No GTA 6 Disc Will Anger Some Fans, But Analysts Say 'Commercially It Just Makes Sense'

With Grand Theft Auto 6, arguably the biggest and most mass-market game of the generation, launching without a disc-based version, is physical media finally dead?

The shift to digital as the dominant form of game ownership began long ago, but certain blockbuster titles—like Call of Duty and FIFA—have resisted the trend to some extent. These games are played by massive audiences who still might look for a copy at their local entertainment store or expect to pick it up at a supermarket alongside their groceries. GTA is one of those games.

Of course, GTA 6 will still have a physical version, but it will only include a digital download code printed inside the box. This means anyone who buys GTA 6 in a box will still need an internet connection and won't be able to start playing early. It also means you won't be able to trade in the game or resell it.

Will Rockstar killing off disc-based copies of GTA 6 prompt other publishers to follow suit? Or should we think about it the other way around—that Rockstar is simply reacting to the current state of the industry, where disc sales are a minority compared to digital downloads? IGN surveyed a range of top industry analysts for their thoughts on the move and where video games are headed next.

"The decline in physical video game spending has been ongoing for more than a dozen years now," said Mat Piscatella, senior director and analyst at Circana, highlighting how dominant digital downloads have become. "Both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series are now heavily weighted toward digital distribution (Xbox Series more so than PS5), and that digital shift has continued to grow over time. I see this as just another step in a trend that has been ongoing since the early 2010s.

"There is clearly a group of players who would prefer owning physical media with the game on disc. [But] in the U.S. as of the end of May 2026, more than half of all Xbox Series consoles sold to date lack a physical media drive, while PS5 digital SKUs account for just over a quarter of all PS5 console sales."

"While digital accounts for the majority of sales, the remaining 20% still represented 70 million physical disc games sold on PlayStation last year (though this figure is slightly inflated by bundled software)," added Daniel Ahmad, director of research and insights at Niko Partners, who suggested other publishers are likely already considering dropping discs.

"Having a retail presence is still important, especially for large games with broad appeal," Ahmad continued. "However, there's a difference between having a 'retail presence' and having a 'physical disc sold at retail.' Going forward, given increased digital adoption and a push for higher margins, more publishers will conclude they only need the former.

"Including a code instead of a disc is becoming increasingly common," agreed Piers Harding-Rolls, games industry analyst at Ampere Analysis. "This just follows an existing trend rather than necessarily prompting publishers to follow Rockstar's approach."

Analysts IGN spoke to pointed to various likely motivations behind Rockstar's move that will be equally attractive to other publishers. Most obvious is that this decision removes the cost of manufacturing a disc (or several, if the game requires a large installation). So each copy is cheaper to produce, with more revenue freed up as profit. "Removing the disc from the box is indeed a cost-saving measure for publishers," Ahmad noted, "doubly so for a game like Grand Theft Auto 6 that may need to ship on multiple discs."

Beyond that, the ability to control the game's price (and avoid being undercut by second-hand sales) is also crucial, Rhys Elliot, head of market analysis at Alinea Analytics, told IGN. Selling a code in a box ensures Rockstar is "killing the second-hand market," Elliot said, and can fully control when and where it is eventually discounted.

"The whole value proposition of a physical disc, from the player's side, is the pre-owned and rental markets: more control over your library, the ability to sell a game on, or rent it cheaply," Elliot said. "But more control for consumers means less control for the publisher. A disc can be resold or rented a hundred times, and Rockstar earns nothing after that first sale. A code-in-box can't be resold or rented, which converts all of that into either a fresh full-price sale or no play at all, both of which suit Rockstar far better than a thriving used market.

"The bigger prize hiding inside that, though, is price control. Physical pricing is more elastic and far more beholden to supply and demand, which is why pre-owned discs routinely undercut PlayStation's and Xbox's digital stores. As long as cheap second-hand copies exist, they set a price floor Rockstar can't control and give every player a permanent 'just wait and buy it used' option. Remove the disc and Rockstar and the platforms own the entire price curve, including how high they hold the price and how slowly they ever discount it. That ties directly into the pricing discipline we've seen elsewhere: holding a price for months with minimal discounting only works if there's no used market quietly undercutting you. Rockstar wants to set its own prices, and disc-less is how you get there."

Having no physical discs loaded with game data will also help with "Rockstar's near-pathological secrecy," Elliot continued, ensuring game data only unlocks at launch, meaning no damaging early leaks from copies "lost off the back of a truck." GTA 6 has already seen one major pre-launch leak, and with fans poring over every last snippet of information, it's easy to see why Rockstar wants to keep control over every detail.

"Commercially it just makes sense in terms of cost of goods to go digital code only in a physical case—it's the best of both worlds to an extent—get exposure to the retail buyer but at a lower cost," Harding-Rolls affirmed. "I'm sure that will be disappointing for some players, but it's possible there will be a Collector's Edition to come nearer to launch."

Joost van Dreunen, a video game industry researcher and professor at NYU Stern School of Business, suggested that Rockstar will eventually launch a more expansive physical offering in the form of a Collector's Edition—though whether that also includes a disc is another matter. Many Collector's Editions now don't include a copy of the game at all, allowing them to be purchased separately without worrying about manufacturing different versions with discs for each platform.

"Take-Two excels at upselling its fanbase, and I have no doubt it will soon also announce a Collector's Edition for GTA 6 that costs significantly more," van Dreunen said. "The same cohort of adults spending thousands on LEGO sets, custom PC rigs, and in-person experiences will have no trouble spending on a franchise that arguably defined their generation. Physical expressions will be absolutely central to that." Whether those physical versions still contain a disc, though, seems less likely than ever.

Yesterday, we polled analysts on whether GTA 6's $80 price point had opened the door to more expensive games—here's what they said.