Take-Two Interactive’s CEO has addressed the decision to ditch discs for GTA 6’s launch, as he compares their existence to vinyl records.
While everyone’s talking about the death of physical games, in relation to Sony’s decision to stop producing discs after 2027, GTA 6 is the game that started the snowball.
When pre-orders for Rockstar’s sequel opened in June this year, the developer confirmed the title would have download codes inside boxed copies – and not a physical disc.
Sony’s subsequent announcement largely diverted the anger away from them, but Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has now commented on the subject for the first time during its latest earnings call.
While Zelnick declined to comment on Sony’s decision, he explained why he believes that, for GTA 6, a physical disc isn’t necessary.
‘Our business is well over 90% digitally distributed,’ Zelnick said (via 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.
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‘Also, 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.’
He added: ‘So that’s where the world is going in our opinion and I think Sony understands that. 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.’
While there’s some truth to what Zelnick’s saying, in relation to actual discs not containing the full game in the age of updates, the comparison to vinyl is peculiar because all major musicians release albums on vinyl these days, so it’s always an option – rather than a ‘now and then’ proposition.
His comments do appear to make a distinction between ‘discs’ and boxed games as a whole, but it’s still a anti-consumerist stance for those who do share or trade-in games – which shouldn’t be too surprising from a business executive.
These comments aren’t too surprising when you consider Take-Two’s earnings from physical games in its latest financial report. In Q1 of the 2027 fiscal year, 98% of its net revenue from game sales came via digital purchases, compared to just 2% physical.
Elsewhere in the earnings call, Zelnick discussed the rise of PC gaming over the past decade, which he interprets as a sign that people are shifting towards open systems – something he believes will spark a rise in streaming games as hardware prices grow.
‘With the advent of streaming – which we really do believe is around the corner in terms of having something that’s low latency, and really works well for consumers – machines that weren’t game machines before will become game machines,’ Zelnick said (via Kotaku).
‘So, without regard to what happens in the console business, which is of consequence to us, of course, we see the overall install base as a practical matter growing materially. And if you believe in streaming, to be clear, we really do, and I’m happy to put a timeline on it.
‘I think we’ll be in commercial streaming mode in three years, and by commercial I mean low latency. That can [multiply] the effective install base by 10. That doesn’t mean we’re going to 10x our revenue, and we wouldn’t project that we would, because obviously your avid consumers already have access to video game machines. But I do think it creates a great opportunity for titles that are broadly desirable even outside of core markets, and we do have titles like that, obviously.’
It’s a bold prediction but, at a time when the price of next generation consoles and PC components are a concern, it doesn’t feel implausible either – especially if streaming technology does improve over the next three years. Right now, the technology exists, but it hasn’t taken off in a major way for AAA games, largely due to latency issues.
Zelnick probably isn’t too concerned with that though and it seems you canexpect a streaming version of GTA 6 in the near future. For now though, the digital-only launch is set for November 19 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, with a PC version expected sometime in 2027.
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