I Made a Physical PlayStation 4 Game On My Own!

Video of how I got the Popcorn Rocket PS4 version done, but I’ll also go into more detail here.

Back when I was a kid, it was always my dream to release a physical NES game complete with the box, manual, and cartridge. It would have blown my childhood mind to release my old ideas like “Stupid Chickeno Bros” and my version of “Mega Man 6” which I mentioned in this blog entry.

Unfortunately, making complete in box NES games or even programming one wasn’t even feasible as a kid in the 80’s and 90’s. I’m several decades late, but thanks to modern solutions like NES Maker and services like Homebrew Factory, it’s now possible to make homebrew NES games both digital AND physical.

One day, I’ll make an NES game to make that childhood dream come true, but right now, let’s focus on my PlayStation 4 release.

I have to admit when I first got accepted as a PlayStation developer, the very first thing I did was look up how to do a physical release even before I learned how to do a digital release. I’m under NDA, so I can’t discuss the exact process, but I was still mindblown that I had the access to make a legitimate product exactly like the ones bought in stores.

Believe it or not, there are still a ton of people playing on their PS4’s. I made a decent chunk of Popcorn Rocket digital sales from the PS4, so there’s still a massive install base.

There have been a ton of jokes over the years saying “This console generation hasn’t even started yet” and “The PS5 doesn’t have any games”. While I disagree for the most part, the pandemic had caused a massive shift in game development, making games come out slower and people still hanging onto their PS4’s.

I’m sentimental to the PS5 as it was the first console I ever developed for. However, I didn’t want to ignore the already large install base of the PS4. I figured if I do a PS4 version, it’ll also work on the PS5 (and eventually the PS6) which will at least hit both the 110+ million PS4 and the 90+ million PS5 install base.

I decided not to go with Xbox as most people don’t buy physical games on Xbox due to Game Pass. Even companies like Limited Run Games don’t even release Xbox versions for alot of their games anymore. I also decided not to go with the Nintendo Switch as the manufacturing costs were more astronomical compared to the PlayStation consoles since Nintendo is still using cartridge media. If you know the problems with game key cards and cartridge prices on the Nintendo Switch 2, then you’ll realize how costly a Nintendo Switch physical release is.

It’s a massive ordeal already trying to a release a digital game out on any platform. Getting a physical made is a whole different ballgame that I never imagined.

I’m under NDA, so I can’t explain the process, but I can talk about the process of getting the ESRB certificate which is required to release a physical copy.

I decided to wait 90+ days after the PS4 digital Popcorn Release in 2024 according to the fee sheet the ESRB sent me when I emailed them. I had made enough money from the Popcorn Rocket digital sales in 2024 to easily pay the $3000 Digital to Physical Value Submission fee along with paying a large chunk of my debt. I still had enough leftover money to pay Sony for the disc and manufacturing fees.

I got pretty far into the manufacturing process until….

I was ready to get the physical PS4 Popcorn Rocket ready to release in December of 2024 just in time for the Christmas Holiday as digital sales had slowed down after August 2024. The Nintendo Switch launch of the game during November 2024 definitely helped, but the sales were nowhere near the Xbox, PlayStation, and Atari VCS releases.

Out of left field, my younger sister announced she just got engaged and I had to give pretty much all of the remaining Popcorn Rocket money I had saved to help with my sister’s wedding.

Weddings ain’t cheap!

In all honesty, it was worth it to see my sister get married and now I have a new awesome brother in law. So the money went to a better cause.

However, this delayed my disc manufacturing process for over a year as all of my money had to be spent for my sister’s wedding. Luckily, Sony was understanding and we agreed to delay things until I was ready.

After my sister’s wedding in December 2025, I entered 2026 with a game plan to finally get the PS4 discs produced. Sadly, Popcorn Rocket was barely making enough sales by that time to even pay for my Netflix subscription, but any money I get nowadays is a blessing since I had already made back my initial Popcorn Rocket expenses back in 2024. So everything since then has been profit.

Even if it’s not a ton anymore.

I used my tax return and work bonus to fund the discs and got back in touch with Sony to produce them again. It was like no time had passed as we were back on track. I finally sent in the manufacturing order and paid quite a big sum which I can’t disclose due to NDAs and it definitely wasn’t cheap!

By the end of April 2026, I got a knock on my door from FedEx and my lifelong dream had finally come true…

I couldn’t believe it.

I had finally produced a physical console game.

My lifelong dream.

And it still doesn’t feel real!

However, since the bare minimum for physical copies is in the 4 figures, you definitely need ALOT of room to store these unless you have a storage unit.

I had to sell 2 of my Arcade1up machines to make room for all the discs since I didn’t want to rent a storage unit and drive back and forth between it all the time.

Popcorn Rocket has sold over 2000+ digital copies across all platforms and while that’s fantastic for me, that’s a very tiny amount for more established publishers.

