Publishers Will Save up to $16 per Copy After Physical Games Are Removed
Selling video games in physical form costs publishers a significant amount of money, especially for big-budget games. According to reports, producing and selling console discs requires paying Sony and Microsoft between 15% and 20% of the final recommended price.
This percentage covers the production of the disc, packaging, shipping, and the profit made by retailers.
By removing the physical box and selling games digitally, developers can save more than $10 for every copy sold.
Physical Game Sales Are Eating Up to 20% of Publishers’ Revenue
According to information published by Game File, the figure becomes especially important when looking at the price of modern AAA releases. For a game priced at $79.99, selling a physical copy costs around $12 to $16. Publishers can save that money when the game is sold digitally instead.
Saving between 15% and 20% on each copy could help studios at a time when the gaming industry is dealing with layoffs and job cuts. This is one reason why many publishers support the move away from physical discs.
Sony and Microsoft are both moving away from physical games, but at different speeds. Sony recently announced plans to stop making discs for PlayStation games from 2028. This means new PlayStation games will only be sold digitally after that.
Microsoft, meanwhile, is preparing an initiative called Disc to Digital. It will let players insert a physical game disc into their console and turn it into a digital copy linked to their account.
The problem is that this system could end the second-hand game market. It would benefit companies by pushing more players to buy games from their official digital stores, but players would have fewer choices when buying games. As companies save more money, players would become more dependent on digital games linked to their accounts.
In related news, analysts say Sony’s decision to end PlayStation discs could shrink the $7 billion used games market.
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So charge $80 for a physical disc on a $70 game and you’re making just as much money? Seems like a pretty easy compromise.