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- Earlier this week, Rockstar Games announced Grand Theft Auto 6 will ship without a physical disc.
- PlayStation announced that it will soon stop making physical discs altogether for new games.
- This shift in gaming impacts everyone negatively, from gaming fans to retailers.
- Physical games are not just for collecting. They’re memories.
Rockstar Games announced earlier this week that Grand Theft Auto 6 would ship without a physical disc. Reports have emerged via The Verge that Microsoft is soon testing a feature that will help Xbox users digitise versions of their physical games. And, the biggest nail in the coffin? PlayStation announced that, in 2028, they will stop making physical discs for new games entirely (Man of Many has reached out to PlayStation for confirmation that this is happening in Australia too).
For years, midnight launches weren’t just about playing a game as early as possible. They were events. They were the culmination of years of anticipation, when the most dedicated fans lined up outside their local game store, counting down the minutes until the doors opened. Collector’s editions sat stacked behind the counter, and inside every plastic-wrapped box was the thing that mattered most: the game itself.
You’d tear off the seal, hear that satisfying click as the disc came loose from its case, slide it into your console, and minutes later you’d be exploring a brand-new world. That ritual has been fading away for years, but this week, it feels like it has officially becomes history.
Digital gaming has been taking over for years. I know that. Most of us know that. But seeing arguably the industry all but abandon physical media altogether feels different. It’s Sony, Microsoft and Rockstar telling us exactly where it thinks the future of gaming is headed.
The Writing Has Been on the Wall For Years
After what felt like an eternity of silence, Rockstar Games finally gave fans what they’d been waiting for: new screenshots, fresh details, and confirmation that pre-orders are live for Grand Theft Auto 6. But the excitement quickly turned into frustration after reports emerged that physical copies of the game wouldn’t actually contain a disc, instead shipping with nothing more than a download code.
The controversy began after retailer listings suggested that some boxed versions of GTA 6 would include only a digital download code rather than a physical disc. Buyers would still receive a case and, depending on the edition, physical collectibles, but the game itself would need to be downloaded.
Then, The Hollywood Reporter seemingly confirmed everyone’s fears.
According to the publication, “a source with knowledge of the plans” claimed Rockstar has no intention of producing GTA 6 discs. Not at launch, and not later down the line either.
For some people, that barely registered as news. Digital downloads have been the default for years. PlayStation and Xbox have long normalised pre-loading massive releases days before launch, internet speeds have improved dramatically, and plenty of players haven’t inserted a disc into their console in years.
Others, however, saw it very differently.
Across Reddit, social media and gaming forums, criticism arrived almost immediately. Many questioned why anyone should pay full retail price for what is essentially a cardboard box containing a voucher. Others argued that calling something “physical” feels misleading when the only physical component is the packaging.
Couple that with the latest revelations from PlayStation specifically, and concerns have gone into overdrive, going far beyond nostalgia. Gaming preservation advocates have warned for years that digital-only releases leave games at the mercy of storefronts, licensing agreements and servers that won’t exist forever. When physical copies disappear, so does an important layer of ownership.
Rockstar, for example, hasn’t exactly hidden where it’s been heading, either. The company has spent years investing heavily in digital ecosystems through GTA Online, live-service support and online storefronts. GTA 6 simply feels like the logical next step.
From a business perspective, it makes perfect sense. Digital sales eliminate manufacturing costs, remove logistics, cut out the second-hand market and give publishers greater control over pricing. For players, though, convenience has never been the only thing that matters.
Australia Embraced Digital Gaming During COVID
If I’m being honest, I wasn’t always someone who preferred buying games digitally. In fact, I actively avoided it.
I’d happily drive to my local EB Games, pick up a physical copy and add it to the ever-growing collection on my shelf. If there was a choice between a download and a disc, I’d choose the disc every single time.
Then COVID happened.
Living in Melbourne during the lockdowns meant game stores, along with almost everything else, were closed for months. Even when restrictions eased, visiting a retailer wasn’t always straightforward, and suddenly digital downloads weren’t just the convenient option. They were the only realistic option.
For the first time, I found myself buying almost every new release through the PlayStation Store or Xbox Store. It became second nature. Looking back, I think that’s the experience many Australians had. After all, gaming absolutely boomed in Australia during COVID. I distinctly remember friends I knew had never bought a console before calling me up to ask for gaming advice and boy was I happy to offer up my expertise.
