Insomniac Games has responded to a fan on social media who asked if the physical version of Marvel’s Wolverine is just a code in the box — with the question now top of mind following Rockstar’s shock decision not to sell GTA 6 on disc at launch.
Yesterday, Rockstar confirmed the physical version of GTA 6 comes with a download code inside the box. There is no disc.
This has proven to be a huge talking point, with some fans even saying they won’t buy the game because of it. Video game preservation enthusiasts have criticised Rockstar, and some retailers have even refused to sell the game because of it.
One follow-up question is, has Rockstar just hit the final nail in the coffin for the video game disc? If a game like GTA 6, which is expected to be the biggest entertainment launch of all time, skips releasing on a disc, will other rival game companies follow suit? It’s a question we put to analysts, who insist Rockstar’s decision just makes commercial sense.
For now, with the GTA 6 situation fresh in mind, it looks like developers and publishers will have to answer an increasing number of questions around the physical versions of their games. Sony-owned studio Insomniac was asked if Marvel’s Wolverine, due out in September, will be released on disc or as a code in a box, and in a tweet the studio responded: “the physical version will include a disc in box.”
That response is clear, but it has also been viewed over 1.1 million times — evidence, surely, of the GTA 6 effect. Certainly Rockstar has changed the game here, and I suspect every triple-A developer and publisher will be asked the same question from now on, more often than they would have been otherwise. Will EA release the next FC game on disc, for example? Could Call of Duty do the same? Will Sony eventually do it?
Nintendo has dabbled with releasing physical versions with just a code in the box with its controversial Game Key-Card releases for the Switch 2. It’s been explained away as helping improve the performance of games because they are downloaded to the console’s internal memory. With GTA 6, which is set for launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S only, there are all sorts of theories. Analysts have suggested to IGN that the decision was in part about Rockstar’s desire to avoid damaging leaks that might have emerged from releasing a disc into a pre-release supply chain. They’ve also explained that releasing GTA 6 without a disc will cut manufacturing costs and make Rockstar more money because it can subsequently control the price of the game. Rockstar has yet to explain its decision.
We’ve got plenty more on GTA 6 preorders for you, including analyst opinion on what GTA 6’s $80 price point means for other video games and the tech expert verdict on the 63 new GTA 6 screenshots.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
