Tom Orry, formerly of VideoGamer and Eurogamer, and Alex Donaldson, RPGSite owner and formerly of VG247, have launched Respec, a new video game website covering news, reviews and features.
Premium mobile video game releases increased 77% in 2025, according to research conducted by GamesIndustry. Just under 750 premium titles launched last year.
Hideo Kojima has reacted to PlayStation’s decision to cease console disc production in 2028. “What will happen is that I won’t own the data,” he said. “Some company will own the server and say, ‘You can turn on the tap for a certain amount of money each month,’ [...] and it’s certainly conceivable that the data will stop being distributed.”
As of mid-February 2027, the Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite and Switch OLED will no longer be available via European retailers. The move is another response from Nintendo to the upcoming battery regulations in the region.
Following XBOX’s significant restructure, news is trickling out regarding how studios are pivoting to new projects. Obsidian, according to reports (via GamesIndustry), has cancelled several unannounced projects to instead develop a new Fallout game.
Sony leadership has described AI as “an important foundational technology supporting our strategy”. Reported by GamesIndustry, Sony also stated that it is “less about cost efficiency and more about improving quality and development speed”.
You know what they say? Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. Sony’s warning it will cease production of PlayStation games on disc in two years has caused an outpouring of grief and nostalgia not seen since Currys pulled the plug on the VHS deck in 2004.
Like the VHS or that printed Argos catalogue, discs have been long dead way before the plug was actually pulled. There’s a shelf of games from the last two generations gathering dust in my arcade, because the reality is I now buy games digitally. I’ve never been one who spends money on those premium limited edition copies with plastic statues, and downloads don’t hamper my gaming enjoyment one single bit.
Hot on the heels of Sony’s news was the suggestion that Microsoft was ready to ditch the disc drive from the next Xbox too - and was said to be working on a method to upgrade physical purchases to a download. Judging by the response online to the loss of the disc drive, there’s a rump of gamers who can’t stand the shift - with Sony’s blog garnering more comments than the one on my local Facebook group about uncollected bins.
There’s an uncomfortable truth for those who still want to be in the boxed game era - it isn’t coming back. Back in 2013, when the PS4 launched digital was a mere 13% of game sales. Today it’s around 80% globally. What does buying a boxed copy get you in 2026? Most of the time you get a couple of lines of code that allows your console to download a full 90GB update while you make a cuppa and question whether it was worth heading into town after all. Now GTA VI - the biggest game in history is skipping physical it’s time to move on.
There are some real upsides to ditching the drive. An optical drive should make a PS6 at least £50-£100 cheaper to build, and having seen five year old consoles going up in price rather than down, any saving is good news. Part of me is also relieved that I’ll no longer see my 8-year old using my PS5 Spider-Man disc as a coaster for her drink.
It’s not all great though - digital games disappear when storefronts close, and with Sony shutting down the PS3 and VIta handheld stores by mid-2027 it’s hardly confidence that digital ownership will ever be treated with the same respect as buying a physical game. Collectors are worried too - there will be no more second-hand bargains, and unless the investigation into the lack of competition on digital marketplaces yields results, it’s quite easy to imagine prices going up once that glut of £20 pre-owned copies is no longer possible.
I’ll miss discs and the physical-era. It’s a bit like how I think of Blockbuster - warmly and nostalgically, but nowhere near enough to chain myself to the Blu-Ray pressing plant in protest.
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.