Physical game discs were compared to vinyl records
Rockstar's parent company is doubling down on the digital future of game distribution. During a Take-Two Interactive earnings call today, CEO Strauss Zelnick defended the company's decision not to release a physical disc for Grand Theft Auto 6, saying that discs "don't really make sense for the consumer."
A physical release of GTA 6 does not make sense, Zelnick insisted, saying that "our business is well over 90% digitally distributed. It's already a digital business." This echoes statements from companies like Capcom about the shift away from physical releases. The topic is especially of interest to players right now after Sony made the controversial announcement that it plans to end production of game discs beginning in 2028, with the inevitable PlayStation 6 set to be digital-only.
Zelnick further explained that in most instances, players have to register online to play a game anyway, "So if you're already connected, who cares if you download digitally? It's all the same, and it's much more convenient."
Sony has found out that many players do care in the wake of its announcement, which continues to be met with backlash. That isn't to say Zelnick and Take-Two are ready to give up on physical entirely. "It doesn't mean that we won't have physical editions now and then," he said, "I'm sure we will in the same way that there's still vinyl in the recorded music business." Though with Zelnick saying that discs just don't make sense for big games, it is unlikely GTA 6 will ever receive a true physical release.
In the push towards a digital future for the industry, however, game discs may not be the only thing to go. When asked about the rising cost of hardware, Zelnick admitted that while this trend is "not a good thing," he believes the way we play games will be drastically different sooner than we think. "I think we'll be in commercial streaming mode in three years," he said. While streaming games has been a thing for years, the drawbacks of it have kept it from really taking off. But Zelnick believes that latency issues and other hiccups will be solved to the point that more people will be able to play the biggest games in more places. Could we see GTA 6 on a cloud gaming service before a physical disc release?
A roadmap of Xbox's program to give physical owners a digital option has surfaced