The pandemic accelerated a trend that was already happening worldwide. With people spending more time at home, console usage surged, digital storefronts became the easiest way to access new releases, and publishers leaned harder than ever into downloadable sales. Once people got used to pressing “Buy” from their couch instead of driving to a store, many never went back.
I didn’t either. These days, most of the games I buy are digital. Not because I think it’s better, but because it’s easier. And that’s exactly why all this feels so significant. This isn’t consumers deciding they no longer want physical games. It’s publishers deciding we no longer need the choice.
Physical Games Are More Than Collectibles, They’re Memories
For me, game collections have never been about showing off. They’re memory boxes. Every case tells a story. The RPG that stole 120 hours of my life. The multiplayer game that defined an entire summer. The collector’s edition I picked up at midnight surrounded by hundreds of equally excited strangers. Scrolling through a digital library has never given me that same feeling.
When I look through my shelves, I see dozens of Nintendo DS games, PlayStation 2 classics and even a handful of battered Nintendo 64 cartridges tucked away in the back. With every new console generation, though, that collection gets a little smaller. Gaming has quietly become less tangible. I recently unsubscribed from Xbox Game Pass and then opened my library. It was almost empty. All those games I’d downloaded, played and eventually uninstalled were simply… gone. As though I’d never spent dozens of hours with them in the first place.
I understand that’s how subscription services work. But I was surprised by how much it bothered me. Meanwhile, every time I visit my parents’ house and pick up an old PlayStation 2 game, the memories come flooding back instantly.
Among those cases is every GTA game, from Vice City all the way to GTA V. Knowing GTA 6 might never sit beside them just feels… wrong. And knowing others won’t be able to build those collections with new PlayStation games is worse. Game discs aren’t just pieces of plastic that get scratched and lost. They’re little pieces of gaming history.
Retailers Could Become Unexpected Casualties Without Physical Gaming Discs
One of the biggest consequences of digital-only releases isn’t what it means for players. It’s what it means for game retailers.
Independent stores and even larger chains have relied on blockbuster launches like Grand Theft Auto for decades. Huge releases create excitement, bring people through the doors, and often lead to extra purchases, whether that’s a controller, a headset, or another game sitting on the shelf. If customers can buy the exact same digital download directly from their console, retailers lose much of what made them relevant in the first place. Some stores have reportedly questioned whether they’ll even stock download-code-only products, arguing that consumers are unlikely to pay retail prices for something they could purchase digitally within seconds at home.
It’s hard to disagree.
Retail stores traditionally offered value through physical ownership, knowledgeable staff, trade-ins and the excitement of launch day. Remove the disc, and suddenly most of those advantages disappear. The second-hand market becomes another casualty. That might benefit publishers, but it certainly doesn’t benefit players.
Physical games can be traded, lent to friends or sold once you’ve finished them. Digital purchases can’t. Growing up, my friends and I used to split new releases between us. If three big games launched around the same time, we’d each buy a different one, finish it, then swap. It saved us money, but more importantly, it made gaming feel shared. That’s something digital libraries simply can’t replicate.
We’re Watching Ownership Disappear Before Our Eyes
This conversation extends far beyond GTA 6, PlayStation, Xbox and gaming itself. Physical PC games have already all but vanished. Music moved from CDs to Spotify. Movies shifted from DVDs and Blu-ray to streaming services like Netflix and Disney+.
Gaming is reaching that same crossroads. The convenience of digital purchases is undeniable. Games install automatically, updates happen in the background and switching between titles takes seconds instead of swapping discs. But every time another physical release disappears, something else quietly disappears with it. Ownership.
When I buy a disc, I own something tangible. I can display it, lend it to a friend, revisit it years later or rediscover it buried in a cupboard decades from now. A digital purchase doesn’t feel quite the same. It’s a licence. And we’ve already seen what happens when digital storefronts close, games are delisted, or licences expire. Entire libraries can disappear overnight.
Physical media has always been the safety net against that. Maybe digital-only games are inevitable. Maybe this is simply where the industry was always heading. But I don’t think discs should disappear entirely. Not because they’re the most convenient option anymore. Because players deserve the choice.
And if GTA 6 really is the biggest game ever made, it deserves to exist on more than just a server. If PlayStation and Xbox want to be a part of memory making, they should continue to ensure we have something we can hold with our two hands. Maybe digital-only games are inevitable. Maybe this is simply where the industry was always heading. But I think physical games exist should still exist. We deserve the choice.
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