preparing for this future, recognizing that simply putting discs on a shelf isn’t a sustainable long-term solution for preserving new games. He urged trade groups to find ways to legally preserve digital content for research, a move that the Entertainment Software Association has previously opposed. “The industry needs to meaningfully come to the table on this issue because asking museums to download a copy of Grand Theft Auto VI and hope it’ll run in 50 years is not a preservation solution,” Cifaldi stated.
Sony now faces a challenging period as it launches new games while dealing with backlash from players who want physical discs. Despite the criticism, it seems unlikely that Sony will reverse its decision, especially since it is already repurposing its last PlayStation disc-making factory.

By the way
* The PS5 Pro, Sony’s high-end console, does not include a disc drive; that’s an additional $79. Following a recent price hike that raised the PS5 Pro’s cost to $899.99, this means a PS5 Pro with a disc drive will cost nearly $1,000.
* PlayStation’s studios are now in the awkward position of having to confirm that physical versions will be available on disc, as Insomniac has done for September’s Marvel’s Wolverine and Santa Monica Studio has for God of War Laufey. This confirmation for Laufey also indicates that the game, which hasn’t been given a release window, will launch before January 2028.
* Interestingly, physical media sales for music—including CDs—are reportedly on the rise.

Read this
* Comedian Trevor Noah commented on PlayStation’s announcement, noting that “for a lot of gamers, physical discs are the only way they could afford to play games because they could get them secondhand. You can also give games to your younger siblings, which is a great way to introduce them to the games you were playing.”
* In a post titled “Sony Nerfs Videogame Ownership,” the Electronic Frontier Foundation highlighted that “Unlike other digital media like film and TV, video games require a ton of storage. Access to high-speed internet is still abysmal in the US, making the high speeds needed for digital game downloads a luxury some of us may take for granted.”
* A day after the GTA VI news, analyst Mat Piscatella shared a chart illustrating the trend: sales of physical games peaked long ago, back in 2009.