GTA 6's Physical Release Solidifies A Controversial Industry Shift
The console disc is quickly going the way of the Dodo.
Like Doom or Battlefield or a handful of other video games with the distinction, Grand Theft Auto is one of a few still-relevant gaming franchises that have lasted through multiple different generations of the medium. When the first game debuted all the way back in 1997 (exclusively available on PC at the outset) it was kind of a far cry of what the franchise would become, a top-down level-based action-adventure, but since then there have been releases on every generation of console since then – from the fifth generation which saw the rise of the original PlayStation to the eighth generation with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. GTA is undoubtedly a series that took full advantage of the rapid expansion of video games as technology and an artistic medium, growing exponentially in scale along with each new development in the industry.
Now, a whole six years after the official start of the ninth generation with the release of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S, gaming’s reigning king is on the cusp of returning. Grand Theft Auto 6 (technically the eighth game in the franchise overall) is right around the corner and reaching critical mass for gamer anticipation, and its release date of November 19th can’t come soon enough for fans. However, depending on who you ask, there may be a teeny-tiny little problem – the physical edition of the game, which will be sold in (some) stores, won’t come with a disc but instead a download code, which is a continuation of a worrying trend in gaming but across multiple different artistic industries at the moment.
Rockstar Games is one of the biggest developers and publishers working in gaming, and if they’re pushing digital releases it’s a worrying sign that the industry as a whole is moving in that direction.
On June 24th, Rockstar Games gave some major announcements and updates about GTA 6, with the two biggest undoubtedly being that pre-orders for the game would be opening up the next day and that the price point would be $80 (with the Ultimate Edition clocking in at around $100). But wedged in between those announcements and a new glimpse at gameplay was the confirmation that physical copies of the game would launch with a download code instead of a disc. “Code-in-a-box” games are slightly different from straightforward digital-only releases, and they’re not necessarily a brand new trend – it’s a model multiple Nintendo Switch games have used, and one that other upcoming games like The Outer Worlds 2 are planning on using as well.
From the perspective of game publishers, it makes sense: not only does it avoid the potential of leaks that could arise from copies of the game being distributed early, but it also offers the two-fold monetary advantage of giving a game presence in retail stores while also controlling the price forever. Ten years ago, there was a thriving used games market that allowed people to resell discs either themselves or to a retailer who would sell them at a used discount, but now publishers would rather cut out that market entirely by maintaining a set cost forever. With an $80 price point (for a game that most assuredly won’t be going on sale anytime soon), Grand Theft Auto 6 has a strong chance to become one of the highest-grossing video games of all-time in part for that reason.
13 years after the release of Grand Theft Auto 5, its sequel is one of the most anticipated games ever and has every opportunity to become one of the industry’s biggest financial successes.
On the other hand, from the perspective of the consumer, it’s a trend that has long been met with ire for many reasons, with the simplest being that many people enjoy the tactility of physical media. For lots of gamers, there’s a charm that comes with owning a game outright – selling just the box with a code inside might not seem like a big deal but it’s another way that people are being robbed of ownership over the things they pay for.
The nature of digital-only releases is finicky; it’s not a likely possibility, but there’s always a chance that some legal hang-up could result in the game being delisted on digital markets, and in the case of some games like Hideo Kojima’s eternally mourned P.T., could be practically wiped from existence unless you actively have it downloaded. It’s a problem that the film industry has been facing as well with the push towards streaming and digital purchases – Amazon Prime has come under fire for not being clear enough that when you “buy” a movie you’re truly only purchasing licensing that allows you to watch it for as long as it’s available on the platform. There’s an inherent danger that if physical releases go extinct, your ownership of the things you purchase only extends as far as licensing and rights will allow, and that’s not even considering the demise of the communal aspect of the video game market. There was a time when you and your friends could share games as a community, trading them off as you beat them so that you could still experience a work of art even if you’re priced out of owning it.
2014’s P.T., Hideo Kojima’s critically acclaimed “Playable Teaser” for an unmade Silent Hill game, is arguably the most famous example in gaming of what happens when digital ownership runs afoul of the whims of publishers.
This isn’t to say that Grand Theft Auto 6 won’t be good because it lacks a disc, or even that GTA6 is destroying the industry or something equally as hyperbolic. But Rockstar is God in the eyes of the industry and many gamers — this is a disappointing continuation of a trend that is actively rewriting the way that audiences engage with video games, and further removing power from the hands of consumers and putting even more in the hands of the corporations that control our relationships with art. There’s always a chance that future Deluxe Editions of the game might come with a disc further down the road, but it’s already frightening enough to think that something that was standard practice not even a full decade ago is disappearing faster than most people realize.
