The video game sector is the largest in the entertainment industry. In 2025, the sector crossed the $200 billion threshold. However, this sector has multiple issues, many of its own making.
The catalyst for this article is PlayStation’s announcement that it will end physical release production in 2028. This has been a gut blow to advocates of physical media. However, this has been met with hostility and could lead to disaster for PlayStation and the gaming industry.
The reaction to the announcement has been near-universally negative. Nearly every social media comment and post I’ve seen has been critical. Even Generative AI could muster some defenders. I asked followers on my various social media accounts for their views, and the response was negative, but also resigned to the fact that the decision is final. It’s a sentiment I sadly agree with, but I will voice my opposition to PlayStation’s announcement.
Big publications have been critical of the move. Luke Reilly of IGN wrote about finding the move offensive. IGN has a negative reputation among some gamers for being ‘shrills’, so it’s a strong move by a publication of their size to publish an article like that. Major companies mocked PlayStation by saying they were no longer going to sell physical products: Domino’s UK and KFC Spain were prime examples. Even the publishers of Mouse P.I. for Hire took a swipe at PlayStation’s announcement.
The gamer response has included a campaign to get PlayStation users to cancel their PS Plus accounts, resulting in PlayStation offering discounts to stem the exodus. This would likely be a temporary measure since Sony has tease potential PS Plus subscription price rises. The Don’t Kill the Disc petition on Change.org had 344,884 signatures at the time of publication.
The Dutch technology website Tweakers compared prices between physical and digital releases. Digital releases can be cheaper when a game is initially released, but the price generally stays the same, whilst physical games do depreciate over time. Sellers of physical games must compete with each other to get customers, whilst PlayStation is the only provider of digital copies of PS games.
The reason why PlayStation made this decision was financial. PlayStation are already slowing production on physical media and, in the long term, will remove production costs. Ending physical production would save PlayStation money, and a digital marketplace would be more profitable. Dr Serkan Toto, the CEO of Kantan Games, made this point when speaking with IGN. He said PlayStation would take a bigger share of the profits on sales of digital copies: with first party games PlayStation would keep 100% of the purchase. The Digital Entertainment and Retail Association in the UK slammed the decision, calling it a “triumph of corporate convenience over consumer choice.” The Mexican response has been to file a lawsuit against Sony and PlayStation.
Killing physical media for video games goes against a recent trend in other media, where physical sales are increasing. 4K Blu-ray sales have increased by 19.5% in 2025 and even music CDs sales have risen by 16% during the first half of 2026. The second hand games market is valued at $7.2 billion and could rise to $13.8 billion by 2034.
A warning sign that something major was happening with physical media was when Rockstar Games announced that Grand Theft Auto VI wouldn’t be printed on discs. Instead, ‘physical’ copies will have a download code, so people will just be buying a plastic display case. Grand Theft Auto VI is set to be the biggest game in history, so physical copies would sell like hot cakes. My theory was that Rockstar Games was warned about PlayStation’s announcement, but it turned out PlayStation blindsided other publishers, business partners and even regional branches. Rockstar’s decision is made even more strange because of the company’s co-founder, Dan Houser, announced his support for physical media and that gamers should have the option to buy physical copies.
I accept that digital media is a part of our media landscape. There are benefits, like convenience and availability. I had to get the digital copy of EA Sports College Football 2025 on the Xbox because the physical copy wasn’t available in the UK. For smaller developers and indie games, a digital release might be their only option because a physical release might be too expensive, and classic games are generally only available on digital stores. However, there are pitfalls to a digital-only landscape. On 24th July 2026, the PSN suffered a global outage that lasted for hours and prevented users from accessing the PlayStation Store and their games.
PlayStation has broken consumer trust because users in the UK are set to lose any StudioCanal films they might have purchased. There are 551 films on the chopping block, including titles like Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Hot Fuzz, and the first two Paddington movies. Digital media means you own nothing, and like it! The digital landscape can enforce changes players don’t want. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition was heavily criticised when it was released because of its bugs and changes, and the original versions have been delisted on digital stores, so The Definitive Edition is the only version available for new players. A digital-only landscape would affect people in rural areas where connection speeds are potentially slower and less reliable. If an internet connection is essential to play games, then a console would become an expensive paperweight.
Adding fuel to PlayStation’s trash fire are their terms of service. PlayStation shuts down any PS Plus accounts that haven’t been used for three years, which means any purchases would be erased, regardless of the reason why someone might not have used an account. If any PlayStation users move to another country, they might find that some of their purchases could be inaccessible. Xbox and Steam have fewer limits regarding accessing games across borders.
Before this announcement, PlayStation had an instrumental role in physical media. The first PlayStation popularised CDs as the medium for games, the PS2 helped make DVDs accessible, and the PS3 ensured that the format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD was a short one. Before the release of the eighth generation of consoles, Xbox scored a series of own goals. Microsoft announced that the Xbox One would require a permanent online connection and that second-hand games wouldn’t work on the Xbox One. PlayStation was able to win the battle by saying second-hand games would work on the PS4. Xbox could get their revenge by saying the Xbox Helix would have a disc drive, but reports hint that it will also be sold without a disc drive.
In the long term, the move away from physical media would be harmful for the console market. The PlayStation 6 launch price is reported to be $1,000. Because of the AI Boom, console prices have ended up increasing instead of falling, and $1,000 is extortionate, especially in this economy and cost-of-living crisis. Without a disc drive, consoles would be a PC with limited abilities, which leads to the question: why not just get a PC? PC would have more functionality than a digital console. When my brother was looking to buy his children a PS5, I advised him to get the regular edition because the PS5 Pro didn’t have a disc drive, and if the PS6 and Xbox Helix have no disc drive, then I have no issue with getting neither of them. I might be showing my age, but I would like consoles to have backwards compatibility, considering the vast library of games PlayStation and Xbox have produced.
