Rockstar Games deciding to forego discs with the physical release of Grand Theft Auto 6 along with PlayStation announcing the end of disc production in January 2028 will end up having larger ramifications on the gaming industry much more rapidly. In a social media post, CI Games founder and CEO Marek Tyminski has expressed the belief that the end of physical discs for games could come as early as 2027. He noted that GTA 6’s skipping out on discs “feels unfair to studios still backing physical.”
“Sony ending physical support from 2028 could slash disc releases as early as 2027 or even sooner,” he wrote. “Physical delivers far less revenue per unit to developers, longer lead times, and unnecessary costs in a demanding industry where many already lose money.”
While he confirmed that CI Games still plans to release Lords of the Fallen 2 on disc, he brought up the fact that the medium is getting “harder to justify” since physical copies account for less than 20 percent of game sales, with the vast majority coming from digital purchases.
“At $69.99, retail margin takes 25-35%, distributors another 10-20%, and physical production ~$10,” he explained in a follow-up post. “That leaves studios with just over $26 per unit — compared to ~$49 on digital at highest margin. It only gets worse as prices drop. Large publishers sit on the better side of the equation, but even they make significantly more per digital sale. From a pure ROI standpoint, the choice is obvious.”
Sony’s recent announcement has been followed up by many in the industry discussing the future of gaming. Among these is former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden, who called the decision a “fairly dramatic” one. While understanding the fact that digital game sales have been overtaking physical sales over the last several years, he noted that he wasn’t part of these discussions since he left the company back in 2019.
“I had no idea it was going to happen. I don’t necessarily agree with it, but I don’t work in the business any more. Maybe it’s just too prohibitively expensive to stamp out discs,” he said.
Notable game designer Hideo Kojima has also expressed concerns over Sony’s decision, noting that it might accelerate the process of all art going fully digital. This, in turn, would make it incredibly difficult for people to access things like books or music in case of a sudden emergency that blocks off digital access to these things.
“Eventually, even digital data will no longer be owned by individuals on their own initiative,” he wrote. “Whenever there is a major change or accident in the world, in a country, in a government, in an idea, in a trend, access to it may suddenly be cut off. We will not be able to freely access the movies, books, and music that we have loved. I would be a have-not. That’s what I’m afraid of. This is not greed.”
Interestingly, recent rumors have indicated that PlayStation might allow publishers to re-order discs for games that were released before January 2028 even after the deadline.