Any sane publisher wants to make sure they make money to keep themselves in business. I’m a million percent sure that Limited Run Games gets hundreds if not thousands of requests per day from overzealous game devs asking to put their game on physical.

Sadly, I bet 99.9% of them get rejected.

I can’t blame them because the ESRB and rating fees are expensive, the manufacturing costs are expensive, and the bare minimum copies needed to be made are pretty high. Publishers like Limited Run Games need to work with established hits in order to make money. Taking a risk on a game like mine could spell financial disaster for a sane publisher.

However, I’m not sane.

There’s a million better things I could have spent my money on. Especially on things towards my next game.

In fact, I almost can’t recommend any sane game developer do a physical console release. The financial risks are too high AND you might not even have the room to store all of the games. Not every game developer has a good paying day job or enough deductions to get a high tax return. Most jobs don’t even offer the yearly bonuses I get.

HOWEVER.

For any game developer, there is no greater feeling than finishing and releasing a game.

Even more, there’s no better feeling than holding a tangible, playable, and professionally made copy of your own game in your hands. It still doesn’t feel real.

The massive ordeal and initial delay made this experience feel incredibly bittersweet. I confess in 2025, I was a bit discouraged, angry, and almost on the verge of giving up my physical game dream because I decided to be good big brother and help my sister out with her wedding, giving up every penny I had saved.

But I was patient, waited a while, and still found a way to make it happen.

And I didn’t even have to go into debt for it.

Most game devs never release a game.

And for those that do, most never release a physical copy for any platform due to financial risks. Some are extremely lucky to get a publisher like Limited Run Games, but doing that also comes with hard binding contracts, risks, revenue splits, and sacrificing the freedom of distributing your game physically.

But now I can say:

“I did it”.

I did it with my own money and no publisher. In fact:

And I did it with my first game.

I know I’ll probably have more successful games in the future, but I will never have another “first” game.

Some game devs are ashamed of their first few games, but I was proud enough and believed my first game deserved a proper physical release.

And you know what?

I can’t wait to do it again.

After spending the vast amount of money for Popcorn Rocket’s physical release, I was extremely hesitant to do physical console releases for my future games. But after holding the physical copy in my hands and realizing how surreal it felt to make my childhood dream come true, I’m more than excited to start working on my next game’s physical release after it’s digital release in a few years. As long as I stay employed at my current job and continue earning yearly bonuses, I can at least make PlayStation releases possible. I even had enough money leftover after paying for my disc manufacturing fees to pay for repairs to my car and some other things.

Doing it by myself instead of relying on a publisher made me learn ALOT of things about the manufacturing process of a video game and I have to really thank Sony for holding my hand through the entire process. There were so many procedures and other things that I had no idea about where I would have been lost without Sony helping me out and having patience with all my questions.

I’m actually more concerned about the space than the money now. I may need to get a storage unit in the future or move to a bigger place.

Aside from the PlayStation 4 Popcorn Rocket release, I also did a print on demand PC Physical Release on DVD-ROM and USB thanks to trepstar.

I also haven’t completely counted out Xbox and Nintendo Switch yet as now that I’ve gotten the experience from Sony, I’m sure I can also do the other consoles. Even though Xbox users are used to Game Pass, I hope Asha Sharma’s leadership will convince players to get physical Xbox games again. Nintendo Switch production is way more expensive than Sony and Xbox, but if my games make enough money, I may consider it. Maybe I’ll make enough to not use game key cards. Who knows?

Even though 70% of game sales are digital, there are still avid physical media aficionados like myself who love owning physical copies of games. Especially with the recent PlayStation 30 day DRM enforcement for digital games, having a copy to own is now more important than ever. Just recently, there’s been a massive surge of physical media collectors starting their own brick and mortar video rental shops just to relive those times again. Even younger generations are getting into the physical media collecting scene even though they were raised in the digital age.

We live in an era where we really only own licenses to play our games and not the games themselves. While digital is far more convenient for access, I definitely prefer complete ownership of what I buy with my hard earned money.

I know certain groups of people most likely preserved the digital files of Popcorn Rocket on all platforms and now I’m happy that a tangible version exists for people to hold in their hands. One day when the inevitable time comes when Sony’s PS4 and PS5 servers go down and take Popcorn Rocket with it, physical copies will always exist and live on beyond me. I doubt that people will be playing Popcorn Rocket 100 years from now, but future generations can always dig up the physical version for historical and archival purposes.

With said, if you’re interested in getting a copy of Popcorn Rocket for the PS4 or the PC: Grab it here!

If you own a physical brick and mortar store, contact me at ryan@battlegeekplus.com for wholesale inquiries! I’d love to see my game on your shelf (and especially the bargain bin as a true badge of honor!).