The Future of Physical Games Is Not Looking Great
Two major announcements — GTA VI box will contain a download code instead of a disc and Sony will stop producing physical discs for PlayStation games after January 2028 — signal a rapid shift to digital distribution, raising concerns about game preservation and consumer rights.
The Digital Shift Accelerates
The market for physical games continues to shrink, and recent moves by industry giants have reinforced this trend. On June 24, Rockstar Games announced that the physical version of Grand Theft Auto VI for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will not contain a disc, but only a download code inside the box. The base edition costs $79.99, while the Ultimate Edition is $99.99. While the prices were not unexpected, the decision to omit a disc marks a significant turning point.
A few days earlier, Sony announced that starting January 2028, it will no longer produce physical discs for new PlayStation games. The company says this is a natural step, given consumer preferences — 85% of games are already purchased digitally (data from its 2025 fiscal year). This move has drawn widespread criticism, especially from game preservationists and retailers. Frank Cifaldi, executive director of the Video Game History Foundation, noted that this harms consumer rights, the resale market, and game history preservation.
Preservation and Consumer Concerns
Digital distribution raises several issues — games can be removed from storefronts, and if an account is locked, access to the entire library is lost. For example, PlayStation users experienced unwarranted bans in 2023, though Sony later restored access. Physical game sales have also been declining; according to analyst data, they have been steadily dropping since 2009.
Nintendo still sticks with physical media — digital sales account for 54.6% — but with the Switch 2, developers can choose "game-key cards," which are physical cartridges without game data. Microsoft is likely to stop producing physical discs for Xbox games soon, but is testing a feature that would allow digitizing existing physical collections.
What to Expect Next?
Although GTA VI's November 19 release seems likely, the future of its physical version remains uncertain. Sony has already repurposed its last disc factory, and a reversal seems unlikely. Meanwhile, game museums and archives are preparing for a digital future, calling on the industry to find legal ways to preserve games for research. As Cifaldi said: "Asking museums to download a copy of Grand Theft Auto VI and hope it’ll run in 50 years is not a preservation solution."
