The shift to digital games: what players gain and lose
As the gaming industry moves toward digital-only distribution — including Sony's plan to end PlayStation disc production by 2028 — players should understand both the conveniences and drawbacks of this transition.
The gaming industry has been gradually shifting toward digital distribution for years. Sony's announcement that it plans to discontinue PlayStation discs by 2028 follows other steps in this direction, including the PS5 Pro requiring a separate disc drive purchase, the Xbox Series S lacking a disc drive, and Nintendo Switch 2 game-key cards that don't actually contain game data. This trend mainly affects console players, since PC gaming has largely been digital for a long time already.
Advantages of going digital
Digital games spare players from swapping discs or cartridges and free up shelf space, while eliminating the risk of damage or loss. They also enable library sharing with friends or family — through "home system" settings on Xbox and PlayStation, or lending virtual game cards on Nintendo systems. Buying is simpler too: games can be purchased and downloaded instantly from an online store, without worrying about shipping delays or costs.
Drawbacks and risks
Without physical copies, the secondhand market disappears — games can no longer be sold, lent, or traded in for store credit, which also undermines rental services and library lending. Publishers and storefront operators gain full control over pricing, whereas physical copies are often discounted by retailers. On Nintendo Switch, digital downloads take up more storage than cartridges, while PlayStation and Xbox users with slow internet benefit from discs letting them start playing sooner. Console refund policies also draw criticism: PlayStation only refunds if a download hasn't started, Nintendo treats all sales as final, and Xbox's policy is vague, compared with Steam's two-week refund window.
Preservation concerns
Buying a digital game actually means purchasing a license, which publishers can revoke at any time. Examples include the removal of the P.T. demo from the PlayStation Store, the temporary removal of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game, Sony's 2026 plan to delete over 500 digital movies in the UK with no refunds, and Ubisoft shutting down The Crew in 2024, revoking players' licenses without compensation. Such cases also threaten game preservation, since titles never released physically risk disappearing entirely once publishers stop supporting them.
