In the old days – read 10+ years ago – buying a new game meant unwrapping a cartridge or a shiny new disk, admiring the cover art, and spending hours flipping through a manual. Those tangible experiences are not so much a thing nowadays–in fact, they are increasingly rare and usually reserved for deluxe physical editions as the industry shifts toward digital formats. In this article, we will explore this transition away from hard copy and its implications.
The Shift to Digital Gaming
Digital marketplaces like Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Live, Nintendo eShop, and Epic Games have changed the landscape of gaming completely. Cloud storage and instant access, as well as frequent sales with massive discounts, make digital purchases very appealing to a lot of gamers worldwide. In Europe, 75% of the games were sold in online digital stores during 2024. This increase from the previous year where digital purchases amounted to 63% shows that more and more gamers are opting for this variant over the physical media.
It can be easily concluded that the convenience of digital storefronts is what pushes players to switch to fully digital game libraries. Many marketplaces are now introducing crypto wallet payment options as well, taking the hint from the increased acceptance of cryptocurrencies in the world of iGaming. This allows every reputable iGaming platform, such as MetaMask casino, to pay out deposits and withdrawals quickly and securely while circumnavigating the hassle of traditional banking methods. Similarly, a portion of gamers is increasingly adopting blockchain payment methods – including the aforementioned MetaMask – alongside improved digital ownership of their titles and add-ons.
Cloud Gaming and Subscription Models
One of the biggest motivators for gamers to switch to digital games is the emergence of subscription models. Xbox Game Pass was not the first one in this lineup, but it was the first model that successfully introduced different tiers and game libraries. Combined with day-one releases of certain titles included in higher subscription tiers, it was easy to see why this became an instant hit all around the world. PlayStation Plus, while initially serving as more of an online multiplayer service with a few free games thrown in every month, switched to what’s more or less similar model of work as well. Divided into three tiers, PS Plus continues to provide subscribers with 2-3 free games each month, but it also offers access to a decent library of games in its medium tier, as well as an even bigger library for the premium tier, alongside access to cloud gaming.
PlayStation game streaming is still a bit glitchy, and gamers who don’t have access to extremely good internet connections are not able to enjoy this service to its fullest, although there have been some noticeable improvements lately. Xbox Cloud Gaming and especially NVIDIA’s GeForce Now can safely be considered the services that get streaming right. As these services develop and improve their function on low-end hardware further, the demand for physical copies should diminish even more, as well as the need for players to own high-end PC configurations and expensive new-gen consoles.
The Collectors’ Perspective: Why Physical Still Matters
Despite the evident surge of digital, physical copies still hold a special place in the hearts of many gamers. The most important upside is, of course, the matter of ownership. Within this group, the main concerns come from the fact that most digital stores do not provide their customers with full ownership of the digital product, but rather a temporary license for playing that can be revoked under certain circumstances. Certain storefronts like GOG do offer digital copies that are DRM-free, but that is not the case with the majority of them. With hard copies of games, there’s also the ability to trade or resell games, which is something that cannot be done with digital games even if they don’t fall under DRM regulations.
The collectors will also say that there is an emotional and aesthetic component to ownership of games in physical form. That’s hard to argue when you see shelves with neatly stacked boxes for retro (or newer) games, usually combined with deluxe edition memorabilia and figurines. And truly, the additional artwork and collectibles can offer a certain satisfaction for lovers of this hobby that plain digital code to add to your library will never be able to match.
Challenges of Going Fully Digital
The road to a fully digital gaming world is not without its challenges. As previously mentioned, licensing restrictions are a serious setback for sharing among friends and the eventual resale of games no longer played. Massive changes some platforms undergo, as well as licensing issues between publishers and providers, can lead to the retraction of previously available games, which can in turn lead to scandal and mass dissatisfaction among consumers. Even issues with servers can render whole digital libraries inaccessible, as we have seen with the recent global PSN outage that locked almost everyone from accessing and installing new games on their PlayStation consoles.
The dependence on a constant internet connection might seem like a perfectly normal thing in a world that is constantly online, but one small mishap can quickly make every aspect of entertainment unavailable for many if not all. Combine that with unregulated problems about account bans, and the increasing differences in regional restrictions for markets (as well as the often unjust regional pricing), and it’s in plain view why moving completely away from hard copies is not possible. For the time being, at the very least.
Closing Thoughts
Digital gaming is on the rise, it cannot be denied or overlooked. However, physical copies still have some niche appeal among certain groups of gamers, both due to their aesthetic properties and the perks physical media still offers over the digital. The future, however, is certainly digital. We can expect that the blend of cloud-based streaming and blockchain ownership will become a dominant model somewhere down the line, while different variants of digital subscriptions will continue to cater to a diverse gaming audience.