Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two, has dismissively brushed off questions about the digital-only release of Grand Theft Auto VI. In a Q&A following the company’s first-quarter 2027 financial release, Zelnick asked, “Who cares?” if customers are forced to download games because discs “don’t really make sense” for a big title. He also compared physical discs to vinyl distribution.
“Our business is well over 90% digitally distributed,” Zelnick said, per IGN. “It’s already a digital business. 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.”
He continued, “Also, [in] 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.
“So that’s where the world is going, in our opinion, and I think Sony understands that,” Zelnick added, referring to the recent announcement that physical copies of PlayStation games will no longer be sold beginning in January 2028. “We certainly understand that. It doesn’t mean that we won’t have physical editions 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.”
Despite the gamer backlash, going digital-only doesn’t appear to have dampened GTA 6 sales. Zelnick described the volume of pre-orders as “unprecedented and astonishing,” but admitted that he didn’t know “how it’ll translate into sales.”
Pre-orders for GTA 6 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S launched on June 25th. The standard edition costs $79.99, while the Ultimate Edition is $99.99 and comes with a slew of in-game content.
There are several issues with Zelnick’s argument, not the least of which is the amount of storage that AAA titles like Grand Theft Auto 6 increasingly take up. This means larger downloads, which pose a major obstacle for gamers with an internet data cap, and worse yet, discourage those who can only afford or have access to slower download speeds.
Not only that, it’s almost a given that major music releases will be available on vinyl from huge artists like Taylor Swift, BTS, and Olivia Rodrigo. CD sales are also growing, according to Luminate’s 2026 Midyear Report. Despite albums being available on streaming, fans want to own physical copies, too.
That’s also true for video games, where the large majority may be satisfied with digital downloads, but the most loyal fans look forward to owning physical discs.
But the greatest concern from a digital-only future comes from the constant reminder that gamers are only buying a license for games and other content from companies like Sony. On September 1st, 551 film and TV titles will be removed from the PlayStation Store. Last month, a policy resurfaced allowing Sony to close a PlayStation account after three years of inactivity, thus removing games and other purchases attached to it.
Zelnick’s comments come after Sony CFO Lin Tao confirmed the company will “cautiously” move forward with phasing out PlayStation discs despite backlash from gamers. “There are various reasons we made this decision, the biggest being that the digitalization of content overall has been progressing, that’s the big factor,” Tao said. “It’s not just for PlayStation, but for all kinds of content, digitalization is progressing.”
As we’ve written about time and time again, Sony and its competitors have been moving in a digital-only direction for quite some time. The $899 PlayStation 5 Pro does not have a built-in disc drive, and an increasing number of Switch 2 “cartridges” actually function as key cards to unlock game downloads. While Microsoft’s high-end Xbox Series X does come with a drive, the company will likely move away from physical discs soon enough.
