Grand Theft Auto VI is poised to be the biggest video game of the year, and it will not have a traditional physical edition. Buyers will be able to grab a box with artwork, but it merely contains a code-in-a-box that can only be redeemed once. With the game costing between $80-100, too, it seems publisher Take-Two isn’t so much preparing for an all-digital future as it is forcing one upon players. According to CEO Strauss Zelnick, however, game discs “don’t really make sense for the consumer.”
During its recent investor Q&A following the release of Take-Two’s Q1 2027 financial report, Zelnick noted that, “Our business is well over 90% digitally distributed. It’s already a digital business.” He then linked that to game releases going digital only, which includes GTA VI, and said, “So in certain instances, especially if it’s a big game, discs just — and note I said discs — don’t really make sense for the consumer.”
I’m not sure if I follow that logic, but it gets better. In an attempt to defend making games all digital, Zelnick states, “most instances you have to register online to play anyhow. So if you’re already connected, who cares if you download digitally? It’s all the same and it’s much more convenient.” Who mandated that users need to register online to play games, Zelnick? It certainly wasn’t the users.
Zelnick claims this is what Sony understands, which is why it is making the first step by discontinuing production of physical discs in early 2028. He then likens physical editions of games to the resurgence of vinyl records, saying, “It doesn’t mean that we won’t have physical additions now and then, I’m sure we will in the same way that there’s still vinyl in the recorded music business. But in other instances, it just won’t make sense.”
There’s really too much to unpack here for a mere news post, but the reasoning of “we’re all online, so who cares?” is flimsy, at best. It ignores large swaths of users who live in areas with lousy internet infrastructure, which is reportedly around 24 million Americans if we limit the data to the US. It also doesn’t address the main concern people have, which is a loss of ownership. But I guess “it’s all the same,” so who am I to complain?
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
