Lords of the Fallen 2 Boss Calls GTA 6 Physical Disc Decision 'Unfair'

GTA 6 and Sony have taken the first big steps toward a digital-only gaming future, and as physical media takes a few hits, CEO of Lords of the Fallen 2 have explained that this is not fair to smaller studios and publishers. Rockstars GTA 6 recently became the most high-profile AAA game to avoid a physical release entirely, sparking significant controversy.

The future of physical media in games has been called into question in recent weeks, sparked by the most anticipated game of the year. GTA 6 opened pre-orders on June 25th, with a bold declaration that it would be a digital release, containing only a code in a box at retail, with no disc version ever coming. Shortly thereafter, Sony announced plans to completely end physical disc production by 2028, and rumors began circulating that Microsoft was working on a disc-to-digital conversion system, as Project Helix was allegedly digital-only. Fans haven't been happy with any of this news, and now even studio executives are saying this is potentially unfair to companies that want to give fans what they want.

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GTA 6 physical disc decision claimed 'unfair' by Lords of the Fallen 2 CEO

CI Games CEO Marek Tyminski joined the discussion about the future of physical media and weighed in on Twitter, saying that GTA 6 digital-only is unfair to smaller studios who still choose to release a physical version because of the costs they incur. Tyminski notes that physical sales are ultimately harder to justify due to “less revenue per unit to developers, longer lead times and unnecessary costs in a demanding industry where many are already losing money,” but the studio still plans to launch physical copies of Lord of the Fallen 2. Of course, producing a case and disc to sit on a store shelf will make the unit cost per game sold much lower than a direct-download digital release, which can hurt the bottom line for studios smaller than something like Rockstar Games, which is so big it can likely eat that cost simply due to sales volume.

Rearrange the cases in the correct US release order.

Light (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)

CI Games' CEO even goes into what a typical monetary breakdown looks like for each game disc sold. Tyminski says retail takes roughly 25-35%, distributors 10-20%, and the actual physical production costs roughly $10, leaving studios with about $26 per game sold, not taking into account sales or price drops. Compared to the roughly $49 that Tyminski reports a studio can get from a top-margin digital sale, that's a small number indeed. The CEO concludes his series of posts by saying, “From a pure ROI standpoint, the choice is obvious.”

Tyminski's statements are consistent with what other developers have said in recent days. In particular, Baldur's Gate 3 Developers spoke out after Sony's announcement, saying that while the physical release of the game may have been ridiculously expensive to produce, it was still worth it and made people happy. But when it comes to the sales breakdown detailed by Tyminski, it seems that publishers will definitely have to weigh how much the physical releases mean going forward.

GTA 6 isn't the first AAA game to go digital-only, but it's definitely the most high-profile game to do so if it sticks to it. Alan Wake 2 was also a digital-only release until fan requests showed enough interest in a physical release that Remedy and Epic Games felt it was a worthwhile venture. In the meantime, Hellblade 2 remains yet another AAA game without a physical release, as fans clamor for a boutique company like Limited Run Games to take over from Microsoft and release a disc. Whether Limited Run and other third-party physical media sellers take some of the burden off studios that would like to provide fans with physical copies while keeping costs down remains to be seen.