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We're still waiting to hear from Xbox on what their plans are for supporting physical games in the future, as we already know that PlayStation will be ditching them (at least in disc form) from January 2028.
Interestingly, both the SEGA President and Ubisoft CEO were asked about the physical games situation in separate interviews this week, and they each highlighted how digital releases have become more prominent and are a big focus.
SEGA President Shuji Utsumi told Famitsu that his team "still have a fondness for physical culture" and don't plan to "completely abandon it", but nevertheless "think the shift towards digital titles is key" and that they need to be "conscious of digital content in order to become more global".
Thanks to GamesRadar for the translation on this - here are two direct quotes from the interview:
"We used to develop consoles, and of course, we still have a fondness for physical culture. So rather than completely abandoning it, we are currently considering the important elements of digital media, and simultaneously trying to make a shift."
"Even in regions where consoles aren't commonly available, there are a lot of people who are able to play on PC. I think it's important to strengthen our digital products in order to develop this market. [Japan] has a culture of physical media, but I think it's necessary that we're conscious of digital content in order to become more global."
Ubisoft's CEO was asked specifically about PlayStation's decision to ditch physical games in a recent investor Q&A, and whether he felt it could "create a demand headwind" for the industry in the process.
Yves Guillemot pointed to the success of digital games on PC and how they actually helped grow the market there, and even though there are pluses and minuses to the decision, he doesn't think it'll "disturb" the industry too heavily.
Here's the full transcript of this question, courtesy of Seeking Alpha:
Douglas Creutz (TD Cowen, Research Division): "Sony recently announced that they're going to discontinue physical disk-based games as of 2028. Just wondering from your perspective, if you have any concerns that could create a demand headwind either directly or perhaps indirectly because it prevents gamers from recycling games to the used game market and then using that to purchase new games."
Yves Guillemot (Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO, President & Chief Creative Officer): "What we saw on the PC is that it helped to grow the market. There's also some pressure for the future on the cost of machines and being able to be only digital will help to have a more accessible machine, I would say. So as you said, there are plus and minus, but we think it will not disturb too much the industry."
We've already talked this week about how physical sales have dropped massively over the past 20 years, and it arguably feels like disc-based releases are in the process of dying out - at least in terms of mainstream platforms.
Xbox does have a chance to cater to the disgruntled PlayStation fan by committing to physical releases in 2028 and beyond, and we absolutely hope they take that route. In all honesty though, it's not something we're betting on right now.