Recently, news surfaced confirming that Best Buy in the United States plans to stop selling ‘physical media’ as early as the end of Q1 2024. Following that news, a claim appeared suggesting that Walmart is planning to follow in those footsteps, eradicating physical Xbox games and making further cuts through 2024. In the United Kingdom, supermarkets have slashed their representation of physical games, and even the nation’s ‘high street gaming store’ has all but disappeared.

In the data, we see a clear trend – physical game sales are declining. It was claimed at the start of this year that as much as 90% of all game sales made through 2022 were digital – but that includes mobile gaming in that figure. Ubisoft has spoken out about the trend, suggesting that there will always be a market for physical games, no matter how small that market becomes. But the data is tangible, and physical games seem to be dying out over time.

It’s A Digital World

There’s a revolution rolling out as we speak, and it’s seeing a shutdown of physical games take place around the world. Typically, digital and cloud-based services like PS Now, Game Pass, GeForce Now, and Ubisoft+ report consistent growth, and the bang for the buck with these services cannot be argued against. By contrast, we’re seeing an almost resolute withdrawal of physical collector’s editions, midnight launch events, and even representation of physical products in stores the world over.

There are all-digital PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles, and there are rumours that suggest Nintendo is working on a cloud-based console. We’re seeing an increase in the popularity of handheld consoles, with devices like the Steam Deck, Lenovo Legion Go, and the ROG Ally experiencing positive receptions and strong sales figures. It was just weeks ago that news surfaced suggesting that Microsoft is continuing to work on its all-digital cloud console – Project Keystone.

And do we need to mention the rise of mobile gaming? Whether it’s mobile esports or the fact that AAA games are making their way onto mobile devices, the most accessible, widespread form of gaming is on a constant uptick. It’s estimated that there are more than 2.5 billion mobile gamers in the world today – and they’re all digital players.

Should Physical Gaming Be Abandoned?

If physical games are abandoned overnight, a paradigm shift will take place in the gaming industry. There will be thousands upon thousands of layoffs the world over as manufacturing facilities, printing firms, factories, and designers find themselves without any work. For the longest time, physical sales have been on a decline, but it’s accelerating now, and that’s a very real future that we all face.

For the ‘old-school’ gamers, it’s a crushing revelation. Personally, I predict that digital gaming will almost completely take over in the next few years, and the physical boxed market will be restricted almost exclusively to second-hand sales. That’s why Sony is releasing a new PlayStation 5 model with an attachable disc drive, I think. There are just too many advantages to digital gaming, though.

Sure, the cost of digital products remains high, but so does the cost of developing these games. But there are clear benefits:

Digital games can be pre-installed to go live the moment the game is released
With streaming services, digital games are instantly available – there’s no delay
Digital games can’t sell out, and that includes collector’s editions or special versions
In a post-COVID world, digital games prevent busier stores and long queues on launch day
Digital games are more environmentally friendly, reducing the impact the gaming industry has on the planet

It’s a huge change from days gone by, but it’s the way it’s going to go. For the most part, the biggest esports games in the world are all available exclusively as digital downloads, so that market has already said its piece. It’s sad, but the young gamers breaking into the hobby as we speak won’t get to appreciate the excitement of unwrapping a boxed game at Christmas, but everything moves on, right?

It’s going to be very interesting to see how the landscape changes in the coming years.