Capcom Says Physical Game Decline Won't 'Significantly Impact' Sales as Digital Dominates

Capcom, the developer behind Resident Evil and Monster Hunter, has stated that the decline of physical game sales will have minimal impact on its business, given that the vast majority of its titles are already sold digitally.

In a recent investor Q&A, Capcom responded to a question about whether the publisher would be affected by the shrinking physical game market. This comes amid Sony's announcement that it will stop producing game discs for new PS5 titles starting January 2028, with expectations that the PS6 will be entirely disc-less. New consoles are already shipping with warning labels to inform consumers of the upcoming changes. Meanwhile, Xbox is reportedly developing a system to transfer game licenses from physical discs to digital ownership.

Nintendo currently uses a hybrid approach, offering physical games as regular cartridges, Game-Key Cards, and digital codes in a box (the latter being how the Switch 2 port of Diablo 4 is expected to be released). Interestingly, Nintendo has recently incentivized digital purchases for new Switch 2 games by pricing them around $10 less than their physical counterparts.

Capcom stated, "Approximately 90% of our unit sales are digital. We do not anticipate a significant impact at this time."

In its own financial results, Nintendo reported a slight increase in digital-to-physical sales ratio, rising by 2.2 points to 61.5%, though this remains lower than many other publishers. It is believed that Nintendo fans particularly value physical ownership, as it allows younger players to easily share games with family and friends and trade them in.

Capcom is enjoying a highly successful year, with over 2 million sales for new franchise Pragmata and 8 million for Resident Evil Requiem. Upcoming releases include Onimusha: Way of the Sword on September 4, Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen for Switch 2 on October 9, and Resident Evil Veronica next year. The company is also working on major expansions for Resident Evil Requiem and Monster Hunter Wilds.