The founder and CEO of Frontier Developments, David Braben, suggested at today’s Investment Summit Online that physical games may be a thing of the past, with only “two to three years” left for disc and cartridge games. This comes in the wake of digital sales skyrocketing as a result of worldwide lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and access to physical copies becoming scarce.
In the statement made by the Elite: Dangerous creator, Braben looks at the acceleration of digital sales brought on by COVID-19 as a sign of the end times for physical copies. As the gaming industry has grown significantly in this time, seeing massive spikes in concurrent players across multiple games and platforms, this might be the tipping point that pushes players to make the transition to buying exclusively digital.
It doesn’t look like Braben’s comments mean that physical games will go away entirely in that “two to three year” timetable that he mentioned at the summit, but more that it won’t be long until the vast majority of games are purchased digitally. Braben also took a moment to revel in the positivity that the current global situation has brought to the gaming industry, as developers and digital storefronts have been working to bring affordable entertainment to encourage fans to stay home and play. Overall, this general positivity has really helped developers like Frontier Developments to flourish in these trying times.
While these digital trends are a positive note for the gaming industry, making the shift to digital-only might not work for every player, as not every household has access to stable internet. Some players simply can’t take advantage of the plethora of digital events, sales, or storefronts that have become such a staple for modern games. This can mean that switching entirely to digital-only could cut off a percentage of players, which has likely been a leading factor to companies being skeptical about making the full transition in the past.
Digital games taking off as a result of the current situation is somewhat of a silver lining, as Braben puts it, and it is clear that the future of the industry is in digital and online products. However, online infrastructure may still not be in a position to provide for every player out there, even if many see it as a given nowadays. As games continue to sell more and more copies digitally, like Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ digital success, it is important to remember that there may be more reasons than simply preference for players to continue to choose physical copies.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
