Last month, Take-Two and Rockstar Games announced that GTA 6 would not receive a physical release, sending parts of the gaming community into upheaval. As if this wasn't enough, Sony Interactive Entertainment doubled down on the matter, announcing the controversial decision to stop production of new game discs by 2028. Although the gaming community is rightly opposed to these decisions, which are likely to have severe consequences, CI Games founder and CEO Marek Tyminski believes this shift is unavoidable because publishers, both big and small, earn significantly more per digital sale.
"GTA6 shipping with no disc feels unfair to studios still backing physical — and it’s accelerating the shift. Sony ending physical support from 2028 could slash disc releases as early as 2027 or even sooner," said Tyminski on X. "Physical delivers far less revenue per unit to developers, longer lead times, and unnecessary costs in a demanding industry where many already lose money." The studio's next game, Lords of the Fallen 2, will launch on disc, but "business-wise it’s getting harder to justify when physical is way under 20% of sales and considering recent events."
To further clarify the point, the CI Games CEO provided some clear figures. "At $69.99, retail margin takes 25-35%, distributors another 10-20%, and physical production ~$10. That leaves studios with just over $26 per unit — compared to ~$49 on digital at highest margin," he said. "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."
Looking at the market, it seems like there's no turning back from what GTA 6 and PlayStation going all-digital may be setting for the industry. X user Daniel wondered whether raising prices for physical releases and offering collector's editions with discs for those who want them could increase publishers' revenue, but Tyminski believes it "would then become even smaller vs digital and would not help to justify the physical format to console manufacturers."
Regardless of how obvious it is that going all-digital is an obvious choice for developers, gamers are not letting this slide. Although the uproar has been significant, with multiple petitions signed by thousands of users, it remains to be seen whether Sony will backtrack on a decision that, if left unchanged, is set to change gaming forever.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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