Physical Media News
The latest Physical Media coverage curated for game developers.
GamesIndustry.biz reports Sony Interactive Entertainment is surveying developers about ending PlayStation disc support, with questions aimed at how studios feel about the shift to digital-only distribution. The move follows Sony’s …
Xbox has officially launched a disc-to-digital program that lets players convert eligible physical games into digital licenses. For developers and publishers, it’s another sign that the console market is continuing …
Ars Technica reports that Xbox is adding a disc-to-digital program that lets owners of most Xbox One and Xbox Series X disc games claim a digital entitlement by inserting the …
GamesIndustry.biz reports Xbox will start testing a disc-to-digital entitlement flow with Insiders on August 31. Supported Xbox One and Series X discs can unlock a digital copy, while the disc …
Xbox is testing a way to turn supported disc games into digital entitlements, starting with Insiders on August 31. The feature targets most Xbox One and Xbox Series X disc …
Ars Technica reports Sony is cautiously moving toward ending PlayStation game disc production by January 2028. CFO Lin Tao tied the shift to the broader move to digital distribution, but …
Sony’s Q1 gaming business was basically flat at ¥937.1 billion, but operating income jumped 37% to ¥202 billion thanks in part to US tariff refunds. The bigger long-term signal is …
Ars Technica details how a disc in the box no longer guarantees a playable game, with DoesItPlay finding that 27% of tested physical releases need downloads to work properly. The …
GTA 6’s Japan-specific download codes will expire 170 days after launch, landing on May 8, 2027. Rockstar says the cutoff is tied to regional regulations, which means Japanese buyers of …
Physical game sales in the US have collapsed from 297 million units in the 12 months ending June 2009 to 37 million in the last year. That long decline helps …
Sony’s move toward a disc-free PlayStation future could erase one of the last reliable sources of cheap physical game copies. In a price check across 19 current PlayStation bestsellers, used …
Sony will keep supporting re-orders for existing PlayStation discs past the January 2028 production cutoff, easing one immediate concern for publishers with physical pipelines. The company is also changing how …
Sony will stop producing physical discs for new PlayStation games starting in January 2028, pushing future releases to digital-only. The company is also winding down PS3 and PS Vita Store …
Rockstar workers are pushing back after a wave of layoffs, while PlayStation is moving further away from physical discs and Xbox is testing a disc-to-digital path. At the same time, …
Xbox is reportedly testing a way for owners to digitize their physical game libraries, which could reduce friction for players who still buy discs. For developers, the interesting part is …
Xbox is reportedly testing a way to let players digitize select physical games, a move that would make disc-less hardware more viable. The feature is said to cover only some …
Sony says all new PlayStation games will be digital-only by January 2028, and that shift is already reflected in the numbers: 78% of full-game purchases in FY2026 were downloads. For …
Sony will stop producing physical discs for new PlayStation games starting in January 2028, pushing all new releases to digital distribution. For developers, that means retail planning, manufacturing, and disc-based …
Sony says it will stop producing physical PlayStation software in January 2028, a clear sign that disc-based distribution is becoming a long tail. For developers, that means retail packaging, manufacturing …
GTA VI is reportedly breaking the current AAA price ceiling by launching at $80, with preorders opening this week. The physical edition is also unusual: the box reportedly contains a …