Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra has shared his thoughts on digital ownership and called for it PlayStation make drastic changes to how game purchases are made. Like most digital storefronts, the PlayStation Store offers a limited ownership concept. PlayStation suddenly removed more than 500 movies from users' libraries after the digital rights expired, and many are worried that the same thing could happen to video games.
Concerns over digital property rights have been a hot topic of discussion for years. Discussions of an all-digital future resurfaced after the recent announcement that GTA 6 will not have a disc version. Rockstar's latest Grand Theft Auto the game is one of the most anticipated video games of all time, but the lack of a true physical release has led to many concerns about the future of the franchise.
Xbox is reportedly testing a game-changing feature to digitize your physical games
Xbox is planning for an all-digital future by apparently creating a way for fans to continue playing physical games purchased over the years.
Mike Ybarra seeks a digital pledge from PlayStation
Following Rockstar's announcement, it was revealed that PlayStation will stop making discs in 2028. This means that PS5 owners will only be able to purchase digital copies of games. In a post on Twitter, Mike Ybarra commented on PlayStation's plans, and he had a lot to say about the situation. The former Blizzard president wants to see PlayStation make a “digital promise” to its fans, where the company would have no ability to remove games from a user's library.
Who is that character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Start
PlayStation was shut down Harmony and other live service games, and Ybarra was quick to note that he understands the difference between single-player and multiplayer games. In principle, the digital promise would not apply in these cases. What Ybarra wants is simply reassurance that PlayStation won't be able to shut down a user's purchased games the way it has with movies. That concern has been widely shared on social media since PlayStation announced the change in strategy. There's a perception that digital purchases don't mean ownership, and Ybarra wants that to change.
Beyond the digital promise, Ybarra wants PlayStation to revamp the way purchases work to offer more freedom. The post describes potential changes such as the ability to easily lend digital games to friends and the ability to sell or trade used games. Ybarra also wants a way for users to proudly display their game libraries. Since many people enjoy sharing their collections of physical video games, the idea is that they should also have a way to show off the ones they own digitally.
It remains to be seen if PlayStation will heed any of this advice, but the company has seen a lot of negativity following the all-digital announcement. Some companies are joking about PlayStation, and the responses to Ybarra's post show that many people want to see changes before the company moves to an all-digital strategy. If PlayStation plans to stick to its goal of only releasing digital games starting in 2028, it may need to find ways to reassure fans that the games they buy actually belong to them and can't be taken away.