Whilst this article has been critical of PlayStation, Xbox haven’t been in a good position. Xbox have lagged behind PlayStation in console sales. The remake of Halo: Combat Evolved has be released on the PS5, which seems like a foolish move to release a flagship franchise on a rival platform. Xbox have ended up reversing course by bringing back exclusive games to their hardware during their 2026 showcase.
Microsoft has been buying up studios like Bethesda, Activision, and Blizzard to ensure they would get more exclusive content. Those studios have made major series like Fallout, Call of Duty, and DOOM. However, this has resulted in corporate restructuring. An estimated 3,200 people, around 20% of Xbox’s workforce, have lost their jobs, and the company has cut ties with five studios. There have been rumours that Xbox will cancel the Blade game because of all these changes. Xbox bet $80 billion on Game Pass and tried to become the Netflix/Spotify of video games, but it failed to meet half of its expected subscription numbers. Xbox’s CEO, Asha Sharma, has admitted that the company’s focus on Game Pass was a mistake and that Game Pass has been underwhelming, forcing the company to change strategy.
The issues are acute, but the gaming industry has suffered from long-term issues. During the seventh console generation, there was a slow shift towards online play. The Call of Duty and Battlefield series became more popular during this period, but it came at the expense of the single-player experience, since it became shorter and less value for money. The Dead Space series suffered from the rise of multiplayer because Dead Space 3 brought in a multiplayer feature, which resulted in missions that were blocked off without a second player. Dead Space 3 was also infamous for being one of the first major games to bring in microtransactions. The focus on online multiplayer and microtransactions turned me off to gaming: I didn’t bother getting an eighth-generation console.
During the eighth generation, there was an increase in multiplayer online games. There were games like Titanfall, Anthem, and even Star Wars got in on the act with Star Wars: Battlefront. To someone who values the single-player experience, these games were worthless. They’re even more worthless when the studio turns off the servers and makes the games unplayable. A good single game can be replayed without the need for other players. Players could revisit a story and gameplay they enjoy or have an endless experience, like with Football Manager.
The obvious appeal of the online-focused games is financial. World of Warcraft is the most successful MMORPG: the Guinness Book of Records has reported the game has made $10 billion in profit from its 22-year lifespan. It’s a game with multiple revenue streams: there’s the fee to buy the game and expansions, the subscription fee, and in-game purchases. Many other companies have tried and failed to copy World of Warcraft’s model.
The other model is to focus on in-game purchases and microtransactions, where people could end up paying a lot of money for things that don’t exist. EA is one of the most infamous companies to employ this model. Star Wars: Battlefront II had a loot box system, essentially a form of gambling, so players could hope to gain an advantage. Many countries ended up investigating EA over the practice: Belgium led the charge, and nations like the Netherlands, the UK, Singapore and the state of Hawaii followed suit. When EA disabled the loot boxes, players found the game was a grind because it was designed around the pay-to-win mechanics.
EA has a notorious reputation for fleecing its customers. The FIFA series, now EA Sports FC, makes more money from Ultimate Team and online play than from sales of the original game. I may have an old-fashioned view, but I believe in paying for a game once and that being the end of it.
Rockstar, one of the biggest video game companies in the world, has discovered how lucrative online gaming can be. Grand Theft Auto Online has made over $5 billion in revenue and makes around $1.3 million daily. Why make anything else when Rockstar could cruise off that success? This is a game that makes money from subscriptions and microtransactions. Please note that it costs around $100 real-life dollars to buy an Oppressor Mk II.
PlayStation CEO’s, Hideaki Nishino, has stated that Live Service Gaming will be a part of their business model. These games are constantly updated and make money through microtransactions. However, live services flops. One of the most infamous is Concord, which was developed over eight years and cost $400 million, but due to poor sales, the servers were shut down, and PlayStation refunded everyone who bought the game. Another massive live service flop was Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. It was a game that launched in January 2024, and the servers were shut down a year later because of poor sales and reviews. This happened despite the games being made by the same studio that made the Batman Arkham games and Suicide Squad being a popular comic book property.
Gaming has fallen into a state of stagnation, even regression. As seen with Grand Theft Auto V/Grand Theft Auto Online, Rockstar has become dependent on the online success. The joke about the Grand Theft Auto series is that the PS2 had three GTA games, whilst Grand Theft Auto V had three PlayStation consoles. Remasters and Remakes have become more popular recently, with Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced, Star Fox, and Halo: Campaign Evolved. The Last of Us games have been remastered for the PS5 despite them having a version on the PS4. The remaster of The Last of Us Part I was particularly egregious because it was remastered for the PS4 not that long ago.
EA have taken features away from games. The video game critic Yahztee Crowshaw pointed out that The Sims 4 removed features that were in The Sims 3 with plans to bring them back for a fee. The Football Manager series is near to my heart, but Football Manager 2026 removed long-standing features like International Management, Create-A-Club, and Challenge Mode. Players let their thoughts be known when reviewing the game on Steam.
A long-standing issue with the video game industry, especially in big publishers, is crunch culture. Workers could work 60 to 80 hour weeks and could work even more when the release date draws closer. Dan Hoser stated that people were working 100-hour weeks during the development of Red Dead Redemption 2. There have been countless games (e.g. Rome II: Total War, Cyberpunk that have been release unfinished and get patched during afterwards. Gamers have been vocal when this happens.
The gaming industry has a lot of issues, many of which will drive away long-standing players. If this continues with companies taking their customers for granted, they will cause themselves long-term pain for potential short-term gain.
